Video: Obama Draws 100,000 at Rally in St. Louis

Sen. Barack Obama's rally at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis drew a mind-boggling 100,000 people today, St. Louis police authorities estimated. In his speech, Obama highlighted taxes as the issue of the day.

Obama called taxes a values issue and said Sen. John McCain’s position valued wealth more than the work that creates it. He answered the GOP claim that his plan to provide tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans would amount to welfare for the 40 percent the Arizona senator says don’t pay federal income taxes by saying he would only provide a tax break to people who are paying payroll taxes.

“John McCain is so out of touch with the struggles you’re facing that he must be the first politician in history to call a tax cut for working people welfare. Well, let me tell you, the only welfare in this campaign is John McCain’s plan to give another $200 billion in tax cuts to the wealthiest corporations in America -- including $4 billion in tax breaks to big oil companies that ran up record profits under George Bush. That’s who John McCain’s fighting for. I’m fighting for you.”

He also told the enthusiastic crowd that “America is ready for change and yet even as we face the most serious economic crisis of our time; even as you are worried about keeping your jobs or paying your bills or staying in your homes, my opponent’s campaign announced earlier this month that they want to quote 'turn the page' on the discussion about our economy so they can spend the final weeks of this election attacking me instead. You guys have seen the ads, some of you are getting the phone calls. Sen. McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, 'if we keep on talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.' ”

Here is the full text of his speech (prepared remarks) on KSDK's web site. That's Channel 5, the NBC affiliate, in St. Louis.

Media Continues Attacking Joe the Plumber

Samuel J. Wurzelbacher is the most famous guy in American politics today. Better known as "Joe the Plumber," he caught up with Sen. Barack Obama campaigning in his neighborhood last week in Holland, Ohio, and had the opportunity to ask the presidential candidate about his tax program. In case you have been hiding under a rock and haven't seen it, here's the exchange:



Joe's question was in a nutshell "Why should I be penalized for working hard and being successful?" At one point, after explaining the details of his plan, Obama states: "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success too," Obama responded. "My attitude is that if the economy's good for folks from the bottom up, it's gonna be good for everybody ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

That's when the firestorm started. Sen. John McCain started to use that as an illustration of what he says is Obama's socialist economic philosophy. Joe has become the focus point of McCain's advertisements and debate talking points.

All of this seemed fair. The guy asked someone who is running for public office a question about his tax policy, and he got an answer that focused on that policy.

What has not been fair is that this guy's personal and professional life has been now placed on the altar of sacrifice in the media.

He has had reporters camped out on his front lawn for days. His licensing status has been under scrutiny by no less than The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, and Washington Post (He says he works under his company's owner license). He apparently owes the the state about $1,100 in personal income tax (The state filed a lien on Jan. 26, 2007, and the payment remains outstanding. But the court rep has told the media that this all may have occurred without Wurzelbacher's knowledge). He is registered as a Republican, and voted in the state's GOP primary in March (some media suggested that he was a plant but the video above shows Obama approached him and initiate the conversation). He previously was registered in the Natural Law Party. He has lived in McCain's home state of Arizona, and he once lived in Gov. Sarah Palin's home state of Alaska.

Does all this matter? Does any of it disqualify him from asking Obama a question about taxes? Is there any real reason for the media to go on a full-frontal assault on a private citizen, unless it's that the national media might want to discredit a guy who asked Obama a tough question?

Would the flip side be true? What if McCain was asked a tough question at a rally by a private citizen and then gave an answer that Obama could use in campaign ads? I would bet my bottom dollar that the national media would hold up that citizen as a hero, and never once go into a full-court investigation into his past.

Here is Joe defending his positions in an interview with Diane Sawyer. He gave good advice for voters to get answers from politicians themselves, not second hand.



Some of the media attacks on Joe have been way over the top. Bill Maher called him "Joe the Liar" on CNN's "Larry King Live", and said that he's living in a fantasy world thinking he might make $250,000 a year one day. Bloggers on the Daily Kos are foaming at the mouth. Among other things, he has been referred to as a right-wing loon.. Sam Stein, writing on the Huffington Post, declares that Joe is unqualified to asked a tax question because he is not a tax expert.

Another line of attack on Joe the Plumber and his instant celebrity status is that he wasn't properly vetted by the McCain campaign, as noted in this Politico story by Carrie Budoff Brown and Amie Parnes. Does the McCain campaign have to vet any citizen who asks Obama a question? Apparently the media thinks so.

Here's a conversation on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360", where the consensus is that politics should be left for the media and politicians, not average citizens.

ANDERSON COOPER: So, David, is McCain benefiting from all the attention that Joe is getting?

DAVID GERGEN: (Laughs) Well, I think he was for a while. But I -- when we found out he was Sam the non-plumber, it changed a little bit.

(Roland Martin laughs.)

GERGEN: I'm glad you had to -- give him a chance, though, to voice his opinion, because he does -- I think he does give voice to those of a lot of Americans who don't often get on national television. So, I thought that's fine. But I think we are going to move on pretty fast. I can't -- I -- it does illustrate, as well, Anderson -- I don't understand why the McCain team didn't vet the guy before they made such a -- you know, made such a focus on him on national television. I can guarantee you that the George W. Bush campaign, you know, which ran a highly disciplined campaign, would have vetted and would have known before he went out there about his status -- his personal status. You feel a little sorry for him, that he got put in this position.

COOPER: Yeah. You know, Roland, we just heard Obama kind of joking about McCain's support for Joe the non-plumber, or sort of the plumber, or whatever he is. Does Obama, though, need to be careful? I mean, he warned his own supporters today about being complacent. Does Obama need to be careful about coming off as a little bit, kind of dismissive at times?

ROLAND MARTIN: Well, I think so. I mean, again, the -- the issue is not really this individual guy and his background. It's really what this guy represents, and so, I think what Obama has to do is -- he's not getting caught playing around with Joe, you know, the fake plumber or whatever -- but, again, stay focused on the big issues. If you saw how he scored well last night -- he scored well when he got to health care. I mean, numbers were off the charts -- when he focused on education. Even when he gave a very strong answer dealing with the Supreme Court -- if he stays focused on those issues, not dealing with the small issues, he looks larger. He looks more presidential. That's where he has to remain and, again, get his people to the polls. Turnout is key.

COOPER: Ed, the reaction shots last night, side by side -- you saw John McCain often kind of being dismissive of Obama. You saw Obama, at times, smiling and kind of laughing at some of the things John McCain was saying, kind of shaking his head. How do you think that played out, and how can John McCain have allowed himself to be caught like that?

ED ROLLINS: First of all, let me just give a little advice, unsolicited advice to Joe the plumber. Get Joe the plumber on your truck with a 1-800 number and keep your mouth shut and go make a fortune doing plumbing work.

(Cooper, Gergen, and Martin laugh.)

COOPER: Get a license to be a plumber, and start doing it.

ROLLINS: Absolutely. Be a plumber. Do what you do well.

So, the advice from CNN is that: Joe, stay out of politics, you're not qualified. Just be a plumber and leave politics to us in the media.

Here he is in an AP report by John Seever talking about what the experience has been like for Joe:

Wurzelbacher, 34, said he doesn't have a good plan put together on how he would buy Newell Plumbing and Heating in nearby Toledo.

He said the business consists of owner Al Newell and him. Wurzelbacher said he's worked there for six years and that the two have talked about his taking it over at some point.

"There's a lot I've got to learn," he said.

Wurzelbacher said he started his day with an early morning workout and came back to his suburban Toledo home to do live interviews with TV networks.

Reporters camped out by his house overnight and by midmorning there were 21 people on his driveway surrounding him, holding cameras and notebooks.

Wurzelbacher said he's feeling overwhelmed.

"I'm kind of like Britney Spears having a headache. Everybody wants to know about it," he joked.

Seems like an average guy who wants to learn as much as he can about his profession and work hard to get ahead in life. That used to be the American Dream.

VIDEO: McCain to Letterman: I Screwed Up

Sen. John McCain had his long-awaited appearance on "Late Night With David Letterman" last night where he apologized to Letterman for canceling his previous engagement. He talks about the race, Joe the Plumber, and how to capture Osama Bin Laden. He also pledges to Letterman that his first executive order will be to raise David's taxes.

Olbermann Watch: Challenge to Keith: Man Up!

The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton, Pa., told Andrew M. Seder of the Times Leader in Wilkes Barre, Pa., that allegations that someone yelled “kill him” when presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama’s name was mentioned during Gov. Sarah Palin rally on Tuesday are unfounded.

The reported incident was widely used in the national media after it appeared in the Scranton Times-Tribune in a story written by David Singleton. Most notably, by Keith Olbermann in a special comment criticizing Palin for not rebuking the comment even though she was not at the rally at the time. Other media that picked it up were
ABC News, The Associated Press, and The Washington Monthly.

The media question now is: will Olbermann admit his mistake somehow tonight and issue some kind of correction? It's standard operating procedure for a journalist or commentator to tell their readers or viewers when he or she has made a mistake.

Agent Bill Slavoski told the Times Leader that he was in the audience, along with other Secret Service agents and other law-enforcement officers and not one heard the comment.

“I was baffled” after reading the article, he told the Times Leader. He said an investigation into the report by the Secret Service found no one who heard the allegation. “We have yet to find someone to back up the story. We had people all over and we have yet to find anyone who said they heard it,” he told the Times Leader.

Slavoski told the Times Leader that the reporter Singleton stood by his story but was unable to describe the man, saying he did not see him, only heard him.

The Times Leader reported that Slavoski said the agents take such threats or comments seriously and immediately opened an investigation but after due diligence “as far as we’re concerned it’s closed unless someone comes forward.”

The same standard applies for the Scranton newspaper. Will it follow up on its reporting? It too should do more research into the matter and tell its readers if it has made a mistake, or if it has found some evidence that its original story is indeed true.

Olbermann Watch - MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann: Challenge to Keith: Man Up! (Thursday Recappers Thread)

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FiveThirtyEight.com: Drudge Poll Report Unreliable

Matt Drudge has been heavily promoting a poll on the Drudge Report that shows the presidential campaign is back to a two-point difference between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama. But Nate Silver, writing for FiveThirtyEight.com, has noted in his blog that the poll is old and unreliable.

You may never have heard of the AP-Yahoo poll before. This is for good reason, since a look at the fine print reveals that it's not really intended for its horse race numbers (the AP uses a separate agency, GfK, for those).

For one thing, the poll is not timely. It entered the field on October 3 -- two weeks ago -- and left the field on October 13, which was this Monday.

For another thing, it's an internet-based poll: The survey was conducted using the web-enabled KnowledgePanelSM, a probability-based Panel designed to be representative of the U.S. population. Initially, participants are chosen scientifically by a random selection of telephone numbers. Persons in selected households are then invited by telephone to participate in the webenabled KnowledgePanelSM. For those who agree to participate, but do not already have Internet access, Knowledge Networks provides at no cost an Internet appliance and Internet service connection. People who already have computers and Internet service are permitted to participate using their own equipment. Panelists then receive unique log-in information for accessing surveys online, and then are sent emails three to four times a month inviting them to participate in research.

For a third thing, it has no likely voter screen, and the horse race question does not even appear to have a registered voter screen ... it's a poll of all adults.

VIDEO: McCain, Obama Bring House Down at Alfred Smith Dinner

Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama both spoke last night at the Alfred E. Smith dinner n New York, which is traditionally the last side-by-side appearance of two presidential candidates before an election. It is always an opportunity for the candidates to poke fun at each other and themselves.

The roast, which raised $3.9 million to help underprivileged children, is dedicated to the memory of former Democratic New York Gov. Al Smith, the first Catholic to win the presidential nomination of a major political party, who lost to Republican Herbert Hoover in 1928 in a landslide.

McCain got the most laughs, taking jabs at himself, Hillary and Bill Clinton, and Obama. He even took a stab at Keith Olbermann and the folks at MSNBC. Both Hillary and Obama got good laughs from McCain. Here is Part 1 of his speech:



Here is part 2 of McCain's speech, where he praises Obama for his accomplishments during the campaign:



Here is Obama's speech. He took on himself with remarks about his ears and his middle name, which he said was actually "Steve." He got some groans comparing the dinner to an AIG event, but overall he was gracious and entertaining as well.

Secret Service: Media Report of Man Yelling 'Kill Him' at Palin Rally Unfounded

The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton, Pa., told Andrew M. Seder of the Times Leader in Wilkes Barre, Pa., that allegations that someone yelled “kill him” when presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama’s name was mentioned during Gov. Sarah Palin rally on Tuesday are unfounded.

The reported incident was widely used in the national media after it appeared in the Scranton Times-Tribune in a story written by David Singleton. Most notably, by Keith Olbermann in a special comment criticizing Palin for not rebuking the comment even though she was not at the rally at the time. Other media that picked it up were
ABC News, The Associated Press, and The Washington Monthly.

Agent Bill Slavoski told the Times Leader that he was in the audience, along with other Secret Service agents and other law-enforcement officers and not one heard the comment.

“I was baffled” after reading the article, he told the Times Leader. He said an investigation into the report by the Secret Service found no one who heard the allegation. “We have yet to find someone to back up the story. We had people all over and we have yet to find anyone who said they heard it,” he told the Times Leader.

Slavoski told the Times Leader that the reporter Singleton stood by his story but was unable to describe the man, saying he did not see him, only heard him.

The Times Leader reported that Slavoski said the agents take such threats or comments seriously and immediately opened an investigation but after due diligence “as far as we’re concerned it’s closed unless someone comes forward.”

Joe the Plumber: I Don't Like Obama's Tax Plan

Joe Wurzelbacher, better known to the world as "Joe the Plumber," told ABC News' Nightline's Terry Moran last night that he doesn't like what Sen. Barack Obama is planning in the way of taxes.

"To be honest with you, that infuriates me," Wurzelbacher said in referring to Obama's tax plan. "It's not right for someone to decide you made too much---that you've done too good and now we're going to take some of it back.

"That's just completely wrong," he added.

"I don't like it," said Wurzelbacher. "You know, me or -- you know, Bill Gates, I don't care who you are. If you worked for it, if it was your idea, and you implemented it, it's not right for someone to decide you made too much."

Video of Joe the Plumber

Here's Joe the Plumber, the star of the debate.

The Presidential Debate Blog: Vice Presidential Debate Live Blog Tonight at 9PM

The Presidential Debate Blog: Vice Presidential Debate Live Blog Tonight at 9PM

What Are Those Squiggly Lines on CNN Actually For? Ratings?

Sam Boyd, writing for the American Prospect, has an excellent point about the viewer dials that CNN uses during the debate. All my wife and I could tell is that McCain supporters liked what McCain was saying, Obama supporters liked what Obama was saying, and independents liked everything:

CNN has seized on the visual power of dial-testing data -- the positions of each dial are aggregated and the resulting numbers are plotted as a line on a graph with the vertical axis representing how positive people feel and the horizontal line representing the time -- as a way to modernize the look of its debate coverage. "If you look at all my colleagues' coverage of the debate, it looks like it could have been done 25 years ago," explains CNN election-coverage producer David Bohrman, who made the decision to broadcast dial-testing results during the debate.

But, besides goosing CNN's ratings, what exactly is the point of broadcasting dial-testing results during a debate? (Both Fox and MSNBC use dial-testing groups for post-debate analysis but do not put the results on screen during the debate.) Skeptics of the network's use of dial-testing point to uncertainty over the meaning of the results, problems with the composition of focus groups, and the distorting effect of watching the debate with a dial in hand. CNN counters that displaying the results keeps viewers engaged and gives them a baseline against which to measure their reactions.

Olbermann Watch: Keith Kicks Off Special Comment With a Lie

Keith Olbermann played a little game with the truth last night during his special comment in which he noted that at 1:25 p.m., "during the warm-up act [in Scranton, Pa.] by a red meat Congressional candidate aptly named Chris Hackett, Hackett mentions Obama and a Palin audience member shouts, "Kill Him." And Gov. Palin, as usual, does nothing about it; says nothing to these thugs and psychos. She may not have heard this one. It is impossible to believe that by now she has not heard about the other ones. Her silence is deafening."

Problem was, according to Scanton Times-Tribune report, the press pool did not arrive until 15 minutes later, and that Palin didn't walk on stage until almost 2 p.m. Matter of fact, it's quite possible that Palin was busy at 1:15 p.m. talking on the cell phone with Rush Limbaugh as part of her live interview on his program.

GOVERNOR PALIN: Hey. Thank you so much and dittos from Scranton.

RUSH: Scranton, Pennsylvania, on the bus?

GOVERNOR PALIN: We just got off the bus. We're heading into a rally here, but wanted to take a couple of minutes to get to say hi and let you know what we're doin', Rush.

It was probably difficult for Palin to hear the audience member when A.) She was not there and B.) She was talking on the cell phone. But that didn't stop Olbermann ranting last night. Does that make him the Worst Person in the World?

Here is Olbermann Watch, which dissects the special comment:

Olbermann Watch - MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann: Olbermann Kicks Off Special Komment with a Lie

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Obama Camp Releases Predebate Talking Points

There really isn't much here, but Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is so confident these days that it is releasing its talking points to the media. If you have spent five minutes watching any cable news show this afternoon, you've heard these.

Here are the Democrats' talking points:

· This is John McCain’s last chance to turn this race around and somehow convince the American people that his erratic response to this economic crisis doesn’t disqualify him from being President.

· Just this weekend, John McCain vowed to “whip Obama’s you-know-what” at the debate, and he’s indicated that he’ll be bringing up Bill Ayers to try to distract voters.

· So we know that Senator McCain will come ready to attack Barack Obama and bring his dishonorable campaign tactics to the debate stage.

Obama continues to lead on the economic crisis with a rescue plan for Main Street.

* Over the course of the campaign, Barack Obama has laid out a set of policies that will grow our middle class and strengthen our economy.

* But he knows we face an immediate economic emergency that requires urgent action — on top of the plans he’s already laid out — to help workers and families and communities struggling right now.

* That’s why Barack Obama is introducing a comprehensive four-part Rescue Plan for the Middle Class — to immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities, and help struggling homeowners.

* This is a plan that can and should be implemented immediately.

* Obama has shown steady leadership during this crisis and offered concrete solutions to move the country forward and his Rescue Plan for the Middle Class builds on the plans to strengthen the economy and rebuild the middle class that he’s laid out over the course of this campaign.

* Already in this campaign, he’s unveiled plans to give 95 percent of workers and their families a tax cut, eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000, bring down the cost of health care for families and businesses; and create millions of new jobs by investing in the renewable energy sources.

* John McCain has been erratic and unsteady since this crisis began — staggering from position to position and trying to change the subject away from the economy by launching false character attacks.

What is the Bradley Effect?

The hottest item on the cable news channels the past 24 hours? The economy? Nope. The Tampa Bay Rays? No way. It's the Bradley effect.

Pollsters and pundits will tell you that the Bradley effect is when voters tell pollsters they'll vote for the black candidate but actually vote for the white candidate.

Tom Bradley, the African-American mayor of Los Angeles in 1982, ran for governor of California. Weeks before the election, newspapers were reporting that he held a double-digit lead in the race. But in the end, he lost a close election to George Deukmejian, who was the white candidate.

NPR's Mara Liasson has a commentary on the subject:

Seven years later, something similar happened to Doug Wilder in his race for governor of Virginia. Public polls showed him up by 9 to 10 points. And he ended up winning — but only by a few thousand votes.

Wilder says that now the U.S. is an "emerging, evolutionary stage" when it comes to race.

"I like to remind people, however, that if the Wilder effect plays in this election, it'll be good because I won," he says.

A lot has changed since then.

In 2006, Harold Ford — an African-American running for a U.S. Senate seat representing Tennessee — received as many votes as pre-election polls suggested he would. So did Ron Kirk, the black mayor of Dallas, when he ran for the Senate in Texas in 2002.

During this year's Democratic primaries, University of Washington social psychologist Tony Greenwald did a study to see if there was a Bradley or Wilder effect at work in the contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

What he found was surprising. In a few states — California, Rhode Island and New Hampshire — Obama did worse than polls predicted. But in 12 state primaries, he actually did better.

Those were states that have a relatively high black population, Greenwald says. He says there is a reverse Bradley effect.

"What we think is going on there is that people who get the call to participate in the poll, they're asked to say if it's Obama or Clinton," Greenwald says. "They give an answer that's easier to give in their region, and in that region it's easier to say that you favor the white candidate than that you favor the black candidate."

Liasson concludes:

Even so, Ron Walters says race is playing a role in the campaign.

"The presidency is almost an anthropological leadership position. ... It represents the head of a tribe for many people," Walters says. "They want a president to be like them, look like them, etc. And to that extent, there's a lot of emotional content about who the president of the United States is. … Barack Obama — part of the politics of this election is that he's been trying to overcome that cultural barrier."

The consensus seems to be that while there are people who will not vote for Obama because he's black, there are probably a lot fewer of them who are willing to lie about it to pollsters.

Casey Anthony Indicted on Murder Charge in Case of Missing Caylee

Casey Anthony, the mother of missing 3-year-old Caylee, was arrested Tuesday and charged in an indictment with killing her daughter. She was taken into custody in Orlando after apparently trying to elude officers in a car switch under a highway overpass.

A grand jury indicted Casey Anthony on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to investigators about the disappearance of Caylee, state attorney Lawson Lamar said. The mother is being held without bond. The indictment can be seen here.

If convicted of first-degree murder she could face the death penalty or life in prison, but prosecutors said no decision has been made on whether the death penalty will be sought.

Here is video of Caylee's grandfather outside of the courthouse, where he appeared before the grand jury.



After the indictment, undercover officers followed Casey Anthony as she traveled in her mother’s SUV. The officers saw the SUV stop under a highway overpass, at which point Anthony got into another vehicle and drove off. Officers made the traffic stop after she entered the second vehicle, the spokesman said. She was then arrested and escorted to jail.

There is a preliminary hearing scheduled Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Jesse Jackson: Obama Will End Decades of U.S. Putting Israel's Interests First

The Rev. Jesse Jackson told the New York Post's Amir Taheri that he promises "fundamental changes" in U.S. foreign policy, and that the country must heal wounds it has caused to other nations, revive its alliances and apologize for the "arrogance of the Bush administration." Taheri writes:

The most important change would occur in the Middle East, where "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would end.

Jackson believes that, although "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong, they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House.

"Obama is about change," Jackson told me in a wide-ranging conversation. "And the change that Obama promises is not limited to what we do in America itself. It is a change of the way America looks at the world and its place in it."

It's a wide-ranging interview that touches on a number of subjects, from the Bradley effect (whether people may be telling pollsters they favor the black candidate, but won't end up voting for him.) to economics and more foreign affairs:

On Iran, he strongly supports Obama's idea of opening a direct dialogue with the leadership in Tehran. "We've got to talk to tell them what we want and hear what they want," Jackson says. "Nothing is gained by not talking to others."

Would that mean ignoring the four UN Security Council resolutions that demand an end to Iran's uranium-enrichment program? Jackson says direct talks wouldn't start without preparations.

"Barack wants an aggressive and dynamic diplomacy," he says. "He also wants adequate preparatory work. We must enter the talks after the ground has been prepared," he says.

Jackson is especially critical of President Bush's approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

"Bush was so afraid of a snafu and of upsetting Israel that he gave the whole thing a miss," Jackson says. "Barack will change that," because, as long as the Palestinians haven't seen justice, the Middle East will "remain a source of danger to us all."

"Barack is determined to repair our relations with the world of Islam and Muslims," Jackson says. "Thanks to his background and ecumenical approach, he knows how Muslims feel while remaining committed to his own faith."

Palin Tells Rush Limbaugh: The Media Wants Me to Shut Up, That's Not Going to Happen

Appearing on Rush Limbaugh's radio show this afternoon, Gov. Sarah Palin talked about her relationship with the national media.

RUSH: This is an attempt by the media to make you stop being who you are. What it means is, they're really worried about the effectiveness that you have.

PALIN: Well, yeah, I guess that message is they do want me to sit down and shut up. But that's not going to happen. I care too much about this great country. Now, yes, speaking of some of those associations -- and you're right; mainstream media is not holding Barack Obama accountable -- let's talk quickly about ACORN and the unconscionable situation that we're facing right now with voter fraud. And given the ties between Obama and ACORN and the money that his campaign has sent them and the job that he had with them in the past, Obama has a responsibility to rein in ACORN and prove that he's willing to fight voter fraud. We called him on it.

Later in the conversation there is more discussion about the media and how it has handled the campaign.

RUSH: I don't mean to always harp on the media here because everybody does this, but this is a true observation here. If it weren't for the media covering up for Obama and presenting him as a person he's not, he would be at 30% in the polls. Your odds, therefore, are formidable, the things that you and Senator McCain have to overcome in these last three weeks because you're not only waging a race. This is my opinion. She's not saying this, folks. I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, Governor, but you're waging a race not just against Obama and Biden. You're waging a race against most of the mainstream media in this country. One of the things I have to go back and ask you before we lose our time with you. It's something that profoundly offended me. You have borne up under this well. You're from Alaska; thrust onto the national stage. They start these attempts to destroy you, based on your apparent treasonous behavior to feminism. How did it make you feel when they said you had no business being chosen for vice president because you have a child to raise?

PALIN: Oh, isn't that something? The double standards are something else. But, you know what? If my skin isn't thick enough to take those petty immature shots that are coming from some of them on the other side, then I have no business thinking that I could serve as vice president. And keeping it in perspective, too, Rush when you consider the true shots that actually hurt people across America -- those who are worried about losing their homes, their jobs; maybe their kid or their spouse is over in the war zone, they're worried about that person's safety -- those are the true shots that really matter in America today. So the political... (cell phone drops)

She did reconnect the phone call. The transcript and audio of the whole interview is here at Limbaugh's site.

Politico's Top Editor: Obama Poised for a Blowout

Politico's chief editor John F. Harris told students at St. Lawerence University in upstate New York this week that there is a fundamental political shift in the wind, and that the Republicans will be on the outside looking in.

"Republicans are on the verge of a rout that could leave them virtually powerless in Washington. The era of trench warfare between the parties might be over," Harris said. "I'll be back by Thanksgiving if I'm wrong."

"We are on the brink of an Electoral College blowout, and there is a possibility for huge Democratic gains in the Senate, which means Barack Obama could be the most powerful president we've seen since George W. Bush in the years immediately following 9-11, or Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. That shows how starkly the premises of national politics have changed.

"Reporters like me that started covering politics in the 1980s thought Republicans were better at the game. They were skilled in the dark arts. This year, what's different is we've found a candidate who at first blush looks to be more vulnerable because of his background, but turns out to be much more disciplined and effective at controlling his public image."

U.S. to Buy Shares of Nine Major Banks

President Bush, in an announcement from the White House's Rose Garden this morning, released the details a $250 billion plan by the federal government to purchase shares in the nation's leading banks, saying the plan was "not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it."

Nine major banks will participate, including all of the country's largest institutions. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had to pessure some on the banks into joining the program. Paulson had targeted healthy institutions that did not necessarily need capital from the government to remove any stigma that might be associated with banks getting bailouts.

Paulson told reporters that "today's actions are what we must do to restore confidence in our financial system.

"We regret having to take these actions. Today's actions are not what we ever wanted to do — but today's actions are what we must do to restore confidence to our financial system."

Obama Says His Tax Plan Designed to Redistribute Wealth

Sen. Barack Obama better start choosing his words a little more carefully while he defends his big lead in the polls.

Talking to a plumber in Ohio yesterday, this is how he described his tax plan:

"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success, too." The plan, Obama tells the voter, is to "spread the wealth around."

Critics have long compared his proposal to socialism, describing his tax plan as a Robin Hood adventure. Framing his tax policy vision this way will only fuel those criticisms.

Here is the video.

The Tax Policy Center has this to say about Obama's and Sen. John McCain's tax proposals:

Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years, according to a newly updated analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. Obama would give larger tax cuts to low- and moderate-income households and pay some of the cost by raising taxes on high-income taxpayers. In contrast, McCain would cut taxes across the board and give the biggest cuts to the highest-income households.

Neither candidate?s plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified.

Compared to current law, TPC estimates the Obama plan would cut taxes by $2.9 trillion from 2009-2018. McCain would reduce taxes by nearly $4.2 trillion. These projections assume the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire in 2010 and that the Alternative Minimum Tax is fully effective.

Here is the center's entire report, written by Roberton Williams and Howard Gleckman. The Tax Policy Center is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. The Center is made up of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government.

Government to Take Control of Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday

The Times of London is reporting that the British government will move to take control of the Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday morning by injecting £20 billion of taxpayers’ money.

The Government is also expected to take over HBOS in the most dramatic extension of state ownership in the British economy since the war. The bank’s rescue takeover by Lloyds TSB appeared to be on the brink of collapse [Sunday] night.

As governments around the world scramble to prevent the collapse of the global financial system, Alistair Darling will unveil plans for a £40 billion “recapitalisation” of the banking sector.

The announcement, expected to be made before the London Stock Exchange opens [Monday] morning, could involve the taxpayer taking big stakes in other banks including Lloyds TSB and Barclays, if investors do not answer the call to buy shares.

Left Starting to Smell Blood With Obama Win

Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos, is gleeful over Sen. Barack Obama's prospects in a few weeks and what it means to conservatives:

So with conservatives bracing for the worse, they won't experience the kind of pain we did. Not unless we deliver a defeat even worse than their worst nightmares. And I'll be honest with you -- I want them to hurt as much as we did. I want their spirits crushed, their backs broken.

So the way we do that is we deliver a defeat worse than they ever imagined. We do that by winning states that have no business turning Blue -- like North Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, and so on -- states that were easy Bush victories in 2004. We do that by electing a 60-seat supermajority in the Senate. We do that by defeating their leadership, like Mitch McConnell in the Senate. We do that by defeating their heroes, like wingnut go-to hero John Shadegg. We do that by making sure a record number of Americans reject conservative ideology, leaving it utterly discredited.

The day after the election, I want to see an electoral battlefield littered with defeated Republicans, their ranks demoralized, their treasury in heavy debt, and no real leadership to take the helm. I want a vacuum so complete, that a bloody leadership battle between the neocons, theocons, and corporate cons shakes the GOP to its core, and leaves it fractured and ill-equipped to stymie the progressive agenda, much less ramp up for an even bleaker (for them) 2010.

Guys, that's why I don't worry about complacency. We're not out to win this thing. We're out to crush them. And that's going to require a level of engagement beyond anything you've ever done before. It'll mean more phone banking, more canvassing, more donating. Work on this site keeps me from working the phones or walking precincts (my wife has helped out on those fronts), but I've surrendered a significant portion of my income, way more than my family can really afford, on behalf of the cause. We've all got something to offer, whether it's time or money, and now's the time to offer what we can.

He later wrote in a second posting the next day:

How do we do this? We currently have a 38 seat majority -- 236 to 198. Stephanie Tubbs Jones seat, a safe Democratic one, is vacant.

So get this. We get 31 seats, that would give Democrats a 101 seat majority in the House, 268 to 167.

This isn't about winning. It's about destroying the conservative movement, and their dangerous incompetence has given us an historic opportunity to deliver a killing blow. Leave everything on the road.

This is not just the thinking of a widely read blogger. It has grassroot support. A neighbor of mine, who is well-aligned with liberal thinking, put it to me this way at a recent gathering (Not exact quotes, but pretty close):

Yes, it's not just about winning this year, it's about taking total control. We can get 60 senators and who knows how many congressmen. With a majority like that, we can install any progressive policy we want, eliminate any of a number of ill-advised Republican programs instituted in the past eight years, and set things right. Think about it, progressive stands on taxes, gay rights, global warming, wiretapping and energy will become our country's law.

With 60 votes in the Senate, and with President Obama leading the way, we can impeach any judge that has fought for corporations for years. We can get rid of judges who have fought a woman's right to choose. Heck, we could impeach Roberts, Thomas, Scalia, and Alito and guarantee a progressive court for years to come.

We can leave Iraq quicker than anyone would imagine, and institute a foreign policy that would be based on the rule of law, not brute force. Obama would be able guide us into a foreign policy that respects other nations, and would be respected by the world community, and Republicans would be powerless to stop it.

We are a country that is well on its way to not only correcting W's eight years of terror on the world and ourselves, but we are a step closer to eliminating conservatism as a political force in the United States. With Obama guiding us and leading the way this November, we will finally start shipping the Republican Party to history's scrapheap of failed oppressive political ideologies, joining the likes of Fascism and Communism.

Daily Tracking Polls: Obama Lead Is Solid

Right now, it's all Obama. There is no good news for Sen. John McCain.

Rasmussen Markets data shows on Sunday that Sen. Barack Obama has a 77.1 percent chance of winning in November. Rasmussen Reports has Obama winning the Electoral College, 300-174. Toss-up states are not included, but most lean toward Obama in recent polling.

Real Clear Politics shows Obama up 277-158, but again, most of the toss-ups are pushing toward Obama.

The Zogby Electoral Map is more generous to McCain, giving Obama a lead of only 234-179. It also has McCain ahead in its recent polling in Pennsylvania and Florida, which other pollsters do not.

London Media: Obama Will Win Big; Palin in it for Herself

The London media has started to run its post-mortem stories on the McCain campaign.

Sarah Baxter of The Sunday Times of London says internal infighting in the McCain camp have opened a rift between Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, and that the vice presidential pick is now in it for herself.

McCain has become alarmed about the fury unleashed by Sarah Palin, the moose-hunting “pitbull in lipstick”, against Senator Barack Obama. Cries of “terrorist” and “kill him” have accompanied the tirades by the governor of Alaska against the Democratic nominee at Republican rallies.

Mark Salter, McCain’s long-serving chief of staff, is understood to have told campaign insiders that he would prefer his boss, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, to suffer an “honourable defeat” rather than conduct a campaign that would be out of character – and likely to lose him the election.

Palin, 44, has led the character attacks on Obama in the belief that McCain may be throwing away the election and her chance of becoming vice-president. Her supporters think that if the Republican ticket loses on November 4, she should run for president in 2012.

A leading Republican consultant said: “A lot of conservatives are grumbling about what a poor job McCain is doing. They are rolling their eyes and saying, ‘Yes, a miracle could happen, but at this rate it is all over’.

“Sarah Palin is no fool. She sees the same thing and wants to salvage what she can. She is positioning herself for the future. Her best days could be in front of her. She wants to look as though she was the fighter, the person with the spunk who was out there taking it to the Democrats.”

The London Telegraph, talking to senior Obama advisors, says the campaign believes it will be an Obama landslide:

Their optimism, which is said to be shared by the Democratic candidate himself, is based on information from private polling and on faith in the powerful political organisation he has built in the key swing states.

Insiders say that Mr Obama's apparent calm through an unusually turbulent election season is because he believes that his strength among first time voters in several key states has been underestimated, both by the media and by the Republican Party.

Mr Obama has come under fire from within Democratic ranks over his message and his tactics. Critics say he has failed to connect with the blue-collar workers seen as crucial to winning the election, and too reluctant to make direct attacks on Mr McCain.

But his aides are convinced that he has a strong chance of winning no fewer than nine states won by George W.Bush in the closely contested 2000 election, including former Republican strongholds like North Carolina, Virginia and even Indiana, which have not voted Democrat for a generation.

Lundberg Survey: Average U.S. Gallon of Regular Gas is $3.31

The national Lundberg Survey, which canvasses 5,000 gas stations, reported this afternoon that gas prices have tumbled 35 cents in the past two weeks, reflecting sharp declines in the price of oil throughout the world. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline at self-serve stations was $3.31 Friday. Midgrade was at $3.45 and premium was $3.57. Diesel averaged $3.95.

Gas was cheapest in Wichita, Kan., at $2.79 for a gallon of regular. It was most expensive in Honolulu at $3.91. Outside the Philadelphia area, where I live, I was able to fill up at $2.93 a gallon on Saturday.

The price of a barrel of crude plunged below $78 last week. Investors are moving out of commodities and toward gold in the current financial market distress.