memeorandum: The Amazing Race — I thought 1960 was the best campaign I'd ever cover. (David S. Broder/Washington Post)

1:10 PM ET, November 1, 2008

Top Items:

Obama says he didn't know aunt's illegal status — Featured Topics: - John McCain - Barack Obama — CHICAGO - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Saturday he didn't know his aunt was living in the United States illegally and believes that laws covering the situation should be followed.

Discussion: Political Byline, Say Anything, A Blog For All, www.redstate.com, www.redstate.com, TigerHawk, The Jed Report, QandO, Opus Hussein X's Blog and Boston Herald

Associated Press:

AP: Obama aunt from Kenya living in US illegally — WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been quietly living in public housing in Boston, is in the United States illegally after an immigration judge rejected her request for asylum four years ago, The Associated Press has learned.

Discussion: Wake up America, Ben Smith's Blogs, Jules Crittenden, Riehl World View, JammieWearingFool, Gateway Pundit, NO QUARTER, Boston Globe, Right Wing News and www.redstate.com

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

BREAKING THE LAW FOR MCCAIN — You may have noticed that the AP is reporting that Barack Obama's aunt (who he does not seem to have a relationship with) was denied asylum in the US four years ago and is now living illegally in Boston. Convenient timing, ain't it?

Discussion: Washington Monthly and African Press International

Michelle Malkin:

Obama's illegal alien aunt (and campaign donor!) is a deportation fugitive; Bush administration moves to protect her — Well now. — Turns out Aunti Zeituni Onyango, one of Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama's many relatives made famous in his memoir, is an illegal alien.

Discussion: Wizbang, PoliGazette, Solomonia and JammieWearingFool

Scott / Power Line:

DREAMS FROM HIS AUNT, PART 2 — Yesterday we noted the London Times (here) and Boston Globe (here) news stories on Barack Obama's aunt Zeituni Onyango. Ms. Onyango was found living in run-down Boston public housing, though she has enough money to have contributed $260 to Obama's campaign.

Discussion: TPMMuckraker, The Corner, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, BobKrumm.com, Dirty Harry's Place, Political Punch and Flopping Aces

Frank James / The Swamp:

Obama's illegal immigrant aunt problem — A police officer on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 outside the public housing building in South Boston where Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's aunt Zeituni Onyango reportedly lives. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Discussion: Jonathan Martin's Blogs and Real Clear Politics

Kathleen Hennessey / Associated Press:

Ensign: Palin not ready for presidency — LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican Sen. John Ensign says Sarah Palin is not experienced enough to be president and John McCain's presidential campaign “completely mishandled” her early days on the ticket. — The Nevada senator made the comments …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Washington Monthly, The Jed Report, DownWithTyranny! and AMERICAblog News

The Moderate Voice: Poor, Poor John McCain: No More Time & So Many Excuses

Michael R. Blood / Associated Press:
Does Palin's maverick label still stick?

Discussion: Yahoo! News

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

A Presidential Vanishing Act, by Design — WASHINGTON — It's the week before Election Day. Do you know where your president is? — Probably not, and that is by design. With Senator John McCain lagging behind in the polls and many other Republicans fighting for their political lives …

Discussion: Campaign Silo, Washington Monthly, Buck Naked Politics and The Heretik

Carrie Dann / MSNBC:
First Read: Follow candidates, not polls

Discussion: Los Angeles Times and Real Clear Politics

Randy Ludlow / The Columbus Dispatch:

State employee says she was ordered to check out Joe the Plumber — Vanessa Niekamp said that when she was asked to run a child-support check on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher on Oct. 16, she thought it routine. A supervisor told her the man had contacted the state agency about his case.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Corner, QandO, A Blog For All, Say Anything, Townhall.com, Don Surber, Stop The ACLU, Ms Placed Democrat, Political Punch, Fausta's Blog, Macsmind, Althouse and Michelle Malkin

Michelle Malkin: New report: Ohio employee was ordered to snoop on Joe The Plumber

Marc Ambinder:

A McCain Campaign Memo — The last thing the McCain campaign needs on election day is demoralized Republicans. Hence this memo, which recapitulates what Davis and co. said on a conference call with reporters this morning.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, The Heretik and The Jed Report

Michael Powell / New York Times:

Obama Is Up, and Fans Fear That Jinxes It — In the den of his home in New Hope, Pa., a liberal Democrat sits tap-tapping at his computer. — Jon Downs works the electoral vote maps on Yahoo like a spiritualist shaking his Ouija board. He calibrates and recalibrates: Give Senator John McCain Ohio, Missouri, even Florida.

Discussion: JammieWearingFool and Newshoggers.com

Los Angeles Times: Same-sex couples rush to marry before election day

Associated Press:

AP poll shows Obama backers gleeful, McCain's glum — Featured Topics: - John McCain - Barack Obama — WASHINGTON - That smiling guy walking down the street? Odds are he's a Barack Obama backer. The grouchy looking one? Don't ask, and don't necessarily count on him to vote next week, either.

Discussion: PoliGazette

David S. Broder / Washington Post:

The Amazing Race — I thought 1960 was the best campaign I'd ever cover. But 2008 has that election beat. — I remember the precise moment when I became convinced that this presidential campaign was going to be the best I'd ever covered. It was Saturday afternoon, Dec. 8, 2007.

Discussion: Don Surber