McCain Loses His Head  —  “The queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small.  ‘Off with his head!’ she said without even looking around.”  —  Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high.

McCain camp criticism rife with errors  —  Sen. John McCain's top campaign aides convened a conference call today to complain of being called “liars.”  They pressed the media to scrutinize specific elements of Sen. Barack Obama's record.  —  But the call was so rife with simple …

Ethan Winner Responds: Claims He Produced Video  —  Ethan Winner responds.  Written like a VP in a public relations firm that specializes in crisis management and grassroots organization.  I'll post the whole thing below.  —  He produced the video?  He paid for the voice-over narration which he found through a talent agency?

Ron Paul's Presidential Endorsement.  For Real, This Time.  —  Two weeks after his “third party alliance” press conference, three weeks after the Rally for the Republic, Ron Paul finally dives in and endorses a presidential candidate.  This guy.  —  Paul's reasoning had a lot to do with Bob Barr's snub of the third party presser.

Obama and Ayers Pushed Radicalism On Schools  —  Despite having authored two autobiographies, Barack Obama has never written about his most important executive experience.  From 1995 to 1999, he led an education foundation called the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), and remained on the board until 2001.

CNN Poll: GOP takes brunt of blame for economy, Obama gains  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll suggests that by a 2-to-1 margin, Americans blame Republicans over Democrats for the financial crisis that has swept across the country the past few weeks …

The $700 Billion Question  —  HENRY PAULSON, the Treasury secretary, has opened the government checkbook and is poised to spend $700 billion to end the financial crisis.  What comes next depends on the precise mission and operating powers he and Congress assign the new Treasury agency that will oversee the bailout.

Limbaugh repeats baseless Obama smear: “He's Arab. ...  [H]e's not African-American”  —  On the September 22 broadcast of his syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh baselessly claimed that Sen. Barack Obama is “not black,” and went on to ask: “Do you know he has not one shred of African-American blood?”

How close was the financial system to melting down?  —  I do not work for the Treasury, the Fed, or an investment house, so take this for what it's worth.  But my understanding is really, frighteningly close.  Remember the monster that lived under your bed when you were five?  Actually, mine lived in the closet.

Daddy doesn't know best  —  I've had more time to read the Dodd proposal — and it is a big improvement over the Paulson plan.  The key feature, I believe, is the equity participation: if Treasury buys assets, it gets warrants that can be converted into equity if the price of the purchased assets falls.

The Story Behind Biden's Emergency Helicopter Landing in Afghanistan  —  “Ladies and gentlemen, where are we now?  Where are we now?”  Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., said to the National Guard Association today, talking about the war in Afghanistan.  —  “If you want to know where Al Qaeda lives …

John McCain's Chief of Staff outed, wins Roy Cohn Award  —  When the first source on today's Roy Cohn Award recipient came forward approximately six months ago, he and I decided to wait and see where the presidential election went and how this person's boss performed.  Dismally.

Bailout Satire  —  Add your own toxic holdings to the big s**tpile here.  —  I almost missed this email because it was diverted to my spam folder.  But apparently Paulson is sending this around:

Biden on Obama's e-mail ad: “I thought that was terrible”  —  Skip ahead to 4:05.  For the second time in three days, Greasy Joe proves himself one of America's most effective anti-Obama advocates.  —  I hope you appreciate his nuance, at least, in hinting that Obama didn't approve an ad that ended with …

Dukakis: McCain using same race tactics as ‘Willie Horton’ ad  —  Former Gov. and 1988 Democratic Presidential nominee Michael Dukakis: Getty Image  —  Former Gov. Michael Dukakis said Monday that John McCain's presidential campaign is using the same race-based tactics that were used against him in his 1988 presidential run.

The Battle Plan II: Sarah “Evita” Palin, the Muse of the Coming Police State  —  Please understand what you are looking at when you look at Sarah “Evita” Palin.  You are looking at the designated muse of the coming American police state.  —  You have to understand how things work …

Not Buying It  —  Why Secretary Paulson's plan to bail out the financial industry needs a better explanation.  —  We are embarking on the most radical transformation of the American economy since the New Deal, committing hundreds of billions in taxpayer money to save banks …

Chris Dodd Stares Down Paulson  —  So there was “Goldman” Hank, holding a gun on the economy and staring Congress down.  “Give me the 700 billion, or the economy gets it!” he threatened.  For two days it looked like he was going to get away with it, 700 billion dollars to spend on the Wall Street gang …

Now is the Time to Resist Wall Street's Shock Doctrine  —  I wrote The Shock Doctrine in the hopes that it would make us all better prepared for the next big shock.  Well, that shock has certainly arrived, along with gloves-off attempts to use it to push through radical pro-corporate policies …

Obama, McCain In Tight Race in Va., Poll Shows  —  Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are locked in an extremely competitive race for Virginia's 13 electoral votes amid widespread public anxiety over the economy and the direction the country is heading, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Biden criticizes Obama ad hitting McCain as technologically inept  —  Joe Biden offered perhaps his most off-message statement yet since being tapped as Barack Obama's running mate, saying in an interview that he thought one of his campaign's own ads was “terrible” and hadn't know about it in advance.

Sitting Room Only for Obama in Green Bay  —  Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin packed the house last week in Green Bay, Wis., at the Resch Center.  —  Not so today in the same arena with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., as ABC News' Sunlen Miller captured in these photos.  — jpt