Hidden Audio: Obama Tells SF Chronicle He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry  —  (Please read update about the San Francisco Chronicle neglecting to mention Obama's willingness to bankrupt the coal industry at bottom of this blog.)  —  Imagine if John McCain had whispered somewhere that he was willing to bankrupt a major industry?

Obama seven points ahead in CNN's final poll  —  (CNN) — Two and seven: With two days left until election day, a new national poll suggests that Barack Obama holds a seven-point lead over John McCain in the race for the White House.  —  In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey …

OBAMA 2012: FOUR YEARS LATER  —  A LOOK BACK AT HIS PRESIDENCY  —  It's hard to believe that just four years ago, some were talking about Barack Obama as a national savior, a secular redeemer, a “light worker.”  Even more shocking, President Obama lost the nomination of his own party to none other than Hillary Clinton.

McCain on ‘Saturday Night Live’  —  Live from New York, it was Senator John McCain, saying that he was thinking of some radically different strategies for the last three days of the presidential race.  —  “I thought I might try a strategy called the Reverse Maverick,” Mr. McCain told his interviewer.

Down to the wire, Va. still too close to call, poll shows  —  The earliest signs of who will be the next president might spring from Virginia and how undecided white voters such as John Morris and Sidney Blankenbeckler cast their ballots.  —  “I'm pretty disappointed in Republicans right now …

Obama will answer questions... Wednesday  —  ABC's Jake Tapper managed to get Senator Barack Obama's attention on the tarmac in Springfield, Missouri this morning.  —  “What would you tell your Treasury Secretary to do differently with the $700 billion?” he asked, according to the pool report.

The single worst expression in American politics  —  Joe Biden, speaking yesterday at a rally in Ohio (h/t Jonathan Schwarz): … As I wrote a couple of weeks ago (see the last few paragraphs): if I could be granted one small political wish, it would be the permanent elimination of this widespread …

FIRST THOUGHTS: OUR FINAL MAP  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann  —  *** Our final map: With two days before Election Day, the final NBC News map shows Obama remaining above the 270 electoral-vote mark, with a 286-157 lead over McCain.  Last week, Obama held a 286-163 advantage.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner  —  AND so: just how far have we come?  —  As a rough gauge last week, I watched a movie I hadn't seen since it came out when I was a teenager in 1967.  Back then “Guess Who's Coming to Dinner” was Hollywood's idea of a stirring call for racial justice.

THE TOWN-HALL MYTH.... In an otherwise complimentary column, David Broder notes one of his biggest disappointments about Barack Obama's campaign. … This is, almost word for word, the argument that John McCain has made since August to explain why he felt it necessary to take his sleazy campaign into the gutter.

Disclosure About Obama's Aunt May Have Violated Privacy Policy  —  The Department of Homeland Security is investigating whether its privacy policy was violated after a news organization reported that an aunt of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama is an illegal immigrant from Kenya, officials said yesterday.

Unasked questions for Obama  —  With just two days to go before the presidential election, an election the chattering class has flatly declared to be the most consequential of our lifetimes - or, some would have you believe, ever - Barack Obama is playing a sort-of prevent defense, waiting for the clock to run out.

Swinging Obama's way  —  Poll shows majority of unaffiliated Colorado voters backing the Democrat  —  Democrat Barack Obama has solidified his base and picked up a majority of unaffiliated voters in Colorado, giving him a 5 percentage point lead over Republican John McCain, according to a new Denver Post poll.

Obama keeps his lead in Ohio  —  After an unprecedented campaign that seemed to break a record for breaking records, Barack Obama stands on the threshold of history — if his poll numbers hold up.  —  The final Dispatch Poll shows the Illinois Democrat with a 6-point lead in Ohio …

'My Heart and My Values Didn't Change'  —  In Bush, Loyalists See a Good and Steadfast Man Who Has Gotten a Bad Rap  —  On a cold, gray morning a week before Election Day, President Bush briefly emerged from the White House for an unannounced visit to the headquarters of the Republican National Committee in Southeast Washington.