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McCain Slights Spanish Prime Minister — The Union Radio interview with John McCain on issues of interest to Hispanics was conducted in English and only later translated into Spanish for listeners. The audio above is of the English-only interview. — By Glenn Kessler and Ed O'Keefe
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EMBARRASSING — Well, we've heard the interview now. And John McCain either doesn't know who the Prime Minister of Spain is, thinks Spain is a country in Latin America, or possibly both. — In case, you haven't seen our updates from last night, yesterday John McCain was interviewed …
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MoJoBlog, TPM Election Central, Gawker, The Nation, First Draft, Democrats.com, The Reaction, The Poor Man Institute and Althouse

EL CID — IN ENGLISH — The original untranslated English version of John McCain's interview with Radio Caracol Miami has now been released. — Have a listen (the key passage about Spain starts at 2:58 in): — At first it sounds like McCain is taking a hard neocon line against Prime Minister Zapatero …
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Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, Brave New Films blog, Wonkette and Political Machine


OY — Well, it doesn't appear to have registered in the American press yet. But the story keeps bubbling in the Spanish press about McCain's bizarre gaffe about the Spanish Prime Minister. Here's the front page cut out from the Spanish news channel that did the interview. They've talked to the interviewer now.


The Pain in Spain Falls Mainly on McCain — Sen. John McCain pauses as he speaks to supporters at the Winner Aviation hangar at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport — You gotta feel for José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Here the Spanish prime minister is only four months …


Biden: Paying higher taxes patriotic for wealthy — WASHINGTON - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday that paying more in taxes is the patriotic thing to do for wealthier Americans. In a new TV ad that repeats widely debunked claims about the Democratic tax plan …
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The Jawa Report, The Corner, The Mahablog, Townhall.com, The Next Right, Sweetness & Light, Reason, Donklephant, QandO and NewsBusters.org
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Sen. Hagel doubts Palin's ready — WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on Wednesday became the nation's most prominent Republican officeholder to publicly question whether Sarah Palin has the experience to serve as president. — “She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials,” Hagel said in an interview.

Obama mocks McCain in Nevada stops — Barack Obama sharpened his attacks on John McCain and mocked the Republican's recent calls for reform in two stops in Nevada on Wednesday after days of listening to nervous supporters fret about the Democrat's chances of taking the White House.
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Michelle Malkin, Weekly Standard, Hot Air, The Corner, Exurban League, Gateway Pundit, Macsmind and Don Surber


McCain Calls for Firing of SEC Commissioner — Susan Davis reports on the presidential race. — John McCain has two words for Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox: You're Fired. — “The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and has betrayed the public's trust.
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Paul Kedrosky's …
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ABC Calls Out McCain On His Financial Flip Flops
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Newshoggers.com

Palin Unscripted — Gov. Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain held a town-hall-style meeting Wednesday in Grand Rapids, Mich. (Photo: Todd Heisler/The New York Times) — GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - As she took questions from voters for the first time since she was tapped as Senator John McCain's running mate …
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Democratic Congress May Adjourn, Leave Crisis to Fed, Treasury — Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) — The Democratic-controlled Congress, acknowledging that it isn't equipped to lead the way to a solution for the financial crisis and can't agree on a path to follow, is likely to just get out of the way.

FIRST THOUGHTS: BACK TO AUGUST? — From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann — *** We're back to August? This presidential contest has certainly been a roller-coaster ride. And as we suggested yesterday, something in the race turned this week.

McCain's Closing Argument — Man is in love and loves what vanishes. — What more is there to say? — Conservatives, who reputedly have lumps of coal where their hearts should be, have fallen in love. So have many people who are not doctrinal conservatives.

Will McCain Waste Palin? — The media is turning the news into a presidential video game. “Hurricane Ike” or “Wall Street Meltdown” appears onscreen, and the media boots up Barack Obama and John McCain to see how well they talk the problem. Mostly they are speaking gobbledygook about things they barely understand.
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Washington Post, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Sister Toldjah, Jules Crittenden and Commentary

Worst Crisis Since '30s, With No End Yet in Sight — The financial crisis that began 13 months ago has entered a new, far more serious phase. — Lingering hopes that the damage could be contained to a handful of financial institutions that made bad bets on mortgages have evaporated.


Microsoft announcement tomorrow: No more Seinfeld ads! — Remember those awful Microsoft ads with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates? Well, now you can forget them. Microsoft flacks are desperately dialing reporters to spin them about “phase two” of the ad campaign — a phase …

Obama Needs to Sell Himself, Not Attack McCain — Be careful not to assign too much scientific precision to polls. They aren't as accurate as portrayed. But several different surveys at roughly the same time that show similar results are useful guides. So three trends in recent polls must worry …


State of the Race: Is McCain In Trouble? — One of the unpleasant things you discover when you sit in major league baseball press boxes from time to time is that the press — or at least the print media — actually do not like close baseball games. A walk-off home run or a blown save means …
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