Andrew Romano

Originally posted Oct. 16 at 12:15 a.m. (Charles Dharapak / AP) HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.--That loud clanging you heard coming from Hofstra University tonight? It was the sound of a kitchen sink soaring from stage left, where Republican nominee Sen.

A round-up of this morning's must read stories.EDGY MCCAIN SHEDS NO NEW LIGHT(John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei, Politico)John McCain's challenge at the final debate was to present his case for the presidency in a new light.

The title says it all. In a NEWSWEEK exclusive, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential contender John Edwards, and Todd Harris, a former McCain adviser, liveblog the Oct. 15 debate here.  For my preview, click here.   I'll be back later with some post-show analysis. In the meantime, the comments are all yours.  

One of my favorite parts of hitting the campaign trail is chatting with cabdrivers, who always seem especially eager to discuss politics. (Listening to talk radio all day will do that to you.) Take my cabbie this evening out on Long Island.

Acorn + Mickey Mouse = The Most Adorable Political "Scandal" in Recent Memory. It may also be one of the most pointless. In recent days, conservative activists and right-leaning media outlets like FOX News and Matt Drudge--who led his influential site with the Mickey Mouse story yesterday afternoon--have tried to raise a ruckus over the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a liberal nonprofit/lobbying group--it typically fights on behalf of poor people for free school lunches...

Three signs of confidence from the Obama camp: I. Ad Wars: While outspending McCain three-to-one on television advertisements between Oct. 7 and Oct. 13, Obama dramatically increased his disbursements in a wide swath of red states as well--"evidence," as the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza writes, "that he is almost entirely on offense with just three weeks left before election day." Here's Chris:In Florida, for example, Obama is now spending just shy of $5 million a week on television -- a...

This, apparently, is it. After eighteen months and 40 (!!!) face-offs, the 2008 presidential debate season comes to a close tonight with the third and final showdown between Messrs.

A round-up of this morning's must-read stories.OBAMA, MCCAIN SEEK LEADER'S IMAGE IN FINAL DEBATE (Liz Sidoti, Associated Press) Barack Obama and John McCainwill both pursue the image of a strong leader in troublesome economic times as they meet Wednesday night for their third and final presidential debate.

Via Flickr, one for Barack Obama... ... and via Jmart, the two sides of John McCain--or at least his crowds:The second sign reads "You Had Me At Hero." The first... well, that one speaks for itself. 

Breaking news! John McCain is about to make a comeback. Unless, of course, he isn't. Nearly 20 days have passed since a national poll showed McCain leading Barack Obama.

As an unabashed fan of "Gossip Girl"--it's no "The O.C.," but then again, what is?--I feel strangely compelled to post the latest ad from liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org.

[youtube:MNj2Frskab8](Video via Jmart) Judging by the polls, Sarah Palin may not propel John McCain to the presidency. But at least she'll make the path to Election Day a little more melodious.

MCCAIN IS LOOKING FOR ANOTHER COMEBACK(Mark Z. Barabak and Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times)John McCain unveiled a feisty new campaign speech Monday, but the talk of change and promise of a fist-shaking fight to November failed to allay Republican concerns that the presidential race may be slipping beyond his grasp.

Barack Obama's sizable advantages in both national and battleground surveys have held steady for at least a week. So it's only natural that the chattering classes would start to get antsy.

[youtube:cWhHZwKCiIs]In the first installment of our new "What McCain Should Do" series--which seeks to bring you the smartest and savviest in unsolicited advice for the struggling Republican nominee--we highlighted Ross Douthat's plan for a "Bailout for Main Street." McCain should "announce that in light of the epic crisis, he's going to postpone his entire domestic agenda (such as it is) for, say, two years in favor of a short-term but expensive stimulus package aimed directly at the middle...

In his latest "Race to the Finish" post, my fellow NEWSWEEK political blogger Howard Fineman writes that while all the major presidential players spent their weekends in Pennsylvania, only the Democrats have a shot at winning.

Last week, I compared battleground polling from the first week of Oct. 2004 to that election's eventual outcome--and the current contest. What I found is that a state's polling average on or around Oct. 10 is a pretty accurate predictor of who will win on Election Day--and by how much.

Hey everyone, In honor of my Italian heritage--it is Columbus Day, after all--and (more to the point) the coughy, fevery affliction that's reduced my mental functions to a bare minimum (and confined me to bed), I'm going to take it a little slow today. Instead of article-length analyses, I'll be posting a few quicker hits (including excerpts of some of the terrific stories in this week's dead-tree NEWSWEEK). Normal Stumpering will resume tomorrow. Thanks so much for reading,Andrew 

A round-up of this morning's must-read stories. BARACK'S COOL POP(John Heilemann, New York)The implosion of the financial system has been to Obama's incalculable political benefit—that much is beyond dispute.

[youtube:Kf6YKOkfFsE] The candidates call for civility--McCain a bit belatedly--and their crowds react by booing. Via Politico: Fearing the raw and at times angry emotions of his supporters may damage his campaign, John McCain on Friday urged them to tone down their increasingly personal denunciations of Barack Obama, including one woman who said she had heard that the Democrat was "an Arab." Each time he tried to cool the crowd, he was rewarded with a round of boos. "I have to tell you.

My NEWSWEEK colleague Jonathan Darman reports: Emmanuel Dunand / AFP-Getty Images The global financial meltdown has caused a dramatic shift in the 2008 presidential race, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll.

Writing in response to my post earlier today about William Ayers, reader J.S. claims that the media is applying different standards to Obama and McCain: If this were on the other foot (of McCain), the MSM would be calling for his stepping down due to lack of integrity, character, judgment, etc...

[youtube:aDWSFKnBIHg] I. John McCain, Sept. 25: "It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration's proposal to meet the crisis.

John McCain is asking a lot of questions about William Ayers. But that doesn't mean he's actually looking for answers. After a week or so of letting running mate Sarah Palin obsess on the campaign trail over the meaning of Barack Obama's "association" with the unrepentant Weather Underground founder--last week she accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists," for example--McCain himself finally entered the fray yesterday, namedropping Ayers in a new Internet ad, at a rally in Wisconsin and...

A round-up of this morning's must-read stories.MCCAIN IN A BEAR MARKET (George Will, Washington Post) In the closing days of his 10-year quest for the presidency, McCain finds it galling that Barack Obama is winning the first serious campaign he has ever run against a Republican.

Could Obama's race actually help him on Election Day? A working assumption among political junkies is that no one can predict what will happen when the country closes the voting-booth curtains on Nov. 4 and is finally forced to decide, for the first time in U.S. history, whether it's ready to support an African-American for president.

You're plummeting the national polls. You're hemorrhaging support in the swing states. If the election were held today, your rival would win 364 electoral votes--the highest tally since 1980 for a non-incumbent in a two-way contest.

Huckabee campaigning in Orange County, Calif. last January. (Photo by Stumper) This was never going to be a good year for the GOP. But would it have been better for Mike Huckabee than John McCain?

A round-up of this morning's must-read stories. INVISIBLE MAN(David Samuels, New Republic)My own belief is that Barack Obama has the makings of an unusual and unusually effective president, because he might combine a writer's sense of the dramatic moment, and of how language helps to shape reality, with the brain--and perhaps the soul--of a Harvard-educated technocrat.

[youtube:uut4Z51mUBA] If your proposal for a new, $300 billion government program falls in the middle of a presidential debate and no one cares to hear it, does it make a sound?