UPI: 200 former U.S. diplomats endorse Obama

"More than 200 former U.S. diplomats have signed a statement announcing their support for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama."

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Newsweek: Palin Is Ready? Please., by Fareed Zakaria

"Will someone please put Sarah Palin out of her agony?"

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Huffington Post: Latest Palin Gaffe: Can't Name Supreme Court Case Other Than Roe V. Wade

"Today, the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz reported on potentially embarrassing clips of Sarah Palin being interviewed by Katie Couric that haven't yet been aired."

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The Atlantic: Sure They Vetted Her, by Andrew Sullivan

"Capitol Hill sources are telling me that senior McCain people are more than concerned about Palin. The campaign has held a mock debate and a mock press conference; both are being described as “disastrous.”"

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Huffington Post: Why the Debates Won't Matter (Hint: It's a Felony)

"This election won't be won or lost at the debates. Nor will it be determined by the two campaigns' 'ground games' -- their get-out-the-vote efforts. Nor, unfortunately, will its outcome even depend on how many Americans wake up on Election Day intending to vote for one candidate or the other. Instead, my fear is that the Electoral College results will hang on the swing state voting systems' vulnerability to sabotage."

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FiveThirtyEight.com: McCain Is Stuck With Palin

"McCain already runs the risk of his campaign appearing to be something of a three-ring circus, with Britney Spears in one ring, Palin in another, and the 'suspension' of his campaign in a third. To replace Palin now might make his campaign seem like a farce."

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New York Times: Palin’s Words Raise Red Flags

"If, on the other hand, it becomes clear that her performance, so far, is an accurate reflection of her qualifications, it would behoove John McCain and the Republican Party to put the country first — as Mr. McCain loves to say — and find a replacement for Ms. Palin on the ticket."

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CBS News: Early Poll Results Suggest More Uncommitted Voters Saw Obama As Debate Winner

"Forty percent of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. Twenty-two percent thought John McCain won. Thirty-eight percent saw it as a draw."

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Huffington Post: Jack Cafferty: If Sarah Palin Being One Heartbeat Away "Doesn't Scare The Hell Out Of You, It Should"

"He warned the viewers: 'If John McCain wins this woman will be one 72-year-old's heartbeat away from being President of the United States. And if that doesn't scare the hell out of you, it should.'"

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The Atlantic: I've now seen much of the Katie Couric / Sarah Palin interview... by James Fallows

"... and I genuinely feel sorry for Palin. This really is pathetic. Again it's not a mass/elite matter. Anyone who has been to high school immediately recognizes the terror of facing a pop quiz or an oral exam when you just have no idea what you're talking about."

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AFP: Kenyan witch-hunter blesses Palin in new Internet video

"An Internet video showing Sarah Palin being blessed by a Kenyan witch-hunter emerged Thursday in the latest online blast from the Republican vice-presidential nominee's past."

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Christian Science Monitor: McCain cancels Letterman. Letterman rips McCain

"...when John McCain cancelled on Letterman - at the last minute - you could hardly expect that the comic would take it easy on him. He didn’t."

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New York Times: Palin’s American Exception

"Behind Palinism lies anger. It’s been growing as America’s relative decline has become more manifest in falling incomes, imploding markets, massive debt and rising new centers of wealth and power from Shanghai to Dubai."

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FiveThirtyEight.com: AM Trackers Suggest Poor Reaction to McCain Announcement

"We'll have polling data rolling in all day, of course, but the very early returns suggest that the public may not have responded in the way John McCain might have liked to his announcement yesterday that he was 'suspending' his campaign to attend to the financial crisis."

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New York Times: McCain Aide’s Firm Was Paid by Freddie Mac Through August

"One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement."

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FiveThirtyEight.com: Remains Of The Day

"Americans feel about the debates they way I felt about Bugs Bunny. The cumulative audience between the three Presidential debates will likely significantly exceed that of the Super Bowl. They like watching them, and look forward to them. If McCain denies them that pleasure, they are likely to be angry with him, perhaps in ways they have difficulty expressing."

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CNN Poll: GOP takes brunt of blame for economy, Obama gains

"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 — one factor that may have contributed to an apparent increase in Barack Obama’s edge over John McCain in the race for the White House."

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Washington Post: Joe Biden, Enjoying the Campaign Trail

"Biden seems to enjoy having journalists following him around, if only to have more people listen to his running commentary on whatever springs to his mind. A CBS reporter following Biden around estimated Biden has done 80 interviews since he was named vice president, compared to two by Palin."

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Washington Post: McCain Loses His Head, by George Will

"Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama."

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New York Times: The Push to ‘Otherize’ Obama

"What is happening, I think, is this: religious prejudice is becoming a proxy for racial prejudice. In public at least, it’s not acceptable to express reservations about a candidate’s skin color, so discomfort about race is sublimated into concerns about whether Mr. Obama is sufficiently Christian."

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