CQ Politics' Web Picks

New York Times: Taking a Hard Look at a Greenspan Legacy

For more than a decade, the former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has fiercely objected whenever derivatives have come under scrutiny...Today, with the world caught in an economic tempest... his faith in derivatives remains unshaken.

Washington Post: From Outsider to Ultimate Insider

Obama has built a biography on overcoming obstacles -- on fusing unlikely bonds that help him to adapt and then advance. He knew from the moment he took the oath of office in Springfield that he wanted to move beyond the state Senate, so he set out to orchestrate his rise in trademark fashion: by emphasizing relationships over results; by transforming from an outsider into the ultimate insider.

Wall Street Journal: McCain Reshuffles Rescue Deal

Sen. John McCain's $300 billion plan to help homeowners struggling with mortgage debt carries big potential benefits for the troubled real-estate sector, but could reduce the funds available for rescuing banks.

San Francisco Chronicle: McCains' Plan Draws Praise from Liberals, Scorn from Conservatives

McCain's plan to help people avoid foreclosure drew praise from liberals for tackling the problem's source, while conservatives called it a government subsidy of irresponsible lenders and borrowers.

Boston Globe: Losing Female Support, McCain Alters Approach

McCain returned to the campaign trail yesterday with new emphasis on a domestic agenda that appeared designed in part to address the concerns of white women, a crucial voting bloc that has moved steadily in recent weeks toward his rival, Barack Obama.

New York Observer: McCain Looks for an October Surprise

The news just keeps getting worse for John McCain...This means it's probably time to start thinking about an "October surprise" - some unforeseen or otherwise dramatic development that prompts millions of voters to rethink their assumptions and allegiances

Rolling Stone: The Double-Talk Express

From tax cuts to torture, John McCain has flip-flopped on a host of issues - including his own immigration bill

Power Line: Obama Campaign Taking No Chances

Obama's ability to make the cash registers ring is his one unique contribution to American politics. But the Democrats are taking nothing for granted: voter fraud is once again playing a role in their strategy.

Anchorage Daily News: Todd Palin Campaigned Years for Firing Trooper

Todd Palin talked with over a dozen state officials, many of them repeatedly, in his crusade to get a state trooper fired whom he considered to be a bad cop, a dishonest person and a threat to the Palin family

Columbia Journalism Review: Six Ways to Improve the Debates

The consensus seems to be that Tuesday night's presidential debate was extremely boring. Here are six viable suggestions for how the next one could be better.

New York Review of Books: James Baldwin & Barack Obama

Both men quickly then established their own actual distance from their fathers, which made their grief sharper and more lonely, but also made clear to the reader that they had a right to speak with authority, to offer this version of themselves partly because they themselves, through force of will and a steely sense of character, had invented the voice they were now using, had not been trained by any other man to be the figure they had become.