Final CBS/NYT/Q-polls in OH, FL, VA show Obama up ...  We're down to the final week of the election, where we'd normally expect to see pollsters fine-tuning their samples in order to get the most predictive survey results ahead of the election.  It's refreshing, therefore …

The Making Of Romney's Storm Relief Event  —  A scramble to depoliticize a political campaign, and $5,000 in supplies from Wal-Mart.  “Just grab something.”  —  Image by Brian Snyder / Reuters  —  DAYTON, Ohio — The last-minute decision by Romney high command Monday to suspend politics …

Opinion: Here comes the landslide  —  Voters have figured out that President Obama has no message, no agenda and not even much of an explanation for what he has done over the past four years.  His campaign is based entirely on persuading people that Mitt Romney is a uniquely bad man …

Why Exactly Is Chris Christie Subverting Mitt Romney?  —  Chris Christie is love-bombing President Obama — the man he labeled clueless just last week — and Maureen Dowd is asking why: … Here are three theories about Christie:  —  1) The first, most benign theory: Christie, in my experience …

Gingrich: Senator told me networks may have White House emails commanding counterterrorism group to stand down on Benghazi rescue  —  On Tuesday night's “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” on the Fox News Channel, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that major news networks might …

Biden already thinking about 2016  —  Election Day isn't for another six days, but Vice President Biden is already thinking about 2016.  —  Appearing at an eatery in Florida on Wednesday, Biden was chatting by phone with a Republican voter when the vice president half-jokingly …

Anti-Obama texts traced to conservative activist  —  The spate of unsolicited anti-Obama text messages that have hit hundreds of cellphones in recent days appears to be the work of conservative activist Jason Flanary and his Virginia-based communications firm, ccAdvertising.

Steve King: Hurricane Sandy Aid Must Have Strings Attached To Avoid Waste On ‘Gucci Bags’ … FOLLOW:  —  Steve King, Elections 2012, Natural Disasters, Steve King, Video, Christie Vilsack, Christie Vilsack 2012, Disaster Relief, Hurricane Sandy 2012, Hurricane Sandy 2012, Iowa 2012 …

1 week, 2 versions of reality  —  As if Hurricane Sandy weren't doing enough to muddle the presidential race a week before the election, the two campaigns now seem to be embracing two sharply different versions of political reality.  —  The Mitt Romney narrative: The electoral map is expanding and we are on the march.

Messina gives up on Arizona  —  Obama strategists have suggested on and off this cycle — and earlier — that the president could make a play to compete in Arizona, a traditionally conservative-leaning state that has become more competitive thanks to a growing Latino population.

Poll: Romney closes gap on Obama in Michigan  —  Mitt Romney is within striking distance of Barack Obama in Michigan in the final days before the election, buoyed by more who are convinced the Republican is a viable alternative to the president, with the ability to turn around the economy.

What's Behind the State-National Poll Divergence?  —  The Hurricane Sandy-related lull in tracking polls gives us a good opportunity to look at one of the more interesting aspects of polling to develop this month: the divergence between national and state polls.

Outrage In The Powerless Zone: A Dispatch From Downtown Manhattan  —  Mayor Bloomberg said last night that we've come to “the end of the downside” of Hurricane Sandy—hey, if you can spare $150 and a cab ride, you can join him at the very first Brooklyn Nets game tomorrow.