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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Obama leads McCain by 12 points in Colorado polls  —  Poll: Unaffiliated voters shifting to Dem candidate  —  Sen. Barack Obama has surged to a commanding, double-digit lead in Colorado amid soaring anxiety about the country's direction and a massive shift of independent voters into the Democratic column, a new poll finds.

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.

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.

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 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 …

Bill Clinton and Obama plan joint appearance  —  Former President Bill Clinton and Senator Barack Obama will appear together “within the week,” a source close to one of the men said.  —  Clinton sharply questioned Obama's credentials, on his wife's behalf, during the primary …

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 …

Obama Swinging For The Fences  —  For a political analyst, the normal posture this time of year is much like a baseball umpire's: hunched over, peering carefully as the ball approaches the plate, watching for whether it breaks left or right, whether it's coming in high or low.

The Palin Trig-ger  —  Some of the very personal and often uncharitable criticism of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her family may have a relationship to the collective grief, shame, and guilt from personal involvement in the abortion of an unborn child.

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.”