A helpful explanation of the possibilities in a 269-269 electoral tie.

Bill Clinton once again is the only Democrat talking sense on bank “deregulation.”

Irony of ironies, a plurality of voters in one poll now considers the Iraq war a success. Could it be the highlight of the Bush administration?

David Brooks gives it to everyone: “House leaders of both parties got wrapped up in their own negotiations, but did it occur to any of them that it might be hard to pass a bill fairly described as a bailout to Wall Street? Was the media darling Barney Frank too busy to notice the 95 Democrats who opposed his bill? Pelosi’s fiery speech at the crucial moment didn’t actually kill this bill, but did she have to act like a Democratic fund-raiser at the most important moment of her career?” But he is right that the House Republicans will get blamed — and now be made to look foolish when the Senate votes on essentially the same bailout bill.

R.I.P, New York Sun. I never failed to learn something reading the Sun. (Disclosure: I wrote several pieces for them, enjoyed every minute of it and am incredibly biased with regard to the paper and all associated with it.)

Tom Brokaw in the nicest way possible says Keith Olberman isn’t a serious newsman and shouldn’t try to play one on TV.

This is precisely right — John McCain needs to start explaining to voters what role the Democrats played in the Freddie/Fannie debacle. It may be his only hope to actually convince voters that the Democratic ticket is part of the problem, not the solution in Washington. But why so late? One of many questions Republicans are asking.

There is some assistance provided by news outlets interested in just why it was that there were so many bad loans extended. Part of the reason was groups like ACORN lobbying for “more affordable housing” and engaging in “direct action” against lenders that didn’t offer enough loans to high-risk borrowers: “ACORN was also a driving force behind a 1995 regulatory revision pushed through by the Clinton administration that greatly expanded the CRA and helped spawn the current financial crisis. Obama was the attorney representing ACORN in this effort. Last November, he told the group, ‘I’ve been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career.’ Indeed he has. Obama was and is fully aware of what ACORN was doing with the money and expertise he provided.”

Even liberals realize Nancy Pelosi is toxic. (H/T Glenn Reynolds)

As the House GOP works on an entirely new plan do they look productive or irrelevant? If only they were applying for jobs at conservative think tanks they’d be in fine shape. Come to think of it that’s what some of them may be doing come November 5.

Regardless of how you feel about Sarah Palin it is hard to argue that the looming financial debacle (and the candidates’ reactions to it) aren’t a heck of a lot more important than the VPs — unless, you’ve lost all sense of proportion and gone into the netroot tank.

But of course the McCain camp just dumps fuel on the fire of Palin Derangement Syndrome with a defensive, ill-timed ad about Troopergate. Apparently they want the country to be discussing this instead of the Democrats’ responsibility for creating the housing crisis. On the eve of the VP debate no less.

GOP officials have this wacky notion that McCain should instead attack Obama on his weaknesses.

The Washington Post reports its new poll showing only a four-point lead and then makes a point of disparging its prior poll showing a nine-point lead for Barack Obama. ( Because then the storyline would be “McCain Improves –What’s Wrong With Obama?”). If they thought their previous nine-point Obama leading poll was flaky they should have told us — then.

We’ve come a long way since the days when Obama was going to reach across the aisle and get things done. He confesses: “I don’t think me calling House Republican members would have been that helpful, I tend not to be that persuasive on that side of the aisle.” Because he’s a divider and not a uniter?