Police: More than 100,000 watch Obama  —  Standing in front of more than 100,000 supporters in Civic Center park, Barack Obama said today he is ready for the final nine days of the presidential campaign and vowed to stay focused on improving the country's faltering economy.

Red, White And MILF  —  The new face of Republicanism:  —  How many Sarah Palins will be in Halloween parties this year?

US special forces launch rare attack inside Syria … DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - U.S. military helicopters launched an extremely rare attack Sunday on Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq, killing eight people in a strike the government in Damascus condemned as “serious aggression.”

PIT BULL TURNS ON MCMAVERICK  —  NOW PALIN'S BUCKING HER OWN TICKET  —  By CARL CAMPANILE in Mesilla, NM, and GINGER ADAMS OTIS in NY  —  Sarah Palin is the rogue elephant in the GOP war room.  —  The maverick mom is distancing herself from John McCain and blowing off the advice …

Goodbye To All That  —  Steve Chapman expresses the core reason for Obama's success: … It is what Reagan did as well.  And the great crushing blow of this campaign is to have watched John McCain run a campaign that is, at its worst, “the systematic organization of hatreds.”

Rush Limbaugh Explains It all  —  This Rush Limbaugh monologue is a fascinating document, and should be required reading for anyone seeking to understand one of the most powerful conservative narratives emerging around the looming GOP debacle.  For Rush, there are only two kinds of people …

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Chuck Todd, Charlie Cook, Kelly O'Donnell  —  MR. TOM BROKAW: Our issues this Sunday: With just nine days to go, polls show Obama widening his lead over McCain while the Republican vice presidential nominee comes under increased criticism.  What will be McCain's final message to undecided voters?

McCain guarantees victory  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press” that he can “guarantee” a win on Nov. 4 in a squeaker victory that won't be clear until late that night.  —  McCain spoke amid signs of a tightening race, and reports of renewed determination among his staff …

Kyl, in interview, voices doubt about McCain's chances  —  Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl expressed some doubt in a recent interview that his seatmate, John McCain, will be elected president next month.  —  During a visit to the Arizona Daily Star last week for an editorial board meeting …

Closing, tomorrow  —  The Obama campaign says the candidate will debut his “closing argument,” a kind of campaign ritual, tomorrow in Canton, Ohio.  —  The speech, according to the campaign, “lays out the choice in this election and details how he will fix our economy and bring the change we need to Washington.”

Choosing Corsi  —  Stanley Kurtz takes my short item last night on the New Party as symbolic of everything that's wrong with the coverage of Obama: “a bias against conservative concerns, combined with an utterly incurious and credulous acceptance of even the most questionable assertions by Obama supporters.”

Judge dismisses juror in Stevens case  —  The judge overseeing Sen. Ted Stevens's corruption trial dismissed one juror Sunday evening and ordered deliberations to restart just eight days before the Alaska Republican stands for reelection.  —  Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said Sunday he planned …

Jesse Jackson Jr. hopes to replace Obama in Senate  —  Illinois political insiders say Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who defended Barack Obama after his father famously threatened to castrate him, is the favorite to replace the Democratic nominee in the Senate.  —  Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) …