23 days out — McCain to make a Letterman appearance  —  Good morning — the Sunday speed read:  — BREAKING — Dave and Mac make up: CBS announces that Senator McCain will appear on Letterman on Thursday, a makeup from his cancellation of Sept. 24 when he claimed to be suspending his campaign.

Polls aside, Pa. remains a battleground  —  PHILADELPHIA - Pennsylvania hasn't voted Republican for president since 1988.  Democrats have increased their registration numbers here by more than a half-million over the past year and Barack Obama has a double-digit lead in the polls.

McCain tussles with Palin over whipping up a mob mentality  —  Video: the second presidential debate in 10 easy minutes  —  With his electoral prospects fading by the day, Senator John McCain has fallen out with his vice-presidential running mate about the direction of his White House campaign.

Crush the Obamedia narrative: Look who's “gripped by insane rage”  —  The Obamedia is attempting to set yet another false narrative: The narrative of the McCain “mob.”  McCain-Palin rallies are out of control, they wheedle.  Conservatives are mad!  They're yelling mean things about Obama and calling him names!

Pair arrested after large McCain sign torched in Sellwood yard  —  PORTLAND, Ore. - Authorities have arrested two men after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a 4-foot by 8-foot campaign sign for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a southeast Portland yard.

Jeff Frederick Compares Barack Obama to Osama Bin Laden  —  (Cross posted at Daily Kos, please “recommend” if you can.  Thanks. - promoted by Lowell)  —  Look, we all know that Jeff Frederick is a right-wing extremist nutcase, but he's also the head of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV).

7-YR.-OLD GETS AN ACORN VOTE  —  CONN. JOB TO BOOST OBAMA  —  By GINGER ADAMS OTIS and SUSAN EDELMAN in New York and MELISSA KLEIN in Bridgeport, Conn.  —  O'jahnae Smith is ready and registered to vote this November.  —  There's only one problem: She's 7 years old.

Boys' night out: “The Politico guys,” Rove's top disciple and how our press corps works  —  (updated below)  —  Tim Griffin has long been one of Karl Rove's closest “protégés” and has been at the epicenter of many of the most significant episodes of Republican sleaze over the last decade …

Daley reins in radicals — the Chicago Way  —  Turn on the TV news when John McCain is picking up undecided voters by invoking Barack Obama's relationship with unrepentant American terrorist William Ayers and, invariably, some liberal talking head will sniff in disgust and say Ayers is no big deal where Obama comes from.

The Rise of the Machines  —  “BEWARE of geeks bearing formulas.”  So saith Warren Buffett, the Wizard of Omaha.  Words to bear in mind as we bail out banks and buy up mortgages and tweak interest rates and nothing, nothing seems to make any difference on Wall Street or Main Street.

Jumping Ship...  This is becoming a very strange campaign.  On CNN this evening both David Gergen and Ed Rollins echoed the current mantra that the “old” noble McCain is gone, and a “new” nastier one has emerged, largely because of his attacks on Ayers, perhaps his planned future ads on Wright …

McCain backers raise divided government  —  Implying that the GOP won't win back either the House or Senate, two McCain backers this morning sounded out a new talking point by raising the specter of Democrats in control of both the Congress and White House.  —  Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, posed it as a question.

Issue of Race Creeps Into Campaign  —  In the first presidential campaign involving an African American nominee of a major party, both candidates have agreed on this much: They would rather not dwell on the subject of race.  —  But their allies have other ideas.