Palin allies report rising campaign tension  —  Even as John McCain and Sarah Palin scramble to close the gap in the final days of the 2008 election, stirrings of a Palin insurgency are complicating the campaign's already-tense internal dynamics.  —  Four Republicans close to Palin …

New Poll Finds Stark Reversal on Perceptions of Palin  —  While top-of-the-ticket rivals John McCain and Barack Obama both remain broadly popular heading into their Election Day showdown, public perceptions of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin have fallen dramatically since …

McCain Versus the Juggernaut  —  We stand with him.  —  It's always darkest before it goes totally black.  This is one of John McCain's favorite remarks, ascribed (apocryphally, it seems) to Chairman Mao.  Well, with 10 days to go before the election, it's getting pretty dark out there.

Goalie injured after tripping on Palin carpet  —  ST. LOUIS (AP)—Blues goalie Manny Legace left after one period Friday night with a hip injury that occurred when he slipped on the carpet placed on the ice for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Government computers used to find information on Joe the Plumber  —  Investigators trying to determine whether access was illegal  —  “State and local officials are investigating if state and law-enforcement computer systems were illegally accessed when they were tapped for personal information about “Joe the Plumber.

THE WOLF ON OBAMA'S MISTRESS  —  I speak with Blackfive's own Wolf, who earns his Pulp Fiction moniker with more on Vera Baker, the mistress Michelle Obama exiled to Martinique.  We will have pictures and more info on Monday, also it looks like one of the major news outlets is going to move on the story.

Why a Staunch Conservative Like Me Endorsed Obama  —  Who cares?  —  That's what I wondered when George Packer (ace of the New Yorker) asked whether he could post my intention to vote for Obama on his blog.  —  So I duly ignored him.  Only when he bugged me two days later did I say okay …

So When Will Banks Give Loans?  —  “Chase recently received $25 billion in federal funding.  What effect will that have on the business side and will it change our strategic lending policy?”  —  It was Oct. 17, just four days after JPMorgan Chase's chief executive, Jamie Dimon …

Obama campaign cuts off WFTV after interview with Joe Biden  —  WFTV-Channel 9's Barbara West conducted a satellite interview with Sen. Joe Biden on Thursday.  A friend says it's some of the best entertainment he's seen recently.  What do you think?  —  West wondered about Sen. Barack Obama's comment …

Obama leads McCain 49% to 46% in Ohio Newspaper Poll … Ohio voters, wrong only twice when picking the president in the last 108 years, remain nearly split over their choice for the White House, according to a new Ohio Newspaper Poll.  —  But while the race remains a statistical dead heat …

The Obama/Ayers/Khalidi Connection  —  I just caught up with an interview by one of my favorite guys, Hugh Hewitt, of another of my favorite guys, Stanley Kurtz.  (It's on Hugh's Townhall blog, which always has plenty of required reading.)  —  Stanley, of course, has done singularly vital investigative work …

Memo To Palin: Fruit Fly Research Has Led To Advances In Understanding Autism  —  This morning, Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) gave her first policy speech urging the federal government to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), “a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation.”

Administration to Bypass Reporting Law  —  WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has informed Congress that it is bypassing a law intended to forbid political interference with reports to lawmakers by the Department of Homeland Security.  —  The August 2007 law requires the agency's chief privacy officer …

Editing Their Way to Oblivion: Journalism Sacrificed For Power and Pensions  —  The traditional media is playing a very, very dangerous game.  With its readers, with the Constitution, and with its own fate.  —  The sheer bias in the print and television coverage of this election campaign is not just bewildering, but appalling.

Early-voting trends appear to favor Barack Obama  —  Voters who weigh in before election day usually lean Republican.  This time, Democrats dominate in several key states, and some GOP areas see more black voters than usual.  —  Reporting from Washington — Record numbers of voters across …

As Yard Sales Boom, Sentiment Is First Thing to Go  —  MANTECA, Calif. — As the classified ads put it, everything must go.  Socks.  Christmas ornaments.  Microwave ovens.  Three-year-old Marita Duarte's tricycle was sold by her mother, Beatriz, to a stranger for $3 even as her daughter was riding it.

McCain's brother drops out of campaign, apologizes for 911 call.»  —  Joe McCain, the brother of John McCain, “said Friday he'll withdraw from campaign activities after calling 911 to complain about traffic.”  McCain called 911 in Alexandria, VA, and “used an expletive to the operator and hung up.”