RED ALERT Tip: Two quotes from the Obama-Khalidi videotape  —  You know the videotape that shows Barack Obama toasting PLO terrorist Rashid Khalidi?  The one that the Los Angeles Times refuses to release? … How frickin' stupid do they think we are?  Someone gave the Times a videotape so it wouldn't be released?

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE WEAK GET RIDICULOUS.... Recent polling shows Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) trailing in her re-election fight in North Carolina against Democrat Kay Hagan, so it stands to reason that she's getting a little desperate.  —  I didn't think she'd get this desperate.

Obama Accepting Untraceable Donations  —  Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign is allowing donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards that could potentially be used to evade limits on how much an individual is legally allowed to give or to mask a contributor's identity, campaign officials confirmed.

FIRST THOUGHTS: IN WITH THE NEW...  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann  —  *** In with the new... : A brand-new NBC/WSJ/MySpace poll illustrates not only McCain's challenge come Election Day, but also the challenge the Republican Party could face in future elections.

Obama infomercial: Smart politics or risky overkill?  —  Barack Obama will go on national television tonight and air a 30-minute infomercial about himself and his presidential campaign.  —  Several political image makers, both Republicans and Democrats, say it's a smart move.

Sen. Lieberman likely to lose his gavel in massive reshuffle being discussed  —  Democratic leaders are discussing a major reshuffling of Senate committee chairmanships, according to multiple sources, and the proposed changes include ousting Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) from his coveted chairmanship.

Dems get ready to rule  —  A landslide victory next Tuesday would give Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape government policy dramatically.  —  By controlling the White House and expanding their Senate majority …

The Obama Campaign Plays The Palin Card...  After two long months of itchy trigger fingers.

So Long, Democrats  —  How Obama and Palin Redefined Political Sex Appeal by Tina Brown  —  A speechwriter for Obama, Edwards, and Clinton on why she's voting McCain.  —  Since I started writing speeches more than ten years ago, I have always believed in the Democratic Party.  Not anymore.

Obama's campaign manager offers 3 million dollars to API in connection with Michelle Obama tape to be aired by Fox News Network  —  Six hours after the release of information by API on the planned broadcast by Fox News Network of the Michelle Obama tape, in accordance with an agreement …

Obama donors get access to top advisers  —  Aides to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) scheduled pricey luncheons, roundtables, readings, V.I.P. receptions, dinners and policy dinners with campaign officials and advisers, offering donors a taste of his potential administration.

Internal Polling  —  The Wall Street Journal today publishes an internal McCain campaign polling memo from yesterday.  Bill McInturff, the campaign's lead pollster, paints a rather different picture than the one we've seen in most media polling, and suggests those media polls will begin dramatically to tighten in the next day or two.

I had not realized Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman is this stupid  —  From exchanging emails with him, I've known for a decade that Paul Krugman was an egomaniacal jerk, but he was always described as being intelligent.  Yet, here are parts of a 1998 column he wrote in Slate that is just jaw-droppingly dumb.

Virginia Notebook: Democrats Ahead in '09 Race  —  One year before voters go to the polls to elect a new governor, Virginia Democrats appear well positioned to stay in power and continue their winning streak in major state races, according to a new Washington Post poll.

Accuracy Of Polls a Question In Itself  —  Could the polls be wrong?  —  Sen. John McCain and his allies say that they are.  The country, they say, could be headed to a 2008 version of the famous 1948 upset election, with McCain in the role of Harry S. Truman and Sen. Barack Obama as Thomas E. Dewey …

Gallup Daily: Obama Maintains Edge Over McCain  —  Advantage among likely voters three to seven points  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama begins the final week of the campaign with an advantage over John McCain in both Gallup likely voter models, up by 49% to 46% using the traditional model …

Obama neck and neck with McCain in Arizona  —  Sen. John McCain's once-comfortable lead in Arizona has all but evaporated, according to a new poll that has the underdog Republican presidential candidate struggling in his own backyard.  —  With less than a week until Election Day …

THREE GROUPS: Forecasts of voting lag, so far  —  Record turnout was seen for new voters, young, Hispanics  —  Analysts have predicted that new voters, young voters and Hispanic voters will turn out in record numbers in this election.  But as Nevadans continue to flock to the polls …

The Winner  —  The video that changed an election campaign.  It's a video that still affects me.  Mock it all you want.  Mock me all you want.  There is a reason this ad resonated.  It has to do with eight long years of shame and drift and failure.  It's a statement that Bush and Cheney are not who we are.

Laying the Groundwork for the Backfire  —  Every time I read Ezra Klein pooh-pooing Barack Obama's domestic agenda, I feel a bit baffled.  He's running on a platform that promises universal preschool, dramatic cuts in carbon emissions and investments in clean energy infrastructure …

IS “TOO LATE” BETTER THAN “NEVER”?  —  In the post below, John wonders about the extent to which the money Obama is using to pay for tonight's five-network infomercial comes from the illegal donations that his campaign has “facilitated and encouraged.”  As John observes, we probably will never know the answer.

Consumers Feel the Next Crisis: It's Credit Cards  —  First came the mortgage crisis.  Now comes the credit card crisis.  —  After years of flooding Americans with credit card offers and sky-high credit lines, lenders are sharply curtailing both, just as an eroding economy squeezes consumers.