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.

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.

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 …

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 verdict: Palin reacts  —  (CNN) — Sarah Palin said Monday Sen. Ted Stevens' guilty verdict “is a sad day for Alaska.”  —  “This is a sad day for Alaska and a sad day for Senator Stevens and his family,” she said on the tarmac at Richmond International Airport.

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 …

U.S. Official: Al Qaeda Coordinator Captured in Syria Raid  —  A U.S. strike on a network of foreign fighters in Syria led to the capture of an Al Qaeda coordinator who was wanted for sending operatives, weapons and cash into Iraq, a U.S. official told FOX News.

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.

Obama's Full “Redistribution” Quote  —  “You know if you look at the victories and the failures of the Civil Rights movement and its litigation strategy in the Court, I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed peoples so that I would now have the right to vote …

Video: Megyn Kelly, Obama spokesman go nuclear over Fox News and the redistribution tape  —  Time for the daily combative Kelly interview, featuring muppet-ish Obama spokestool Bill Burton in his recurring role.  The beauty of this clip is how it ties the day's two stories together in a bow.

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.

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 …

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.

Farewell, Dean  —  My friend and colleague Dean Barnett died today, and the world is a much poorer place for it.  As anyone who listened to him on my radio show or read his work at Soxblog, here or at the Weekly Standard knows, and as everyone who had the great, great pleasure of knowing Dean will attest …

DRINK DIET COKE!  —  Advertising Age reports that Pepsi-Cola is launching a new logo as part of a world-wide branding campaign.  Pepsico's Indra Nooyi, whom we wrote about here and elsewhere, and other top Pepsico executives explained the new look: … Here's the new Pepsi logo:

Judge Blocks Rules Limiting Sex Offenders on Halloween  —  A federal judge in Missouri on Monday temporarily blocked parts of a new state law that requires sexual offenders to remain in their homes on Halloween evening and to avoid any contact with children related to the holiday.

Arrests in Plan to Kill Obama and Black Schoolchildren  —  WASHINGTON — Two young men who are believers in “white power” have been arrested and charged in Tennessee in what federal officials described as a plan to assassinate Senator Barack Obama and kill black children at a school.