Obama's Grandmother Dies  —  CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A tragic turn of events for Sen. Barack Obama: his ailing grandmother died today.  —  Here's a statement from Obama and his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng:  —  “It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer.

Rove's Final Map: Obama 338, McCain 200  —  Karl Rove's final Electoral College map...

New Troopergate report clears Palin  —  A new report just released — hours before the polls open on Election Day — exonerates Gov. Sarah Palin in the Troopergate controversy.  —  The state Personnel Board-sanctioned investigation is the second into whether Palin violated state ethics law …

RNC Hits Obama For Visit To Sick Grandmother  —  Leaving no potential avenue of attack unexplored, the Republican National Committee has decided to bash Barack Obama over his October visit to see his ailing grandmother in Hawaii.  —  Of course the visit itself is not being criticized …

Tampa McCain rally: Where is everybody?  —  About 30 minutes before John McCain is scheduled to lead a rally outside Raymond James Stadium, looks like there's maybe 1,000 people here.  What's up with that?  On the day before the election?  Bush drew at least 15,000 people to a rally …

Today's Polls, 11/3 (PM Edition)  —  With fewer than six hours until voting begins in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the national polling picture has cleared up considerably.  Barack Obama is on the verge of a victory, perhaps a decisive victory, in the race for the White House.

THE NEW POLL TAX.  —  This is why Rachel Maddow matters:  —  The poll tax was a sly system of disenfranchisement used in the Jim Crow era to disenfranchise Southern blacks.  Aware that the Constitution now assured everyone the “right” to vote, Southern states imposed a voting fee heavy enough …

Obama's Attack Ad On Himself  —  I should have gotten this out earlier, but just didn't get all the video clips together quick enough.  In putting this together, it's been surprising, even to someone who's followed the entire presidential race in great detail, the extent to which Obama has gotten away …

McCAIN CAMPAIGN MEMO: READING THE EXIT POLLS  —  As we have seen in previous election cycles, the exit poll results do leak early and that ends up influencing the coverage of the race before even the first state polls close at 6:00 PM Eastern.  —  However, we want to remind the campaign …

Networks May Call Race Before Voting Is Complete  —  At least one broadcast network and one Web site said Monday that they could foresee signaling to viewers early Tuesday evening which candidate appeared to have won the presidency, despite the unreliability of some early exit polls in the last presidential election.

The Republicans' appalling attack on Rashid Khalidi.  —  On the clouded synapses of Sen. John McCain, it became clear as his campaign limped and lurched to its close, the termites had been dining long and dining well.  However much one might have admired the low comedy of his closing routine …

Marine vet at Russell rally: Murtha a ‘fat little bastard’  —  NEW STANTON — Republican congressional candidate Bill Russell's rally on Sunday featured several Iraq war veterans vehemently criticizing U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown), who they say betrayed them when he said troops …

Romney Can't Bring Himself To Say That McCain Has Conducted A ‘Dignified And Honest’ Campaign  —  This morning on NBC's Today Show, host Meredith Vieira asked McCain campaign surrogate Mitt Romney about a new University of Wisconsin analysis, which found that more of McCain's ads have been negative than Obama's in the past week.

Biden Offers His Take on Girls  —  In what has become noted and typical fashion, the Delaware senator isn't shy to express his view of the origin of women's strength.  —  FOXNews.com  —  LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — “Hey folks, 37 more hours!”  —  Joe Biden greeted a crowd primed for the home stretch …

McCain Rally: Salter Is Smiling  —  Elizabeth Holmes reports from Blountville, Tenn., on the presidential race.  —  You know it's a big day on the McCain campaign when Mark Salter is smiling.  —  The senior aide to John McCain, known for his gruff demeanor, was practically giddy this morning on the campaign plane.

Bush Praised By Both Parties for Transition Planning  —  Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush is leaving office with some of the lowest job-approval ratings in history.  He's being assailed by both of his would-be successors, one of whom will inherit two wars and the most severe financial crisis since the Great Depression.