An independent probe found that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as Alaska's governor in trying to get her former brother-in-law fired.
The investigation by the Alaska legislature, which released its findings Friday, also concluded that Palin was within her right to dismiss her state's public safety commissioner. But it found that she did so partly because the commissioner refused to fire her sister's former husband from his job as a state trooper.
According to the investigation report, Palin, her husband and her subordinates used state resources to push for Trooper Michael Wooten's firing. Wooten, who still has his job, divorced Palin's sister three years ago.
Download the report from the Alaska State Legislature here.
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) says it's been the target of partisan attacks over the past few days, and that recent allegations of voter fraud are scare tactics aimed at promoting an agenda that would suppress voter turnout among low- and middle-income Americans.
The group has come under accusations of voter fraud from election officials and conservative activists recently for reported irregular voter registration cards submitted to election boards in at least seven states. Today, the group became the latest political football in the presidential race, as John McCain's campaign released a web ad implying that Barack Obama had shady connections with the group in his early days of community organizing in Chicago.
ACORN pushed back today in a conference call with reporters.
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Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) says he doesn't like the tone at rallies held by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), today joining liberals in condemning the reportedly incendiary tenor of Palin's audiences.
Liberals have blasted Palin and John McCain for not doing more to address riled-up audience members after reports that some supporters have yelled "traitor!" and "kill him!" in reference to Barack Obama. Critics have accused Palin and McCain of agitating crowds by accusing Obama of associating with terrorists and questioning his patriotism.
"Look it," LaHood told Chicago's CBS TV affiliate. "This doesn't befit the office that she's running for. And frankly, people don't like it," LaHood said, hinting that the attacks reportedly being hurledby McCain supporters could hurt the GOP ticket in November.
Lahood, who is retiring from Congress at the end of the year, said the attacks on Obama "certainly don't reflect the character of the man."
Absentee ballots in Rensselaer County in upstate New York have listed the Democratic presidential nominee as "Barack Osama," reports the Albany Times-Union.
About 300 ballots were sent out. Other ballots have since been fixed.
''No question this is an honest mistake innocently done,'' said Democratic county commissioner Edward McDonough told the newspaper.
One voter who caught the mistake but refused to be named said the ballots were "a little suspicious and at least grossly incompetent.
"If I crossed out the name and wrote in the right spelling my ballot would be invalid," the anonymous voter told the newspaper.
Though retiring Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) expects losses for House Republicans numbering in the double digits this year, he said Friday that races will tighten as Election Day approaches.
"I've seen some races that have swung 25 points in 10 days," said Davis, former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, at the National Press Club.
Davis, appearing with Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.), also cited difficulties that Democrats face this year.
"They've got some poster people themselves," Davis said.
He said that Democrats, who ran against lobbyist Jack Abramoff's "culture of corruption" in 2006, face their own ethics issues this year. He noted that Democrats up for re-election include Rep. William Jefferson (La.), who awaits trial on federal corruption charges, and House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (N.Y.), who faces House ethics probes for his real-estate deals.
Unlike Davis, Van Hollen stayed away from predicting the number of seats Democrats could win.
"The environment is very turbulent out there," he said, noting a large number of toss-up races.
When asked about specific toss-up races that their respective sides are eyeing, Davis singled out Democratic Reps. Paul Kanjorski (Pa.) and Carol Shea-Porter (N.H.). Van Hollen said that GOP Reps. Randy Kuhl (N.Y.), Marilyn Musgrave (Colo.) and Ric Keller (Fla.) could all lose.
Barack Obama is faring far better among white voters in southern battleground states than Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) did in 2004, according to a Public Policy Polling (PPP) report released Friday.
Obama trails John McCain by an average of 13 percentage points among whites in the battleground states of North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida by an average of 13 percentage point, but the Illinois Democrat has made double-digit gains among whites in those states compared to Kerry's 2004 election-day showing, according to PPP's numbers.
In Virginia, a state that went red in the 2000 and 2004 elections, Obama has made a 16 point gain among white voters. Compared with President Bush
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Retiring Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) is stumping for his potential GOP successor in a new TV ad, despite having endorsed another Republican in the primary race for his seat.
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) trails Democratic Rep. Tom Udall (N.M.) by an average of 17.7 percentage points in the race for Domenici's seat, according to major polls. Domenici initially endorsed Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) as his successor; Pearce defeated Wilson in the GOP primary.
In the ad, Domenici urges New Mexico voters to join him in passing the torch to Pearce.
"Together we've accomplished a lot for New Mexico. Now I must pass this work to someone who can continue our progress," Domenici says in the ad. "Steve Pearce is that someone."
Cindy McCain, wife of GOP presidential nominee John McCain, will serve as Grand Marshal at NASCAR's Bank of America 500 this Saturday in Concord, North Carolina, the McCain campaign has announced.
This won't be the first attempt the McCain camp has made at winning over NASCAR fans this election: just last month, John and Cindy McCain appeared together at NASCAR's Sylvania 300 in Manchester, New Hampshire, where the Arizona senator greeted drivers as they were announced.
North Carolina, once seen as a safely red state for 2008, is now being discussed as a battleground for McCain and Barack Obama. McCain had led in every major poll taken in the state until late September, when surveys showed Obama taking a slim lead.
An average of major polls in the state now shows the two candidates in a statistical dead heat, with Obama leading by 1.8 percentatge points.
The Connecticut Supreme Court has overturned that state's ban on gay marriage in a 4-3 decision.
Ruling that gay Americans are afforded equal protection to marry, the court said "our conventional understanding of marriage must yield to a more contemporary appreciation of the rights entitled to constitutional protection."
The ruling could have reverberations in presidential and congressional races, where Republicans used a number of ballot initiatives banning gay marriage to boost turnout for their candidates.
Two independent polls released on the horserace between Barack Obama and John McCain in North Carolina were conflicted Friday, one showing Obama in command and the other showing McCain with a small lead.
Obama leads McCain 48-43 percent in a poll from the Civitas Institute, reflecting a tightening margin separating the candidates in a state no Democrat has one since 1976. Two percent supported Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, and seven percent of voters said they were undecided.
McCain leads by two points, though, in an WSOC poll of the Tarheel state. 48 percent of voters said they will support McCain, while 46 percent said they would support Obama. Barr was not included in the poll, and six percent said they were undecided.
The poll reflects a narrow margin between Republicans and Democrats not only in North Carolina's presidential vote, but in also hotly-contested senatorial and gubernatorial races. Incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) has struggled to hold off a fierce challenge from Democrat Kay Barnes in the race.
The Civitas poll was conducted October 6-8, and has a 4.2 percent margin of error. The WSOC poll was conducted October 6-7, and has a five percent margin of error.
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