To Avoid Being ‘Depressed,’ Palin Skimps on Campaign News  —  GREENSBORO, N.C. — No wonder GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin harbors such hostility toward the mainstream media: her staff imposes limits on her access to it.  —  During a fundraiser here that raised $800,000 last night …

Tribune endorsement: Barack Obama for president  —  Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama campaigns in Roanoke, Va. today.  (Getty photo by Joe Raedle / October 17, 2008)  —  However this election turns out, it will dramatically advance America's slow progress toward equality and inclusion.

Operation Destroy Joe the Plumber  —  My syndicated column today reports on Team Obama and the Obamedia's mission to tear down Joe the Plumber.  Yes, we are in the midst of a new contagion: Joe The Plumber Derangement Syndrome.  JTPDS.  —  Now, pay close attention to how the MSM rushes …

High court rejects GOP bid in Ohio voting dispute  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is siding with Ohio's top elections official in a dispute with the state Republican Party over voter registrations.  —  The justices on Friday overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio's …

Colin Powell might endorse Obama  —  Retired Gen. Colin Powell, once considered a potential running mate for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), now may endorse his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), according to Republican sources.  But an air of mystery surrounds Powell's planned live appearance Sunday on NBC's …

A Liberal Supermajority  —  Get ready for ‘change’ we haven't seen since 1965, or 1933.  —  If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it.

Trader Drove Up Price of McCain ‘Stock’ in Online Market  —  An internal investigation by the popular online market Intrade has revealed that an investor has been attempting to artificially boost the prediction that Sen. John McCain will become president.  —  Over the past several weeks …

Thinking About Obama  —  We've been watching Barack Obama for two years now, and in all that time there hasn't been a moment in which he has publicly lost his self-control.  This has been a period of tumult, combat, exhaustion and crisis.  And yet there hasn't been a moment when he has displayed rage …

Nation could face short Election Night  —  Network news executives said they are preparing for an unusual Election Night challenge: How to be honest with the audience, and still keep them tuned in, if the race between John McCain and Barack Obama is effectively decided before most Americans have finished dinner.

George Voinovich calls Barack Obama a ‘socialist’  —  Sen. George Voinovich, what do you really think of Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for president?  —  “He is left of Teddy Kennedy.  With all due respect, the man is a socialist.”  —  Ohio's senior senator, a Republican …

CNN's “Fact Check” Fumble  —  Once again, “fact-checkers” mangle the facts.  CNN claims that McCain was “misleading” on the born-alive bill: Obama wasn't “vot[ing] against caring for the children” because a law already on the books required such care.  CNN has it badly wrong.

Palin's Failin'  —  What is it she stands for?  After seven weeks, we don't know.  —  “Sometimes the leak is so bad that even a plumber can't fix it.”  This was the concise summation of a cable political strategist the other day, after the third and final presidential debate.

Buy American.  I Am.  —  THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad.  Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher.  In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.

Obama tells NY Times he'd do better without Fox News around  —  The New York Times, of all places, has a long interview coming out Sunday with the freshman senator from Illinois, Barack Obama.  —  In it, the Democratic presidential nominee, who's leading in most recent political polls …

Palin's e-mails?  That'll be $15 million  —  Even at that price, many records won't be available until after the election  —  Sarah Palin's office has discovered a renewable resource to bring millions of dollars into Alaska's economy: the governor's e-mails.

Central Florida 7th grader called racist for wearing Palin t-shirt  —  VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) — She's only 12 years old but Ashleigh Jones is feeling the heat of this election year.  —  That's because the seventh grader at New Smyrna Beach Middle School was called …