Palin says Obama ‘palling around’ with terrorists … ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Saturday accused Democrat Barack Obama of “palling around with terrorists” because of his association with a former 1960s radical, stepping up the campaign's effort …

Exclusive: Obama to preempt McCain assault  —  Branding his opponent as “erratic in a crisis,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is preempting plans by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to portray him as having sinister connections to controversial Chicagoans.  —  Obama officials call it political jujitsu - turning the attacks back on the attacker.

Pressured to Take More Risk, Fannie Hit a Tipping Point  —  “Almost no one expected what was coming.  It's not fair to blame us for not predicting the unthinkable.”  — Daniel H. Mudd, former chief executive, Fannie Mae  —  When the mortgage giant Fannie Mae recruited Daniel H. Mudd …

John Warner might vote for Democrat  —  Retiring Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) beat his Democratic opponent, Mark R. Warner, by 6 percentage points in the Old Dominion's “Warner vs. Warner” race of 1996.  —  Now, he might cross party lines and vote for him.  —  Mark Warner, who went …

GOP dread: Dems could hit 60 Senate seats  —  The possibility that Democrats will build a muscular, 60-seat Senate majority is looking increasing plausible, with new polls showing a powerful surge for the party's candidates in Minnesota, Kentucky and other states.

Conservatism = Debt  —  Cato's David Boaz alleges that “it must be a great disappointment to Goldwater Republicans to discover this story that got almost no notice this week.”  The story in question turns out to be about the burgeoning national debt in the Bush years:

L.A. Times Finally Admits that the President Can Fire the SEC Chair After All  —  It turns out that the President can indeed fire the Chair of the SEC after all.  —  After the L.A. Times and many others wrote that the President has no such authority, I sent a complaint to the L.A. Times on September 23.

The Early Line: Diageo/Hotline Tracking Poll  — The Diageo/Hotline tracking poll has switched to LVs.  Only RVs who describe themselves as “extremely likely” or “very likely” to vote, or have already voted, will be included in the survey.  — Touchdown Fighting Illini?

Palin's Alternate Universe  —  Sarah Palin is the perfect exclamation point to the Bush years.  —  We've lived through nearly two terms of an administration that believed it could create its own reality: … Now comes Ms. Palin, a smiling, bubbly vice-presidential candidate who travels in an alternate language universe.

Economic Unrest Shifts Electoral Battlegrounds  —  The turmoil on Wall Street and the weakening economy are changing the contours of the presidential campaign map, giving new force to Senator Barack Obama's ambitious strategy to make incursions into Republican territory …

Vetting McCain's Health Plan  —  Tax credits would move people out of group plans and into individual policies where the benefits aren't as good.  —  If you think that “The Market”—whatever market—always works for the best, you'll love John McCain's version of health insurance reform.