McCain Support Continues Downward Spiral  —  Obama Leads by 19 Among Those Who Have Already Voted  —  Barack Obama leads John McCain by a 52% to 36% margin in Pew's latest nationwide survey of 1,325 registered voters.  This is the fourth consecutive survey that has found support for the Republican candidate edging down.

Why McCain is getting hosed in the press  —  Politico political editor Charles Mahtesian was e-mailing the other day with a Republican lobbyist who signed off with a plea that sounded more like a taunt: “Keep it balanced.”  —  A reader e-mailed us with the same sentiment in different language.

Election: Your health insurance at stake  —  McCain and Obama have vastly different views on the future of employer-sponsored health insurance.  Either one could bring big change.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Both presidential candidates want to turn employer-sponsored health insurance on its head.

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.

Palin, Alone Aboard the Bus  —  Almost from the very beginning, the Palin pick created tension.  —  An armada of handlers descended on McCain's running mate like the flying monkeys in The Wizard Of Oz.  The day after the ticket made its debut, it was August 30 and the campaign staged …

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 …

Gallup Daily: Presidential Race Narrows Slightly  —  Obama leads by two to seven points among likely voters  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The gap between Barack Obama and John McCain in Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Saturday through Monday has narrowed slightly, and Obama is now at 49% of the vote …

Slate Votes  —  Obama wins this magazine in a rout.  —  We asked Slate's staff and contributors to tell us whom they're voting for on Election Day and why.  These are their responses.  Click here to read Editor David Plotz's explanation for why we share this information with you.

Obama Affinity to Marxists Dates Back to College Days  —  Barack Obama shrugs off charges of socialism, but noted in his own memoir that he carefully chose Marxist professors as friends in college.  —  FOXNews.com  —  Barack Obama laughs off charges of socialism.  Joe Biden scoffs at references to Marxism.

Crist extends early voting hours  —  Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday afternoon issued an order expanding the hours of early voting up to 12 hours a day through Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and a total of 12 weekend hours, between 7 a.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday.

What About Bobby?  —  To follow up on Suzy's item, I wanted to note that, while there are plenty of 2012 GOP presidential aspirants who have reason to be unhappy with the McCain campaign's decisions over the last couple months (and, in particular, the Palin choice), a case …

What's Missing from GOP.com?  —  Any mention of, information about, or support for John McCain, outside of a link to McCain's campaign store and an outdated opportunity to volunteer for McCain on “Super Saturday,” October 25th.  A Fred Thompson video, in which John McCain get four sentences …

Both sides of aisle rip MSNBC  —  Keith Olbermann also criticized at media luncheon  —  In a room full of television industry executives, no one seemed inclined to defend MSNBC on Monday for what some were calling its lopsidedly liberal coverage of the presidential election.

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.

McCain Adviser Dismisses Evidence Of Bush's Iraq Dishonesty As ‘Conspiracy Theories’  —  Robert Kagan, a leading member of John McCain's war cabinet, recently gave an interview to Der Spiegel in which he was asked about the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq: … This is ridiculous.

Sort of Soviet?  —  Et tu, MSNBC?  —  Willie Geist and Courtney Hazlett this morning discussed Obama's half hour of TV tomorrow night.

My Choice: Obama  —  In one week, Americans will face a momentous choice.  We must decide which of two talented, patriotic individuals is better suited to set the course for the nation and steer it through a stormy sea.  —  I have known John McCain for many years, even before he was first elected …

Obama's Moving Tax Threshold: $250,000?  $200,000?  $150,000?  What Next?  —  One of the things I've seen at Republican rallies is that people just don't believe Barack Obama when he says he'll raise taxes only on those who make more than $250,000 a year.

CNN ELECTION CENTER  —  McCain's Uphill Battle; Senator Ted Stevens Found Guilty of Corruption  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everyone.  —  With just eight days to go until the election …

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.

The Palin-McCain Conflict  —  I think it's now fair to say it's a war.  My view is that after the McCain peeps had made that crazy decision and realized after the fact what they had on their hands, they put their best face on it.  They knew that the normal rules for a veep - a press conference …

‘Joe the Plumber’ Backs Claim That Obama Would Bring ‘Death to Israel’  —  Joe Wurzelbacher, on his first campaign trail appearance for John McCain, says he agrees that a vote for Barack Obama would be “a vote for the death to Israel.”  —  FOXNews.com  —  Joe Wurzelbacher, a.k.a. …

From scream to 50-state dream  —  He who laughs last...  I keep saying it since I doubt people believe me — when we were agitating for the 50-state strategy in 2003, 2004, and 2005, it was hugely controversial.  Crashing the Gate may seem like a fairly conventional book today …

Why John McCain Continues to Trail Barack Obama in Pennsylvania  —  One of the mysteries of this campaign year has been why John McCain keeps campaigning in Pennsylvania when the polls show him far behind Barack Obama there—51 percent to 41 percent in the RealClearPolitics.com average of recent polls as I write.

NRSC celeb thinks Obama may be anti-Christ, ‘sooooo evil’  —  Jonathan Martin noted with some amusement a new video from the NRSC video featuring celebrities you may not have heard of, plus Pat Boone in a swimming pool, attacking Al Franken.  —  A reader adds an odd note: One of those …

Seven-year-olds sing against same-sex marriage  —  In the city I'm in today, the Internet is basically broken — citywide, roughly 80% of websites are inaccessible for some reason, including many that I frequently read — and so, for the moment, I'm unable to write about several issues I wanted to address.