Elections

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin tells audiences the election is about the "truthfulness and judgment" needed to be president. But the Alaska governor often stretches the truth herself.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Leading in the polls, Barack Obama hopes to cement his standing while John McCain is trying to turn his fortunes around in their second presidential debate — with economic turmoil bordering on chaos suddenly serving as the backdrop.

WASHINGTON - Nearly 20 years of John McCain's contrition over his role in a 1980s banking scandal vanished this week in 17 minutes and 30 seconds.

According to an analysis released Tuesday of the 2008 women’s vote, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s impact on the presidential campaign is “settling out” and has not enabled John McCain to shrink the traditional gender gap favoring Democrats.

LAS VEGAS - Nevada state authorities are raiding the Las Vegas headquarters of an organization that works to get low-income people to vote.

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama has his William Ayers connection. Now John McCain may have an Iran-Contra connection. In the 1980s, McCain served on the advisory board to the U.S. chapter of an international group linked to ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America.

In his liberal Colorado district, it's no big deal that Jared Polis is gay. Yet his expected victory Nov. 4 in a congressional race would be a historic milestone and, he hopes, send an encouraging message to gay and lesbian young people nationwide.

Sarah Palin's promise for a new era of government openness as the reform governor of Alaska started to crack even before Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign built a wall of protectiveness around her.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Democratic registration has surged by 13 percent and Republican ranks have shrunk by 1 percent as a record 8.6 million people in battleground Pennsylvania registered to vote in the presidential election.

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Gov. David Paterson says he will run in 2010 for a full term in the office he has held since Eliot Spitzer resigned.

SAN FRANCISCO - Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the presidential candidates should end the smear campaigns and get back to the issues.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Republican John McCain hopes to halt Democrat Barack Obama's momentum and gain new life in the White House race with a strong performance on Tuesday when the presidential rivals meet in their second debate.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Barack Obama's campaign is citing the University of South Carolina's speaking invitations to William Ayers and Republican Gov. Mark Sanford's role as school trustee to counter GOP efforts to link the presidential candidate to the 1960s radical.

Dropping poll numbers, the increase in contested GOP states, and a lack of time to turn around the presidential election are leading to a deep concern among Republicans and inside John McCain's campaign that the Arizona senator won't be able to scratch back against Sen. Barack Obama by Election Day.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The life stories of U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama hit comic book stands on Wednesday -- and the company behind the illustrated bios hopes plenty of adults will buy them.

HARTFORD, Conn. - The spokesman for a Connecticut congressional candidate is learning that not everything is private on the Internet.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AFP) - Republican John McCain was under pressure Tuesday to use his second presidential debate with Barack Obama to grab a lifeline for his sliding campaign, just four weeks from election day.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain spent the last few days exchanging fighting words — notably "Ayers," "Keating" and "liar."

With just two debates left before the Nov. 4 election, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama go into their Tuesday night face-off in Nashville, Tenn., with high expectations for their performances.

Obama hopes to cement gains in debate; McCain tries to make up ground amid economic crisis ... Supreme Court turns down Barr's request for help in Louisiana ... Palin's promise of transparency in Alaska wanes on touchy topics like e-mail and polar bears ... McCain's tough stance against pork barrel spending sometimes compromised by tough choices ... Elections officials find, fix glitch that could have affected NM presidential race tally

When Politico’s Ryan Grim approached Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) after the evening of the Senate bailout vote, the reporter didn’t even get his question out.

SAN FRANCISCO - "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan may finally have found some in her long-shot independent challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama widened his lead over Republican presidential rival John McCain in two national polls and is maintaining an edge in two daily tracking polls with less than a month to go before the election.

A new TIME/CNN poll shows John McCain still struggling in states won by George W. Bush in 2004

John McCain has set off the harshest burst of attack politics in the presidential campaign so far.

THE POLL: Washington Post-ABC News poll of 772 likely Ohio voters (20 electoral votes).

NAIROBI (AFP) - The American author of a best-selling, controversial book blasting White House hopeful Barack Obama on Tuesday faced deportation from Kenya after being detained by security officials, police said.

Barack Obama released a new ad Tuesday ahead of his presidential debate with John McCain accusing the Arizona senator of using “smears” to drive campaign dialog away from the economy.

NEW YORK - You'd hardly know the Democrats have even chosen a presidential candidate, judging from late-night comedy monologues. It was Republican John McCain and — oh, by the way — his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, who claimed most of the jokesters' attention.