Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin claimed during the Vice Presidential Debate:

"When I and others in the legislature found out we had some millions of dollars in Sudan, we called for divestment through legislation of those dollars to make sure we weren't doing anything that would be seen as condoning the activities there in Darfur." --Sarah Palin, Oct. 2, 2008, VP Debate

Not so, say Alaska Dems in a press release today. In fact, adds Shannyn Moore, she lied. [More...]

Despite writing for the traditional print media, Richard Cohen tells us today that he joins Sarah Palin in not having "a very high opinion of the mainstream media." Palin has been dutifully mouthing the standard, unimaginative Republican attack on the "librul media." Cohen hints at the more responsible point (although not in these words): a double standard governs much of the corporate media, one that lets Republicans avoid serious scrutiny while magnifying Republican smears that are leveled against Democrats.

Take, for instance, the GOP's insistence that Sarah Palin is qualified to be vice president because she's a regular gal, a hockey mom who raised a family while gaining some modest political experience. What would happen if Democrats ran a candidate who winked at the camera in lieu of giving straight answers to difficult questions?

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We'll be live blogging the debate tonight, I assume with all hands (J, TLKid, TChris and me.) In the meantime, here is an Open Thread.

John Dickerson of Slate has a good article on how Bill Clinton handled a losing Republican candidate's attempts to change the subject from the economy to the Democratic candidate's "character:"

In 1992, the moment symbolized the disconnect between Bush and the electorate: He wanted to talk about character, while America was pleading for solutions. The president compounded his problem when he inartfully handled a woman's inartful question about how the "national debt" had hurt him personally. (Bush was also caught looking at his wristwatch twice during the evening.) Clinton knew how to take advantage of the moment. "I worked 12 years very hard as a governor on the real problems of real people. I'm just as sick as you are by having to wake up and figure out how to defend myself every day. I never thought I'd ever be involved in anything like this."

(Emphasis supplied.) Of course, as Jack Shafer writes, Bill Clinton was the master of the town hall. And the greatest politician of his generation. But still, something for Obama to draw from.

Steve M. found the video:

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

The Washington Post Online has the most incredible headline I have seen in some time - NOTE - WaPo changed the headline (I take full credit for the change):

Fed Moves To Assist Main Street Businesses

Central bank will buy up commercial paper, the short-term debt that large companies across the country use to fund their day-to-day operations.

(Emphasis supplied.) That's helping Main Street? Only in the Beltway cocktail party set could that possibly be the headline for handouts to Fortune 500 companies. And you can't blame the headline writer. Here is the first graf of the story:

On the eve of the second Presidential townhall/debate, the polls show Barack Obama with a significant lead. DKos/R2000 (10/4-6) has Obama up 11, 52-41. Ras (10/4-6) has Obama up 8, 52-44. Gallup (10/3-5) has Obama up 8, 50-42. Hotline (10/4-6) has Obama up 2, 46-44. Battleground (10/4-6) has Obama up 7, 50-43. And just for fun, the charlatan John Zogby has started a tracking poll for Reuters with Obama leading by 3, 49-46.

Among the non-trackers, NBC/WSJ (10/4-5) has Obama up 6, 49-43. NYT/CBS (10/3-5) has Obama up 3, 48-45. CNN/Opinion Research (10/3-5) has Obama up 8, 53-45.

By Big Tent Democrat

Joining the Columbus Dispatch poll (Obama by 7), the ABC/WaPo Ohio poll has Obama up 6, 51-45.

Fun fact:

No Republican has ever been elected president without winning Ohio, and the state's 20 electoral votes are of paramount importance to McCain.

By Big Tent Democrat

While John McCain is erratic, angry and desperate about his own political fortunes as opposed to the country's problems (country first, my ass), the American People are angry and desperate about the economy.

Tonight's debate/town hall is a chance for Barack Obama to explain, argue for and detail how he will help Main Street, homeowners and ordinary Americans in this time of economic distress. Yesterday, John McCain flip flopped - after first saying "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" he now says "this is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression" (and he would know). Of course John McCain is more interested in talking about the Weather Underground than the economy. This is not surprising as he admits himself he knows nothing about the economy.

Barack Obama needs to tell the American People what he will do to help us through these tough times, how he will help Main Street. John McCain is a prop tonight. What we need to hear is Obama have a conversation with the American People about what matters. I hope he does it.

by Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

McCain/Palin: They are Desperados now, Running on Empty.

McCain's options are dwindling, the electoral map is not favoring him. This is an open thread.

Shameless, clueless Sarah Palin, speaking at a Florida rally today, did her Obama the terrorist-sympathizer schtick, leading one supporter in the audience to yell "Kill Him!"

Palin's response? Nada.

"Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," Palin said. "Boooo!" said the crowd. "And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,'" she continued.

"Boooo!" the crowd repeated. "Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

Palin went on to say that "Obama held one of the first meetings of his political career in Bill Ayers's living room, and they've worked together on various projects in Chicago."

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John McCain's strategy of the day tacitly accepts voter disapproval of his Bush-like positions on the important issues. Even if you think my ideas are bad, he seems to be saying, at least you know who I am. That Obama, we know nothing about him. Doesn't that scare you even more than I do?

The Arizona senator, a veteran of more than two decades in Congress, told his audience that while he is a known quantity the same cannot be said about Obama, who is midway through his first term as a senator from Illinois.

"You need to know who you're putting in the White House — where the candidate came from and what he or she believes," McCain said. "And you need to know now, before it is time to choose." Later, he added: "There are essential things that we don't know about Sen. Obama or the record he brings to this campaign."

Hey Sen. McCain, if you want to know something about Barack Obama, why not ask him tomorrow? Or you could listen to his debate answers. Or read his books, or look at his website. What are these "essential things" that are so mysterious to you about where he came from or what he believes?

The new Wall St. Journal/NBC poll has Barack Obama and Joe Biden ahead of McCain/Palin by 49% to 43%.

This is a pretty astonishing drop for McCain:

Sen. McCain's support in rural areas and small towns, where he led by 21 points after his convention, has steadily dropped and he now has just a three-point edge.

As for Palin:

Half of all voters still say she is not qualified to be president if the need were to arise; just 41% say she is.

By contrast, Sen. Biden saw his numbers shoot up, with three out of four voters saying he is qualified to take over if need be -- up 10 percentage points from two weeks ago. Even 62% percent of McCain voters think he's qualified for the top job.

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