NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - October 18, 2008

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Obama's Ad Effort Swamps McCain and Nears Record
Barack Obama is using an advertising campaign of unrivaled scale and complexity to outadvertise John McCain nationwide by at least four to one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/us/politics/18ads.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

-Is Anybody Happy?
Americans are in a very low state about the presidential election. Once again we've hit that magic moment when both sides are sure they're going to lose.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/opinion/18collins.html?ref=opinion

-Climbing Down the Ladder
BOB HERBERT
Losing a home to foreclosure is a disaster for anyone, but it's a catastrophe for older people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/opinion/18herbert.html?ref=opinion

-Last-Minute Mischief
All presidents indulge in end-of-the-term environmental rule-making. President Clinton's rules were mostly good. Not surprisingly, most of President Bush's proposals are not. [...] Exhibit A is a set of six resource management plans covering 11 million acres of federal land in Utah. They would open millions of acres to oil and gas drilling and off-road vehicles, risking priceless cultural artifacts and some of the most breathtaking open spaces in America.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/opinion/18sat1.html?ref=opinion

-Nov. 5, 2008
CHARLES M. BLOW
A perfect storm of poor judgments has set the stage for a Barack Obama victory. On Nov. 5, he will be one of the most powerful presidents in recent American history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/opinion/18Blow.html?ref=opinion

-Water and What Else?
Until bottled water companies are required to release pertinent information about what's in their water, consumers shouldn't waste their money.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/opinion/18sat3.html?ref=opinion

-Bush Aides Say Religious Hiring Doesn't Bar Aid
CHARLIE SAVAGE
In a newly disclosed legal memorandum, the Bush administration says it can bypass laws that forbid giving taxpayer money to religious groups that hire only staff members who share their faith.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/washington/18discrimination.html?hp

-Behind McCain, an Outsider Wanting Back In
Cindy McCain is pursuing a return to Washington, "a harsh town" that she has said does not suit her.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/us/politics/18cindy.html?hp

-Beluga Whale Protection Bolstered; Palin Objects
The federal government on Friday placed beluga whales that live in Cook Inlet in Alaska on the endangered species list, rejecting efforts by Gov. Sarah Palin and others against increased protection.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/us/18beluga.html

-Justices Block Effort to Challenge Ohio Voters
The United States Supreme Court on Friday overturned a lower court's order requiring state officials in Ohio to supply information that would have made it easier to challenge prospective voters. The decision was a setback for Ohio Republicans, who had sued to force the Ohio secretary of state, a Democrat, to provide information about database mismatches to county officials.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/washington/18scotus.html


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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Thousands Erroneously Tagged Ineligible to Vote
Flaws in new federally-mandated state voter registration systems spur lawsuits and escalating partisan battles leading up to Election Day. [...] The scramble to verify voter registrations is happening as states switch from locally managed lists of voters to statewide databases, a change required by federal law and hailed by many as a more efficient and accurate way to keep lists up to date.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101703360.html?hpid=topnews

-A Dangerous Rage
Colbert I. King
Do those catcalls at McCain-Palin rallies represent a dominant strain or dying breed? Tell a rabid audience that Barack Obama is "palling around with terrorists" (as Palin has done), imply that Obama is friendly with people out to destroy America (as she also has done) and what do you expect? The ugliness is stunning.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101702496.html

-Saving the Desert From Bush
Tom Kenworthy
The president wants to hand it over to oil companies and off-roaders.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101702386.html

-Barack Obama for President
The Washington Post endorses the Democratic senator from Illinois.
THE NOMINATING process this year produced two unusually talented and qualified presidential candidates. There are few public figures we have respected more over the years than Sen. John McCain. Yet it is without ambivalence that we endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president. The choice is made easy in part by Mr. McCain's disappointing campaign, above all his irresponsible selection of a running mate who is not ready to be president. It is made easy in larger part, though, because of our admiration for Mr. Obama and the impressive qualities he has shown during this long race.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603436.html

-Scare Talk on Taxes
The gotcha tactics of the campaign trail are preventing a rational discussion of how to spread the burden. AS A POLITICAL matter, it's not a great idea to announce that asking rich people to pay taxes is patriotic (Joseph R. Biden Jr.) or to tell Joe the Plumber that he should just spread the wealth (Barack Obama). So it's no wonder that the McCain campaign was quick to pounce on these supposed gaffes. But for all the hyperventilating, does John McCain really disagree with either of these statements?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101702936.html

-House Ethics Committee Investigates Fla. Democrat
The House ethics committee announced yesterday that it intends to interview Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) about his settlement of a sexual harassment allegation made by a female aide with whom he had an extramarital affair.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101703056.html?hpid=moreheadlines


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The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Pakistan's army says it has killed at least 60 militants in an offensive against insurgents in the country's northwest. The military said in a statement Saturday the militants were killed Friday evening when the security forces backed by helicopter gunships and artillery targeted militant hideouts in troubled Swat valley.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122430304706347345.html

-The Axis of Moscow
It's lonely out there for Vladimir Putin. Where would Russia be without Daniel Ortega? Even more isolated than the Kremlin now finds itself after its August adventure in Georgia.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122428250434746035.html


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-McCain fosters offensive attacks
My 401(k) is down $21,000 since the end of September. And John McCain thinks I should be worried about William Ayers. Not to put too fine a point on it, but these are strange days. And it's difficult not to empathize with the Arizona senator, who has spent these last weeks flailing like a man trying to hit a fastball in the dark
http://www.miamiherald.com/leonard_pitts/


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Editorial: The Acorn Story
In Wednesday night's debate, John McCain warned that a group called Acorn is "on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history" and "may be destroying the fabric of democracy." Viewers may have been wondering what Mr. McCain was talking about. So were we.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17fri1.html

-Iglesias: "I'm Astounded" By DOJ's ACORN Probe
David Iglesias says he's shocked by the news, leaked today to the Associated Press, that the FBI is pursuing a voter-fraud investigation into ACORN just weeks before the election. "I'm astounded that this issue is being trotted out again," Iglesias told TPMmuckraker. "Based on what I saw in 2004 and 2006, it's a scare tactic." In 2006, Iglesias was fired as U.S. attorney thanks partly to his reluctance to pursue voter-fraud cases as aggressively as DOJ wanted -- one of several U.S. attorneys fired for inappropriate political reasons, according to a recently released report by DOJ's Office of the Inspector General.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/iglesias_im_astounded_by_dojs.php

-Op-Ed Contributor: 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.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17buffett.html?_r=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

-Obama has strategic edge in waning days of election
John McCain's answer to the first question in Wednesday night's debate was an acknowledgment that "Americans are hurting right now, and they're angry." He said it twice, so there could be no missing the message. Barack Obama quickly agreed. "Everybody understands at this point that we are experiencing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression," he said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6063428.html

-Wasserman Schultz: Sarah Palin "the most unqualified candidate for VP that I've ever seen''
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic congresswoman and mother of three from Weston, said she respects Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a busy working mom, but "my admiration for her stops there.'' Palin is the mother of five and governor of Alaska. "I can tell you, it's not easy doing it every day,'' Wasserman Schultz said. "So with five kids, the kind of high profile job she has as governor and how much work she has, I admire her for that. But you know my admiration for her stops there.''
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2008/10/us_rep_wasserman_schultz_sarah.html


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