Rift Cracks ‘Demoralized’ McCain Campaign  —  McCain Staffers Blame Palin's Lack of Readiness; Palin Loyalists Blame Over-Managing By McCain Handlers  —  The McCain campaign is definitely demoralized right now.  The blame game has begun.  —  There is no question that there is a rift …

Obama's ‘Redistribution’ Constitution  —  The courts are poised for a takeover by the judicial left.  —  One of the great unappreciated stories of the past eight years is how thoroughly Senate Democrats thwarted efforts by President Bush to appoint judges to the lower federal courts.

Palin's Love Boats  —  Until two cruise ships steamed up to Alaska two summers ago, the record for the silliest statement by a journalist had been held by Lincoln Steffens, in his time a famous American radical.  Sent in 1919 to see how Russia was doing under the communists …

Rush's Blueprint  —  Last week, Tony Blankley published and Rush Limbaugh publicized what may prove one of the most important articles of 2008.  I don't mean that the article was good - very much the contrary.  But bad work can be even more important than good, if enough people can be got to believe it.

7 days — One week out — Republicans expect to be crushed in historic landslide: buy emergency time in Montana and West Virginia  —  GM seeks Treasury $$$ ... GOP blame game now reaches down to state parties - Al Hunt is in Obama's gym pool at this moment — Michelle Obama shops J. Crew online …

Election 2008: Objective journalism the loser  —  Did you see that amazing video obtained by the Los Angeles Times of Sen. Barack Obama toasting a prominent former PLO member at an Arab American Action Network meeting in 2003?  The video in which Obama gives Yasser Arafat's frontman a warm embrace, as Bill Ayers look on?

Stevens guilty on 7 counts, won't quit Senate race  —  WASHINGTON - Ted Stevens, a pillar of the Senate for 40 years and the face of Alaska politics almost since statehood, was convicted of a seven-felony string of corruption charges Monday — found guilty of accepting a bonanza of home renovations …

Why McCain Lost Me  —  Yesterday, while reading the latest polling data on John McCain, Sarah Palin and their appeal — or growing lack of it — to “ independent women voters” it suddenly dawned on me: I am one of these elusive independent female voters, and I have the credentials to prove it.

Watch as the press corps battles its performance anxiety!  —  With the election just a week away and Barack Obama pulling away from John McCain, tiny tendrils of trepidation are starting to drift over the liberal members of the commentariat and the political press corps.

Sources: Sarkozy views Obama stance on Iran as ‘utterly immature’  —  French President Nicolas Sarkozy is very critical of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama's positions on Iran, according to reports that have reached Israel's government.  —  Sarkozy has made his criticisms only in closed forums in France.

New to Campaigning, but No Longer a Novice  —  AKRON, Ohio — On a visit to her husband's campaign office here the other day, Michelle Obama was handed a phone and a script of talking points and made calls to a few undecided voters.  Mrs. Obama mixed policy on taxes and health care with chitchat about Ohio …

U.S. Mulls Talks With Taliban in Bid to Quell Afghan Unrest  —  Gen. Petraeus Backs Effort to Win Over Some Elements of Group  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. is actively considering talks with elements of the Taliban, the armed Islamist group that once ruled Afghanistan and sheltered al Qaeda …

N. Carolina ballot design may cut votes cast for president  —  North Carolina voters are more likely than those in other states to cast ballots in national elections without making a choice for president.  —  Unlike many states, a straight-party vote in North Carolina does not cast a vote for president.

Dozens Of Call Center Workers Walk Off Job In Protest Rather Than Read McCain Script Attacking Obama  —  Some three dozen workers at a telemarketing call center in Indiana walked off the job rather than read an incendiary McCain campaign script attacking Barack Obama, according to two workers at the center and one of their parents.

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: Obama Under 50%, as McCain Holds Steady  —  Obama 49.0%, McCain 44.7%  —  UTICA, New York - The race for President of the United States continued to tighten, as both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain lost ground in a contest that is now a four-point game …

The Three Ashleys  —  In 2004, Ashley Faulkner looked into the camera and said of George W. Bush, “He's the most powerful man in the world, and all he wants to do is make sure I'm safe, that I'm OK.”  —  It was powerful.  It was an emotional, affirmative argument to vote for George W. Bush.

Breaking: Here's what we know about Pennsylvania right now  —  Tonight we spoke with a friend from Hillary Clinton's campaign who is now working for McCain/Palin — and is specifically working with Democrats for McCain in Pennsylvania.  We worked with her in Texas, Indiana, Ohio …

DNC taps $10 million line of credit to boost House, Senate gains  —  Hoping to maximize congressional gains, the DNC is taking out a $10 million line of credit to split equally between the House and Senate campaign committees, according to a top Democrat familiar with the move.

Reid eyes Byrd ouster  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is quietly preparing to ease 90-year-old Sen. Robert C. Byrd from his perch as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Democratic insiders tell Politico.  —  Reid has not yet discussed his plans with Byrd.

Obama's Constitution  —  Yesterday the Obama campaign called on University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein to tamp down the furor over Obama's advocacy of “redistributive change” and overcoming of the Constitution's “negative rights” in his 2001 radio interview.