Obama: ‘Lipstick on a pig’  —  Amie Parnes reports from Lebanon, VA: … The crowd apparently took the “lipstick” line as a reference to Palin, who described the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull in a single word: “lipstick.”  —  UPDATE: The McCain campaign is now saying Obama called Palin a pig, which he didn't.

McCain Leaps Ahead in NC  —  Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain  —  RALEIGH (WTVD) — In an election for President of the United States in North Carolina Tuesday, September 09, Republican John McCain suddenly and breathtakingly surges to a 20-point win over Democrat Barack Obama …

Ron Paul Plans ‘Special Announcement’  —  Brad Haynes reports on the presidential race.  —  Rep. Ron Paul, the former Republican presidential candidate who excited a multitude of young voters during the primaries, announced a “major” news conference in Washington Wednesday.

NBC/WSJ Poll: '08 race turns into a dead heat  —  Barack Obama holds a narrow one-point lead over John McCain  —  Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin stand together on the stage during a campaign event at in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 6, 2008.  —  Deputy political director

I Dream About Sarah Palin.  Do You?  —  SEND US YOUR DREAMS ABOUT THE REPUBLICAN VICE-PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE.  —  I rarely remember my dreams, but for the past week, GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has been haunting me.  Night after night, she appears in my dreams, always as a scolding, ominous figure.

An awkward moment in Columbia  —  Victoria McGrane:

Was Biden Talking About Palin During Stem Cell Research Reference?  —  From CBS News' Ryan Corsaro:  —  (COLUMBIA, MO.) - Was Joe Biden referring to Sarah Palin, a mother of a child with Down syndrome, when he made this comment?  —  “I hear all this talk about how the Republicans …

House Dems to allow vote on energy bill  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday morning that the newest Democratic energy bill will be brought to the floor under normal rules and will be subject to a vote on a Republican alternative that is likely to call for even more drilling than Democrats are prepared to swallow.

Election 2008: Montana Presidential Election  —  Montana: McCain Surges Ahead by Double-Digits  —  John McCain has opened a double digit lead over Barack Obama in Montana.  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Treasure State finds McCain leading by eleven, 53% to 42% …

McCain must embrace Palin's beliefs, evangelical leader says  —  (CNN) — Her faith is one of the reasons many evangelical Christians are excited about Sarah Palin's addition to the Republican presidential ticket, but the Alaska governor's evangelical beliefs have also drawn scrutiny.

LYING SARAH WATCH  —  Sometimes when you've got a liar as big as Sarah Palin on the line only a timeline will really do justice to her fibbing ways.  —  So a lot of you have written in to ask: Okay, she says she said ‘Thanks.  But no thanks’ to the Bridge to Nowhere.  But how exactly did it all come out?

Comedy gold: Lefty radio hosts crestfallen as Palin defended by ... Mike Gravel  —  You don't hear their hearts actually start to break until he says, “Troopergate is going to come out in her favor.”  Although the most traumatic part, surely, must have been the exchange about how the mayor …

Brown backs Obama  —  Gordon Brown has broken with British convention and made clear that he favours Barack Obama as the next US President.  —  In a departure from the usual self-denying ordinance of Prime Ministers past, Brown has written an article for The Monitor magazine …

Can Obama Win Back Wal-Mart Moms?  —  It might be easy to dismiss John McCain's resurgence in the polls as merely a convention bounce, especially in light of the excitement generated by running mate Sarah Palin, but there's one startling shift that should be particularly worrisome to Barack Obama's campaign.

In a Not-Remotely-Comic Strip, Bill Ayers Weighs In on What He Meant By 'We Didn't Do Enough' to End Vietnam War  —  In a four-panel not-even-remotely-comic strip, William Ayers, the former member of the Weather Underground and associate of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., weighs in on his blog on some of the controversy he's been causing.

Gallup Daily: McCain Maintains 5-Point Lead  —  Support among registered voters steady at 49%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update finds John McCain maintaining his five-point lead versus Barack Obama among registered voters, 49% to 44%.