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VIDEO: Watch Sarah Palin Read Her Answers In Last Night's Debate — For Sarah Palin, last night's debate was an open-book exam. She spent much of the evening methodically reading and rehearsing answers from “carefully scripted talking points.” Palin's notes were largely hidden from plain view …
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Palin Disagrees With Michigan Pullout, Takes Second Stab at ‘Gotcha’ Questions — Sarah Palin, in an interview with FOX News, disagreed Friday with the McCain campaign's decision to pull out of Michigan. — FOXNews.com — Sarah Palin criticized John McCain's decision to pull campaign resources …

Hail Mary vs. Cool Barry — Krauthammer's Hail Mary Rule: You get only two per game. John McCain, unfortunately, has already thrown three. The first was his bet on the surge, a deep pass to David Petraeus who miraculously ran it all the way into the end zone.


Palin meets expectations but still falls short — ST. LOUIS — Millions of Americans were watching Thursday night's vice-presidential debate waiting for a demolition derby moment — another crash by GOP running mate Sarah Palin, another serving of raw material for the writers at “Saturday Night Live.”
Discussion:
The Swamp, The Republic of T., The Nation, New York Times, Guardian, Power Line and Los Angeles Times


45% Of Households In Top Local TV Markets Watched Palin and Biden's V.P. Debate — The combined overall household rating for Thursday night's vice presidential debate, in 55 of the 56 local television markets where Nielsen maintains electronic TV meters, was 45.0.

The Palin Rebound — There are some moments when members of a political movement come together as one, sharing the same thoughts, feeling the same emotions, breathing the same shallow breaths. One of those occasions occurred Thursday night when Republicans around the country crouched nervously behind …

Final: 69,989,000 viewers — Palin-Biden the most-watched vp debate ever — UPDATED: Thursday's highly anticipated face-off between Alaska governor Sarah Palin and Delaware senator Joe Biden was the most-watched vp debate of all time. — Last night's event was seen by nearly 70 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Discussion:
Nielsen Wire, Power Line, Crooks and Liars, Don Surber, Washington Post, TVNewser, NewsBusters.org and NO QUARTER

Moosehunter — So, I've been quiet thus far, but I figure it's about time I went moose hunting. So let me start off nice and big for ya, in case there's any doubt as to where I stand. Sarah Palin is a stupid, self important, ignorant bitch who I wouldn't put in charge of wiping her own ass.

SHE READ THE CLIFFSNOTES? — Fox gives Sarah Palin a second bite …
Discussion:
The Washington Independent

Who Won VP Debate: A Review of Polls with October 3 pm update
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice

Biden won independents in VP debate
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Top of the Ticket, The Reaction, Spin Cycle, Right Wing Nut House, PERRspectives Blog and The Politico

Why McCain Goes Easy on Fannie and the CRA — Here is the big question of the moment that many GOPers are asking: Why is John McCain not tearing into Barack Obama and the Dems on the huge role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Community Reinvestment Act in the financial crisis on Wall Street?
Discussion:
The Jawa Report, Weekly Standard, The Independent, Wall Street Journal, protein wisdom, The Corner and Michelle Malkin
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Bill O'Reilly Battles Rep. Barney Frank Over Financial Crisis
Discussion:
Pam's House Blend

Gallup Daily: Obama Leading by 7 Points — Today marks full week of Obama leading by significant margin — PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Sept. 30-Oct. 2 has Barack Obama leading John McCain by seven percentage points, 49% to 42%. — Obama has held a statistically significant lead …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice
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The VP Debate: Odd Moments — In every debate, there are odd moments that tend to pass unnoticed because they do not concern the central issues of the day. Thursday night's vice-presidential debate featured two such episodes. In one, Sen. Joseph Biden was illogical on the matter of gay rights.
Discussion:
The Volokh Conspiracy
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Bush Signs Rescue Bill After House Vote — WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives gave final approval on Friday to the $700 billion bailout for the financial system, reversing course to authorize what may be the most expensive government intervention in history.
Discussion:
The Hill, Michelle Malkin, Economix, Slog, Feministe, Washington Monthly, Portfolio, Spin Cycle, TalkLeft, American Power and Wonkette
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Projecting through the Screen — A very wise TV executive once told me that the key to TV is projecting through the screen. It's one of the keys to the success of, say, a Bill O'Reilly, who comes through the screen and grabs you by the throat. Palin too projects through the screen like crazy.
Discussion:
Think Progress, The Daily Dish, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, Alas, a blog, Undiplomatic, Emptywheel, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Wonkette

McCain Campaign's Ad Spending Now Nearly 100 Percent Devoted To Attack Ads — The McCain campaign has now shifted virtually 100 percent of his national ad spending into negative ads attacking Obama, a detailed breakdown of his ad buys reveals. — By contrast, the Obama campaign is devoting less …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Firedoglake, Taegan Goddard's …, The RBC, Balkinization and TalkLeft

Old flame cited as part of McCain's Latin experience — Sen. John McCain's senior foreign policy adviser cites a steamy romance 50 years ago with a Brazilian babe among the things that illustrate the candidate's decades-long interest in Latin America — Speaking at an Americas Conference …

McCain Michigan Campaign Co-Chair Urges Palin On — Chuck Yob, the long-time McCain-supporting ex-member of the Republican National Committee, writes to Sarah Palin and urges Palin to pressure her boss into reconsidering his campaign's decision to withdraw from Michigan.
Discussion:
Emptywheel
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Palin Out Of The Loop On Decision To Pull Out Of Michigan
Discussion:
Emptywheel

FBI raids Obama friend's office — The FBI on Wednesday raided the county offices of a former Illinois state senator who is a poker-playing buddy of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. — According to Chicago authorities, the FBI visited the offices in Joliet, Ill. …