McCain camp trying to scapegoat Palin  —  John McCain's campaign is looking for a scapegoat.  It is looking for someone to blame if McCain loses on Tuesday.  —  And it has decided on Sarah Palin.  —  In recent days, a McCain “adviser” told Dana Bash of CNN: “She is a diva.  She takes no advice from anyone.”

Call Him John the Careless  —  From the invasion of Iraq to the selection of Sarah Palin, carelessness has characterized recent episodes of faux conservatism.  Tuesday's probable repudiation of the Republican Party will punish characteristics displayed in the campaign's closing days.

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: THIRD QUARTER 2008 (ADVANCE)  —  Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — decreased at an annual rate of .3 percent in the third quarter of 2008, (that is, from the second quarter …

Found in a rundown Boston estate: Barack Obama's aunt Zeituni Onyango  —  James Bone in Boston, Rob Crilly in Kogelo and Ben Macintyre  —  Barack Obama has lived one version of the American Dream that has taken him to the steps of the White House.  But a few miles from where the Democratic …

OCTOBER SURPRISE: UFO ALIEN NOW ENDORSES McCAIN!  —  WASHINGTON, DC - In a shocking reversal with major implications for the U.S. presidential election, political kingmaker, the Alien has switched his endorsement from Barack Obama to John McCain amid furor.  Both political camps are buzzing …

Obama and the Politics of Crowds  —  The masses greeting the candidate on the trail are a sign of great unease.  —  There is something odd — and dare I say novel — in American politics about the crowds that have been greeting Barack Obama on his campaign trail.

Banks to Continue Paying Dividends  —  Bailout Money Is for Lending, Critics Say  —  U.S. banks getting more than $163 billion from the Treasury Department for new lending are on pace to pay more than half of that sum to their shareholders, with government permission, over the next three years.

American Stories, American Solutions  —  Tonight, the campaign aired a special 30 minute program in which Barack addressed the nation about his plan for the country and the issues that are at stake in this election.  In case you missed any part of it, or if you want to watch it again or share …

A Question for A.I.G.: Where Did the Cash Go?  —  The American International Group is rapidly running through $123 billion in emergency lending provided by the Federal Reserve, raising questions about how a company claiming to be solvent in September could have developed such a big hole by October.

Don't Let the Polls Affect Your Vote  —  They were wrong in 2000 and 2004.  —  There has been an explosion of polls this presidential election.  Through yesterday, there have been 728 national polls with head-to-head matchups of the candidates, 215 in October alone.

INTRODUCING: LI'L OBAMA!  —  The great Batton Lash does it again (with a little help from yours truly).  After the jump:  —  Previous Batton fun here, here, and here.  And check out his fine comicky goodness at exhibitapress.com!

Hall adviser fired, linked to Ohio voting fraud probe  —  NEW PALTZ — Congressman John Hall (D-Dover Plains) fired one of his long-time campaign advisers Tuesday, after learning that she's embroiled in voter fraud investigations in Ohio.  —  Amy Little, 49, has been a registered Democrat …

ObamaVision: An Appeal to the Masses  —  Barack Obama fired the final salvo in the great battle of images that is the 2008 presidential campaign last night with a half-hour, multimillion-dollar television infomercial that could be considered not the “feel-good” but rather the “feel-better” movie of the year.

What We've Learned About McCain  —  As we near the end of another presidential campaign, it is useful to ask ourselves what we have learned about the candidates that we did not know before.  When you reflect back on all the rallies, the speeches, the ads and the debates …

Is Barack Obama really a socialist?  —  Not exactly, but his ‘socialist-lite’ policies should still be cause for concern. … Since telling Joe the Plumber of his wish to “spread the wealth around,” Barack Obama is being called a socialist.  Is he one?  —  No. At least not in the classic sense of the term.

McCain Trusted More on Taxes and Economy  —  After several weeks of John McCain's campaign attacks on Barack Obama's tax plan and idea of “spreading the wealth around”, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds voters trust McCain more than Obama on taxes, 47% to 45%.

Ted Stevens Receives a Hero's Welcome in Alaska  —  ANCHORAGE — Two days after he was convicted on seven felony counts in Washington, Senator Ted Stevens returned to Alaska on Wednesday night to begin a six-day campaign sprint, telling several hundred supporters at a rally here that he would be vindicated …

The Lady Vanishes  —  I've learned from an intelligence and strategic communications source that on May 18, 2004, Obama came to Washington, DC on a fundraising trip.  His trip also included an appearance at the May 2004 AIPAC Policy Conference.  —  Prior to Mr. Obama arriving in Washington …

BREAKING: Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Plaintiff Demand for Emergency Paper Ballots in PA  —  [Please note several important UPDATES added to the bottom of this article.  - BF]  —  This just in from Pennsylvania... a federal court has found in favor of the NAACP and the 866-MYVOTE1 …

Police: Ex-lover killed woman in rage in Boynton Beach  —  BOYNTON BEACH — Carol Anne Burger killed her former lover by stabbing her 222 times with a Phillips-head screwdriver and then took pains to hide her crime, police said Wednesday.  —  Jessica Kalish, who shared a house …

Snow blankets London for Global Warming debate  —  How Parliament passed the Climate Bill  —  Snow fell as the House of Commons debated Global Warming yesterday - the first October fall in the metropolis since 1922.  The Mother of Parliaments was discussing the Mother of All Bills for the last time, in a marathon six hour session.

Poll gives McCain lead in Fla. early voting  —  TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist is taking heat from fellow Republicans for a last-minute decision to extend early voting in Florida, but any Democratic advantage might not be as overwhelming as conventional wisdom suggests.

Undecideds an unlikely ‘life raft’ for McCain  —  The pool of undecided voters remains as large as one in 10, but John McCain can hardly rely on them to overtake Barack Obama.  According to past election results, those voters who decided in the last week of a campaign are unlikely …

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Together at Last  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. - On a chilly Florida night, former President Bill Clinton warmly embraced Senator Barack Obama as a fresh leader for a new generation of Americans and implored voters to rally behind his candidacy to return the nation to a steady course.