From NBC's Chuck Todd and Mark Murray
To explain its decision to pull back from Michigan, a source close to the McCain campaign emails First Read, "We played in Michigan to spread the field on Obama. As you know, Obama has already abandoned a number of states from his 50-state strategy."

The official continues, "If we win FL, MO, NC, VA, IN and OH -- all states Republicans have won for decades -- that puts us at 260 electoral votes. We need to find 10 electoral votes from CO, NV, NM, NH, MN, WI, and PA. Frankly, we have an easier map than Obama. He's on the defense."

But that's MUCH easier said that done. Recent polls show McCain to be either trailing or essentially tied in all of these states.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Carrie Dann
Politico's Jonathan Martin was the first out of the gate to report that the McCain campaign is expected to withdraw staff and television ads from battleground state Michigan, where the Arizona senator has lagged in recent polls by as much as double digits.

Campaign workers will be relocated to more competitive battlegrounds like Wisconsin as well as Ohio and Florida, two states that went for Bush in the past two elections

Although the shift is being characterized as a "pullout," sources in the state confirm to NBC News that radio ads were launched in the state today, and they characterize the move as more of a "pull back."
 
A spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party also told NBC that the state party received a phone call from the RNC informing them of the decision at noon today. 

McCain was scheduled to hold a campaign event next week in Plymouth, Michigan.  City manager Paul Sincock was contacted by the campaign to tentatively schedule the event on Tuesday; he was informed yesterday morning that it would be cancelled and "possibly" rescheduled.

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli

IN THE AIR BETWEEN WILMINGTON AND ST. LOUIS -- In a late bid to set expectations heading into tonight's vice presidential debate, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe repeatedly called Sarah Palin a formidable foe, at one point calling her "one of the best debaters in American politics."

But the reporters flying to St. Louis with the candidate weren't exactly buying it.

"No, she is," Plouffe stressed as a few reporters chuckled at the superlative. "[In] her 2006 debate, she knew where she wanted to take every question, and so I think she'll be relentlessly on message tonight."

Plouffe also predicted that that the Alaska governor would offer a few "biting and witty one-liners" that may be "scored well by the press," but thought viewers at home would be more concerned with hearing the candidates talk about their respective ticket's vision for the country.

"Our focus is on the person sitting at home in Canton, Ohio, tonight, [in] Akron, Ohio, tonight, who's struggling economically," he said. "Who is delivering a message about the agenda that's going to most positively impact their lives and deliver the kind of change the country's so desperate for?"

Republicans today tried to play up Biden's reputation for being gaffe-prone, releasing a greatest-hits Web ad documenting some recent and no-so-recent examples. Plouffe, calling Biden a "plain-spoken person," said that the real gaffes that matter are "what George Bush has done to the American people, and what John McCain wants to continue."

Looking beyond the debate, Plouffe said that the campaign has been showing successes of late by showing a consistency of message that he said seems to be lacking on the Republican side.

"There's been an erraticness in the last 10 days that I think has puzzled voters," he said.

He highlighted gains in states like Florida, one he said Republicans hadn't really expected to be a battleground at this point.

"We like to play offense. That's a state where we're playing a lot of offense," he said. "I think you would have assumed that states like Ohio, and Iowa, New Mexico, the Bush states would be more competitive."

From NBC's Pete Williams

The corruption trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens ground to a halt this morning, with a federal judge putting the investigation on pause for the day after the lawmaker's lawyers accused government prosecutors of withholding evidence.

In court documents just filed, lawyers for Stevens say "enough is enough," and ask the judge to dismiss the case against him or -- failing that -- declare a mistrial. 

The issue, defense lawyers say, is Sen. Stevens's state of mind -- would he have paid bills for all that work that Alaskan oil company VECO did on his house if he had received bills?  The government's star witness, the oil company CEO, has testified that a close friend of Stevens believes a written request from the senator to send him bills was sent just to cover himself and wasn't serious.  But late last night, the government disclosed that the company CEO, Bill Allen, told the FBI just the opposite, that Allen believed Stevens would have paid any bills sent to him. 

"This is the sort of information defense counsel would have used to maximum effect in opening statement. It would have shaped all aspects of the defense. In short, it is not sufficient now, on the eve of the government's case resting, to say 'no harm, no foul'" said Stevens lawyer Brendan Sullivan.

"Defense counsel would have trumpeted Mr. Allen's statements in the opening statement. Defense counsel would have had a field day with the information," Sullivan said.

It would be a flat-out stunner if the judge dismissed the case, and surprising if he declared a mistrial.  A more likely outcome might be a brief delay in the trial to give lawyers for Stevens a chance to re-group and prepare to cross-examine Bill Allen.  The judge will likely rule late today on what to do.

From NBC's Mike Viqueira

At least two House members have publically said they are switching from 'Nay' to 'Aye' in their vote on the financial recovery package, which failed in the House Monday.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), a member of the Congressional Black Congress, revealed his intention on the air today in an interview with Andrea Mitchell.  Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) has also declared that he will vote yes on the measure.

Video: Congressman Peter Defazio tells MSNBC's Alex Witt he remains opposed to the bailout bill, and that the president can take several steps on his own to help with economy without spending $700 billion.

Supporters of the bill need a net switch of 12 votes in favor of the bill to cross the finish line. The vote failed 228-205 on Monday.

Earlier today, House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel predicted that all the Senate add-ons to the bailout/recovery package "pretty much guarantees that it will go through." Speaking to reporters as he entered the speaker's suite for a meeting, Rangel said that he is "confident" that the bill will pass tomorrow.

(Rangel is neither part of leadership nor a whip, so he may not have definitive information on which to base his assessment. But as a longtime member and key player in Congress, he knows a thing or two about how his colleagues make their decisions on how to vote.)

*** UPDATE *** Arizona Republican Rep. John Shadegg told NBC's Norah O'Donnell this afternoon that he also has decided to vote for the measure.   Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, said during an interview with David Shuster on MSNBC that she is still opposed to the bill.

From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Obama kept the focus on jobs during a rally here in a state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, telling the audience gathered in a chilly plaza that he understands the economy better than his rival.

It was Obama's eighth trip to this battleground during the general election, and he was campaigning in heavily-Republican Kent County in a bid to win over voters concerned about the economy. After a spending the past two days barely mentioning John McCain, Obama tore into him again today, resuming his effort to cast his rival as wrong on the economy.

Video: Barack Obama, in Michigan today, also urged bipartisan support in the House to pass the finance bill dealing with the immediate crisis in order to prevent other economic issues from getting worse.

He said 600,000 jobs had been lost nationally since the beginning of the year, including 30,000 in Michigan and said the latest job numbers would likely show a continuation of that trend.

"The unemployment rate here in Grand Rapids and other parts of this state is nearly double what it is across this country, and a new jobs report is coming out tomorrow that experts predict will show our ninth-straight month of job loss. Nine-straight months of job loss!" Obama told a crowd of about 16,000 people. "Yet, just two weeks ago, John McCain said the 'fundamentals of the economy are strong.' I don't know what yardstick Sen. McCain uses, but where I come from, there's nothing more fundamental than a job."

He went on, "We have to have a president who understands that the essence of the American Dream is a good job."

Obama cited new reports about the effect the credit crunch had had on the small businesses and the auto industry -- an already struggling sector that has cost Michigan jobs. And he said that, as president, he would help automakers make more fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles.

"If the financial markets collapse and loans are not available, businesses -- large and small -- will follow. We're already seeing reports of that today," he said. "The auto industry, as tough as it's had it, is getting even more decimated because people can't get a car loan now. Small businesses aren't able to get loans to make payroll. If this continues then we could see the unemployment rate jump even higher."

Obama called on the House of Representatives to pass the financial rescue plan the Senate approved last night, but said that even with the plan the country could face a long and difficult road to recovery, arguing he was best equipped to lead an economic comeback.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Carrie Dann
ST. LOUIS -- As NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart put it during the Palin bounce, when her poll numbers were sky-high, "The faster the rise, the steeper the descent." And given what has transpired in the past couple of weeks, including most recently Palin's Supreme Court answer to Katie Couric, perhaps no truer words have been spoken. But if what goes up must come down, is the opposite true -- what comes down must go up? The McCain campaign certainly hopes so. And tonight's VP debate comes at a good time for the McCain campaign, because it provides an opportunity to change the subject. Yet as we said earlier in the week, for Palin at least, the debate isn't about moving poll numbers; it's about saving her political future. Let's face it: After what has happened in the past two weeks, Palin needs a solid performance against Biden to be taken seriously as a major political figure, let alone a heartbeat away from the presidency. Tonight is about one person, Sarah Palin. If for some reason the post-debate chatter isn't about Palin, then Biden had himself one bad night.

Video: NBC Political Director Chuck Todd offers his first read on what's at stake in tonight's first and only debate between vice presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

*** As for Biden…: While we're certain that Palin will be the center of attention tonight, we're just as certain Biden is probably going to make a gaffe. But Biden's gaffes -- so far -- have been eclipsed by Palin's interview performances simply because the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman has seemed to pass a commander-in-chief threshold with voters. In fact, it's the same reason that McCain's "Sunni-Shiite" and Zapatero gaffes didn't get as much attention as would have been the case had Obama (or Palin) had said them. Still, the chattering class' advice for Biden tonight is the same as the advice for Palin: Don't be your stereotype.

*** The skinny: Biden and Palin face off in their first -- and only (barring a challenge from say Palin for more debates?!?!) -- debate from Washington University at St. Louis beginning at 9:00 pm ET. At the 90-minute debate moderated by Gwen Ifill of PBS, the two running mates will speak from lecterns and address questions on domestic and foreign policy. Also, it won't be as freewheeling as last week's presidential debate: Biden and Palin will have 90 seconds to respond to questions, followed by two minutes of discussion.

*** The grown ups take charge: Last night, the Senate acted like the upper chamber and passed the financial bailout/rescue package by a bipartisan, 74-25 vote. With the House expected to take up the legislation for a second time, the question now is whether the bill has too many tax breaks, which could increase the cost of the package and possibly turn off some House Dem budget balancers. There is a chance the pork that was added to the Senate version of this bill could become grassroots fodder for some; already we've seen the New York Post and Morning Joe's gang highlight the extra $100 billion that was necessary to get this passed. Could we see another revolt in the House if this pork stuff starts angering folks again? It doesn't help Congress' image that it takes pork-barrel projects to get supposed emergency legislation passed.

Video: Newsweek's Ricahrd Wolffe discusses the Senate's decision to pass the $700 billion bailout bill, as well as John McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden's decision to vote in favor of it.

*** McCain's temperament: Two recent moments might generate more chatter about McCain's temperament. One was the "chilly" reception Obama received from McCain on the Senate floor last night. It was noticeable enough for a few media outlets to pick it up. But the second one was completely avoidable, and that was McCain's Tuesday meeting with the Des Moines Register editorial board, the video of which made the rounds yesterday. The back-and-forth between McCain and the liberal newspaper board was reminiscent of his stint on "The View" -- without the sense of humor.  Combined with his decision not to acknowledge Obama much in the first debate, the three moments collectively don't paint the most gracious candidate. We've said before that we think McCain can help himself by channeling voter anger, but he can't be overly cold either.

Video: Countdown's Keith Olbermann talks about John McCain's ill-tempered interview with the Des Moines Register's editorial board on Tuesday in which McCain repeatedly contradicted what he's said in previous interviews.

*** Who put this on the schedule? By the way, McCain's old strategist, Mike Murphy, has an interesting critique of the Des Moines Register appearance. Writes Murphy on his Time blog: "What the Hell was McCain even doing there in the first place?
1.) Obama is going to win Iowa.
2.) Editorial board meetings are usually pure trouble to begin with and result only in newspaper endorsements that persuade very few voters beyond the immediate family members of the editorial board.
3.) Within the rarified category of newspaper editorial boards, the Des Moines Register is one of the most liberal in the country. I'm rather surprised that halfway through the McCain interview they failed to switch over to Esperanto, the peace-loving language of all nations.
So, 35 days left and McCain is in Iowa? Why put McCain in the wrong state, at the wrong place? No surprise the result is the wrong message and the wrong tone."

*** No answer yet on social security: Yesterday, two different polls showed Obama with a noticeable lead over McCain in Florida. Those numbers come after a two-week period when we've noticed an uptick in the number of Social Security attack ads Obama's been running in South Florida. Strikingly, we haven't seen any responses yet from McCain on this. The last thing McCain needs is for Obama to make inroads with older voters in Florida. There's something about Florida that might have some Republicans stubborn: They might believe that if Obama wins Florida, then it's already over -- because Florida won't be his 270th electoral vote. That said, has anyone else noticed how easily Florida has moved lately with the national polls? The state seems to be mirroring the national numbers. Perhaps the economy has hit the state hard enough that it's back to being a microcosm of the country again. Either way, how long can McCain let Obama's Florida effort -- which yesterday included Bill Clinton -- go without a serious response? 

*** Strategic prepping: Speaking of Florida, that's where Obama did his debate prep before the first debate. Now we've learned that Obama's debate prep for the next showdown will take place in Asheville, NC, a state his campaign has appeared to successfully push into the Toss-up column. Any guesses where Obama will be before the third debate? Virginia? Indiana?

*** On the trail: McCain attends a women's town hall in Denver, CO. And Obama, in Michigan for the second time in a week, holds rallies in Grand Rapids and East Lansing
 
Countdown to the second presidential debate: 5 days
Countdown to the third presidential debate: 13 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 33 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 110 days
 
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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch tees up tonight's VP debate. "Although Obama and McCain have three debates of their own, it's the vice presidential face-off that has taken on the aura of the marquee event.  'This is the first time it seems that a vice presidential debate might have an impact on the election,' said Peter Kastor, a history professor at Washington University. And most of the credit goes to the Alaska governor, a virtual unknown before she was selected five weeks ago as McCain's running mate."

Video: Former McCain political strategist and NBC analyst Mike Murphy and Democratic strategist Paul Begala give their predictions for Thursday's vice presidential debate.

The Boston Globe: "Republican Sarah Palin - under intense scrutiny for her few unscripted remarks as a candidate and losing the confidence of voters - faces the first extended audition of her capabilities, knowledge, and ability to improvise since she became the nominee. Democrat Joe Biden - a master of televised bombast as a two-time presidential candidate and assertive Senate committee chairman - faces the challenge to find his footing as a secondary figure on stage, balancing the roles of foil, inquisitor, and bystander. The pressure on the first-term Alaska governor has transformed the debate from a typical exchange between top campaign surrogates into a test of whether Palin is qualified for national office."

A new Washington Post/ABC poll finds that six in 10 voters see Palin "as lacking the experience to be an effective president, and a third are now less likely to vote for McCain because of her."

The New York Daily News spoke to one of Palin's former debate competitors, who said she's no pushover. "Palin sliced and diced the more experienced, data-driven legislator and another foe during some two dozen debates in Alaska's 2006 gubernatorial race. She did it not with sharp discourses on policy, but with the same talent she's shown since becoming the Republican veep choice - a folksy tone, delivered in meandering, run-on sentences that mostly kill the clock but occasionally slice like a knife, Halcro says. Asked about the environment, Palin spoke about naming her daughter Bristol for Alaska's Bristol Bay. Pressed on high gas prices, she talked about her family's struggle to buy a new car. And to Alaska's native population, she deftly reached out by talking about her husband's Yu'pik Eskimo grandparent."

Video: With voter opinion of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin declining ahead her debate with Sen. Joe Biden, is she bringing down the Republican ticket? Rachel Maddow is joined by former Palin staffer Larry Persily.

Um, is it really that kosher to find out Joe Biden has used his campaign treasury for things like landscaping? The New York Times delves into Biden's finances and reports, "Although he is among the least wealthy members of the millionaires club that is the United States Senate — he and his wife, Jill, a college professor, earn about $250,000 a year — Mr. Biden maintains a lifestyle that is more comfortable than the impression he may have given on the campaign trail. A review of his finances found that when it comes to some of his largest expenses, like the purchase and upkeep of his home and his use of Amtrak trains to get around, he has benefited from resources and relationships not available to average Americans."

"As a secure incumbent who has rarely faced serious competition during 35 years in the Senate, Mr. Biden has been able to dip into his campaign treasury to spend thousands of dollars on home landscaping and some of his Amtrak travel between Wilmington, Del., where he lives, and Washington. And the acquisition of his waterfront property a decade ago involved wealthy businessmen and campaign supporters, some of them bankers with an interest in legislation before the Senate, who bought his old house for top dollar, sold him four acres at cost and lent him $500,000 to build his new home."

"There is nothing to suggest Mr. Biden bent any rules in the sale, purchase and financing of his homes. Rather, he appears to have benefited at times from the simple fact of who he is: a United States senator, not just 'Amtrak Joe,' the train-riding everyman that the Obama-Biden campaign has deployed to rally middle-class voters."

The New York Times also looks at the issues Palin has focused on in her first 22 months as governor. "When Gov. Sarah Palin meets Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thursday in the vice-presidential debate, even her fellow Alaskans might hear for the first time some of her views on health care reform, education policy and other issues of state government. In her 22 months in office, Ms. Palin has not addressed many of those matters in a significant way, pursuing a narrower agenda rooted in Alaska's resource-based economy."

"Ms. Palin has approved increased spending for education and the elderly, sued the federal government for listing the polar bear as a threatened species, and pushed for a bill that would have reduced state regulation of new medical facilities. But by and large, oil and gas issues have dominated her tenure."

The AP went to Huntsville, Ala., and found… "Even in the staunchly Republican South, Palin is facing deep skepticism about her qualifications heading into Thursday night's debate with her Democratic counterpart, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware. The wave of enthusiasm here that greeted the Alaska governor's conservative positions on social and religious issues remains in many quarters, but it has been tempered by uncertainty about her readiness, particularly among moderates."

Joe Six-Pack? "Sarah Palin and her husband have pieced together a uniquely Alaskan income that reached comfortably into six figures even before she became governor, capitalizing on valuable fishing rights, a series of land deals and a patchwork of other ventures to build an above-average lifestyle. Add up the couple's 2007 income and the estimated value of their property and investments and they appear to be worth at least $1.2 million. That would make the Palins, like Democratic vice presidential rival Joe Biden and his wife Jill, well-off but not nearly as wealthy as multimillionaire couples John and Cindy McCain and, to a lesser extent, Barack and Michelle Obama."

The Wall Street Journal: "The Senate handily passed a controversial financial rescue package Wednesday, giving the bill its first legislative victory but adding provisions that could complicate efforts to push the $700 billion plan through the House of Representatives. The compromise bill represented a marriage of the rescue proposal with a host of measures designed to win the support of reluctant lawmakers. Additions include an increase in bank deposit insurance limits, a suggested change to accounting rules, and a $150.5 billion package of unrelated personal and corporate tax cuts."

Video: NBC's Tom Costello reports on the sweetened bailout package passed by the Senate Wednesday night.

"Seeking to underscore the importance of the bill, McCain and Obama each made campaign trail detours to Washington yesterday to cast their votes for the measure in the Senate, which passed the bill last night on a vote of 74 to 25. Obama, speaking on the Senate floor before the vote, implored his colleagues to 'do what's right for the country.' … Last night, McCain cast his vote in favor of the bill but opted not to make a speech to the full Senate. Obama and McCain shook hands in the chamber, reflecting their alignment on the need for the legislation."

Video: What does the Senate passing this bailout bill mean for Wall Street and the stock market? Rachel Maddow is joined by CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.

Per the New York Times, "The political tension was clear as Senator Barack Obama walked to the Republican side of the aisle to greet Senator John McCain, who offered a chilly look and a brief return handshake."

A separate New York Times piece also notes the chilly response. "While it took Mr. Obama several seconds to make his way over to see his rival, Mr. McCain barely pivoted his body as he took Mr. Obama's hand for a handshake that lasted just a moment. The eye contact was just as brief."

The latest New York Times/CBS poll finds Obama with a nine-point national lead over McCain, 49%-40%. "It is the first time Mr. Obama has held a statistically significant lead over Mr. McCain this year in polls conducted by CBS or joint polls by CBS and The Times."

Obama leads in the new national AP poll, 48%-41%. That's a shift three from weeks ago, when McCain was ahead. Obama was "lifted by voters who think the Democrat is better suited to lead the nation through its sudden financial crisis."

Video: New battleground state polls show Barack Obama gaining an edge over John McCain in the presidential race. Newsweek's Richard Wolffe discusses whether the current economic crisis is the cause of the lead.

COLORADO: The Rocky Mountain News' Sprengelmeyer looks at what's changed in Colorado since Kerry's unsuccessful flirtation in the state in 2004. "Kerry ended up losing the state to Bush, short by about 100,000 votes. But back then, the Republican voter registration advantage over Democrats was about 150,000 voters. Since then, Democrats have narrowed the gap substantially at the same time the struggling economy and Bush's unpopularity have created challenges for Republicans all over the country."

FLORIDA: Obama 51%, McCain 47% (CNN/Time/Opinion Research)

Obama 46%, McCain 42% (Suffolk University, 600 LV)

The St. Pete Times offers this scoop: "Florida Republican leaders hastily convened a top secret meeting this week to grapple with Sen. John McCain's sagging performance in this must-win state." More: "With some grass roots organizers complaining about coordination problems with the campaign, Republican Party chairman Jim Greer gathered top officials at the state headquarters in Tallahassee on Tuesday afternoon. He swore the group to secrecy."

INDIANA: McCain 46%, Obama 45% (Research 2000 for South Bend Tribune/WSBT, 600 likely voters)

IOWA: Obama 55%, McCain 39% (Research 2000 for KCCI-TV, 600 LV)

MICHIGAN: One of Obama's scheduled stops in Michigan today illustrates his strategy of trying to tamp down Republican margins in GOP strongholds. "Kent County is hardly fertile ground for Democrats. John Kerry lost there to President Bush in 2004 by nearly 55,000 votes, a 20 percentage point margin. Bush won Kent and its seven neighboring counties by 259,000 votes -- a whopping margin, though still not enough to offset Kerry's 342,000-vote edge in Wayne County."

MINNESOTA: Obama 54%, McCain 43% (CNN/Time/Opinion Research)

MISSOURI: Obama 49%, McCain 48% (CNN/Time/Opinion Research)

OHIO: Black voters - especially among those in northeast part of the state - could be crucial to an Obama win in November. "An analysis of the Ohio vote and exit polls shows that if 95 percent of black voters who cast ballots in 2004 support Obama in November, he will win Ohio without a single additional vote above what Kerry received with 86 percent black support. But some Obama supporters say a larger black vote will be needed this year just to offset votes Obama won't get from some traditional Democratic voters because of race."

NEVADA: Obama 51%, McCain 47% (CNN/Time/Opinion Research)

VIRGINIA: Obama 53%, McCain 44% (CNN/Time/Opinion Research)

Time looks at McCain's various news cycle ploys and notes: "Even if such attacks could potentially give McCain a brief boost, it's not at all clear that they would help for the long haul. After all, since mid-summer, the Arizona senator has effectively dominated the day-to-day media narrative through a series of surprising, bold and, to some, reckless tactical moves designed to keep his opponent on the ropes. Whether he's been depicting Barack Obama as Paris Hilton, selecting the little known governor of Alaska as his running mate, manufacturing the lipstick-on-a-pig contretemps, or, most recently, 'suspending' his campaign to tend to the financial crisis, McCain has consistently garnered the headlines and forced his opponent to respond."

Video: Sen. John McCain addresses some of the bailout bill's tax breaks, such as the $192 million for rum producers, saying that the system in Washington needs to change.

"Each of the bold moves brought McCain short-term political gain, throwing the often unflappable Obama off his stride and keeping the Republican nominee very much in the presidential hunt in a dismal year for Republicans. But the tactics also each contained the potential for long-term political costs by distracting from, or eroding, the central McCain message."

How did the Bill Clinton-campaigning-for-Obama story get so little play? Short answers: The economy and Palin. In his first campaign event for Obama, Bill Clinton laid out the argument for Obama. He "praised Obama's 'good ideas' for the economy, energy independence, and healthcare. 'He's got a better philosophy, he's got better answers,' Clinton told voters at the University of Central Florida in Orlando."

Video: Attending his first campaign rally for Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton tells the crowd that Obama has better understanding, advisors and instincts on the economy.

Bloomberg News: "The awkward personal relationship aside, Clinton's potential political value to Obama showed in the fact that the former president's campaign debut was set in Florida -- where opinion polls show a competitive race for the state's 27 Electoral College votes, the fourth-most in the country. Florida's electoral votes decided the 2000 election between Bush and then-Vice President Al Gore. Floridians backed Bush in 2004 over Democrat John Kerry."

"In another potentially decisive political battleground, Ohio's Democratic Governor Ted Strickland advised Obama's tacticians to deploy Bill Clinton heavily in parts of the state. In Orlando yesterday, Clinton focused on the economy. Obama's priorities, when consulting his economic advisers about the financial crisis, show what kind of president he will be, Clinton said. 'You know what he said? "Tell me what the problem is and how to fix it, and don't bother me with politics. Let's do the right thing, and we'll sell it to America,"' Clinton said."

The Los Angeles Times notes Clinton was "warmer than the tepid backing Clinton has expressed in recent days while making the rounds on late night and Sunday news shows promoting his philanthropic summit. Words of praise for Republican John McCain fairly rolled off his tongue -- 'a great man' who 'stood up to his party.' But when it came to Obama's attributes, 'much closer to what Hillary and I want' was about as good as it got."

The New York Post fact-checks Obama's tax claims.

From NBC's Carrie Dann

By a vote of 74-25, the Senate has approved its version of the financial recovery package that was voted down by the U.S. House on Monday.  Senators Biden, McCain, and Obama, as promised, returned to the Hill to vote "aye" on the measure.

On Monday afternoon, when the bailout package failed in the House, a quick glance at the roll call vote offered a fairly accurate cheat sheet to indicate the closeness of a few 2008 House races.  All but eight of 38 members in tight reelection contests voted against the largely unpopular bill.

Video: The Senate voted 74-25 in favor of the economic bailout bill. What does this mean? Rachel Maddow is joined by MSNBC Congressional Correspondent Mike Viqueira.

But after a record plummet of the Dow Jones on Monday and new revisions to the bill, the Senate proved to be characteristically more measured.

Of the twenty-five lawmakers voting "no," ten are up for reelection. But of the eight sitting senators in tough races, just three voted against the bailout.

North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole, whose reelection race has slowly drifted from the "Likely Republican" column to a blue-leaning Toss Up, was among those voting "nay."

"While it may be easier for some in Congress to quickly pass a  bill, pat themselves on the back and say they've done their part to stabilize the  markets, then pack up and head home - I say we must take the time to get this  right," wrote Dole in a statement. "Now is the time for careful, deliberate actions - not hasty, knee-jerk reactions. I will stand up for the taxpayers and vote no."

(Dole's opponent, Democrat Kay Hagan, released a statement after the vote to indicate that she also would have voted against the bailout.)

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi is also in a fight for reelection and also opposed  the bill, with an eye towards taxpayer dollars. "At its core," he said in a written statement, "this is still the same plan that calls on taxpayers to go $700 billion  further into debt in an attempt to fix this problem, while doing absolutely nothing to prevent it from happening again."

Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, who has gained in most state polls but is still considered the Senate's most vulnerable Democrat, also opposed the bill.

John Sununu of New Hampshire, Gordon Smith of Oregon, and Norm Coleman of Minnesota all voted in favor of the financial rescue package. 

Senate leaders praised both presidential candidates and vice presidential candidate  Joe Biden for returning to the Senate chamber from the trail to vote "aye" on the  measure. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters after the vote that the candidates played a "constructive role" in hammering out the compromise.

From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger
SEDONA, Ariz. -- Besides Roe v. Wade, Palin appeared unable to name a US Supreme Court decision she disagreed with in an interview debuting Wednesday with CBS's Katie Couric.

Couric asked the same questions to Palin and Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, focusing on their views on Roe v. Wade and what high court decisions they opposed. Palin expressed her opposition to the abortion decision, saying she believed it should be a state issue, but did not name an additional court decision she opposed.

"Well, let's see," she said. "There's, of course, in the great history of America rulings there have been rulings, that's never going to be absolute consensus by every American. And there are, those issues, again, like Roe v Wade where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So you know, going through the history of America, there would be others."

She was then interrupted by Couric, who asked if she could think of any.

"Well, I could think of, of any again, that could be best dealt with on a more local level," she continued. "Maybe I would take issue with. But you know, as mayor, and then as governor and even as a Vice President, if I'm so privileged to serve, wouldn't be in a position of changing those things but in supporting the law of the land as it reads today."

From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
LA CROSSE, Wisc. -- As he prepared to head to Washington, DC to vote on a package to rescue the country's financial system, Obama stressed his promise to review the plan if he becomes president and pledged that taxpayers would never again have to put their money on the line to pay for the irresponsibility of Wall Street executives.

Obama said his chief priority if elected would be protecting tax dollars, and that he would demand a full review of the $700 billion rescue plan to make sure that it is working for taxpayers.

"If you – the American taxpayer – are not getting your money back, then we will change how this program is being managed. If need be, we will send new legislation to Congress to make sure that taxpayers are protected in line with the principles that I have put forward," he told a crowd of more than 15,000 people huddled on a chilly fall morning in La Crosse, a city near Wisconsin's border with Minnesota.

He repeated his call for what he calls a Financial Stability Fee on the financial services industry to repay Americans in case the rescue plan results in losses.

"As I modernize the financial system to create new rules of the road to prevent another crisis, we will continue this fee to build up a reserve so that if this happens again, it will be the money contributed by banks that's put at risk," he said. "Let me be very clear: when I am President, financial institutions will do their part and pay their share, and American taxpayers will never again have to put their money on the line to pay for the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street."

Obama also spoke about the need to reign in spending in Washington, in part by increasing government efficiency and ending the war in Iraq. He emphasized that an idea he proposed yesterday morning, raising the FDIC cap to $250,000 from $100,000 proposal, was included in the rescue bill and again called on members of both parties to support the legislation "even if it's not popular" for the good of the country.

From NBC's John Talty
In a GOP-organized call with reporters responding to Obama's campaign stop earlier today in Wisconsin, Rudy Giuliani criticized the media for its coverage of Palin.

"Sarah Palin is treated horribly different than Joe Biden," Giuliani said. He went on to add that her lack of foreign policy experience is made into a big deal by the media -- but Obama's lack of executive experience is rarely talked about.

Giuliani felt strongly that Obama is not the right person to lead this country in the current financial crisis. "Barack Obama said to call me if you need me and that is not leadership. He said they are going to have to fix the problem in Washington. Yet, of course, Barack Obama's day job is as a United States senator and he is one of they."

Later in the call, Giuliani praised McCain for his role in getting votes for the Wall Street bailout deal, stating that the GOP presidential nominee "got us from four Republicans that were supporting the program to 65 Republicans." Those 65 House Republicans, however, weren't enough to pass the legislation.

When later asked about the exact role McCain played in getting 61 more Republicans to support the proposed 700 billion bailout, Giuliani admitted that McCain was not the only one involved in getting Republicans to support the bill -- but that he did play a large role in getting many of them to switch their position on it.

"John McCain offers leadership, which is the reason why I support and admire him," Giuliani said. "You run to the fire in order to put it out and that's why he suspended his campaign, went back to Washington and made progress."

From NBC's Adam Aigner-Treworgy
INDEPENDENCE, MO – At the Harry Truman Library Institute earlier today, McCain officially announced his return to Washington to vote on Congress's Wall Street bailout legislation, saying that if the bill "fails in Congress yet again, the present crisis will turn into a disaster."
 
"As credit disappears, students will no longer be able to get loans for college, and families looking for a new home will be unable to get a loan," McCain said. "New car sales will come to a halt. Businesses will have difficulty securing credit for operations and may be unable to pay employees. If we fail to act, the gears of our economy will grind to a halt."

McCain had an even less optimistic prediction for the unemployment numbers set to be released at the end of this week, proclaiming that the country's "government is on the wrong track, our economy is struggling."

Unsurprisingly, McCain touted his own economic and energy plans as crucial to solving the current crisis. He reintroduced the one-year discretionary spending freeze he first called for shortly after securing his party's nomination, saying that the current size of the nation's debt must be taken into account.

"We must also realize that this rescue plan has serious implications for future spending," McCain said. "We can't dedicate more than, possibly more than a trillion dollars to rescue failing institutions, and then go right back to business as usual in Washington – as if there were no end to the resources of government or to the patience of taxpayers."

Heeding his own repeated calls for a temporary pause to partisan bickering, McCain didn't mention his opponent's name today, but he did criticize "some" people who disagreed with his approach to energy independence – a critique that is usually accompanied by Obama's name.

"Some still insist that we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power," McCain said. "But Americans know better than that."

From NBC's Ken Strickland
The bipartisan Senate leadership predicted victory today, just hours before the chamber votes on the economic rescue package.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was "confident" the measure will pass.  Republican Leader Mitch McConnell read from the same hymnal, predicting "broad bipartisan support."

While not overtly suggesting the House will pass the bill when it's taken up on Friday, McConnell said, "I think a good vote coming out of the Senate will certainly be helpful over on the House side."

With 60 votes required for passage, reporters pressed for hard numbers for a "good vote" would mean. (Or, how many votes over 60 can the leadership muster?)

"I'm not going to describe what a good vote is, but we're going to have broad bipartisan support tonight for this package," McConnell said.

"We're confident that the way we've got this package will work in the Senate, and we're optimistic it will work in the House," McConnell said, referring to the "sweetener" provisions added to the original bill to attract more support.

At his own news conference later, Reid also refused to play the numbers game.  "I am confident it will be a good vote," Reid said just outside the Senate doors.  "And a good vote in the Senate is anything that passes."

Reid added, "I would not have moved forward on this if I didn't think the chance in the House was good." But, he quickly reminded reporters, "I don't run the House."

The Majority Leader also pushed back on claims that by attempting to pass the bill before the House does -- an irregular Congressional procedure -- that he was force-feeding his House colleagues.   "I hope that no one thinks I'm trying to jam anyone," Reid said.  "This is an effort to solve what, I think, is the greatest financial crisis we've had since the Great Depression," he said.

New numbers from CNN/Time Magazine/Opinion Research shows Obama leading McCain in all five of the battleground states they polled: Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia

-- Florida: Obama 51, McCain 47
-- Minnesota: Obama 54, McCain 43
-- Missouri: Obama 49, McCain 48
-- Nevada: Obama 51, McCain 47
-- Virginia: Obama 53, McCain 44

From NBC's Jeff Hanley
Appearing at a rally at the University of Colorado today, Boulder, Michelle Obama spoke on the troubling issue of increasing tuition costs and debt. Relating current student problems to what she and her husband experienced, she said: "When you don't have the money to pay for your college, you take out these loans, and you come out so mired in debt, As Barack and I did... We just paid off our student loans ... and that's only because Barack wrote two best-selling books."
 
In addition, Michelle Obama talked about her hope for young American's to give back to their communities by "decid[ing] to walk away from big-paying jobs to maybe teach or work in the community." Michelle and her husband did this, but she also recognized an ever growing problem that "when you do [work in the community] and you've gone to great schools, you find your salary isn't enough to cover the cost of your debt... We want a president who knows that the importance of education should not be dependent upon whether you can afford it."

She concluded her remarks on education by stating her belief that "every single child in this nation deserves an outstanding education. That regardless of their race, or their gender ... or the property taxes or property value in their neighborhood, that they can go to fine schools."

Keeping the topic of Iraq and the current housing and bailout crisis to a minimum, Michelle Obama also said, "There is only one candidate who as a clear timeline for withdrawing our troops from Iraq. And most importantly, "ensuring [that] when those wonderful troops come home, they come home to homes."

The last topic of the rally -- an important one at a college campus -- was voter registration.  Michelle reminded everyone that in "2004, George W. Bush won Colorado by fewer than 100,000 votes. Right now, nearly 170,000 young people are still not registered to vote [In Colorado]... with 170,000 students alone... it can change the face of this election."

From NBC's Carrie Dann
When John McCain sat down with the Des Moines Register's editorial board before the Iowa caucuses, he ended up earning a glowing endorsement that kicked his momentum up a notch in a state that has seldom done him many favors.   In its eleventh-hour endorsement, the paper lauded his honor, his maverick status, and his "moral authority," even as it fleetingly warned that "he can be hot-tempered, a trait that's not helpful in conducting diplomacy."

That sentiment is taking on a new twist today. Video clips of McCain's brusque and sometimes sarcastic exchanges during his sit-down yesterday with the Iowa paper's board  are getting a lot of play, with cheery Democrats citing the video as evidence of McCain's short temper and penchant for sarcasm.

In the meeting, McCain was particularly short when questioned about the governing experience offered by first-term Alaska governor Sarah Palin.  "You and I just have a fundamental disagreement, and I am so happy the American people seem to be siding with me," he replied when a member of the board suggested that Palin lacks experience.

Further questioned, McCain's tone grew more annoyed. He suggested that Palin does not need the blessing of Republican intelligentsia to appeal to everyday voters. "If there's a Georgetown cocktail party person who, quote, calls himself a conservative who doesn't like her, good luck. I don't dismiss him," he said. "I think the American people have overwhelmingly shown their approval."

When another member of the board indicated that McCain's careers in the military and in civil service meant that he had never been without a cushy health care plan, the Arizona senator astringently referred to his years as a prisoner of war, saying that "I did go for a period of time when the health care wasn't very good."

McCain, whose Iowa campaign trips last summer were characterized by freewheeling "Straight Talk" sessions with the dwindling corps of reporters who followed his ailing campaign, vigorously took issue with the Register editors when his reputation for honest campaigning was questioned. "I have always had 100 percent, absolute truth," he replied. "That's been my life, and putting my country first. I'll match that record with anyone and an assertion that I have ever done otherwise, I take strong exception to."

Asked specifically about the McCain campaign's assertion that Obama supported sex education for kindergarteners, a claim described as deceptive by most independent sources, McCain responded, "He did, he did."
 
"We have the documentation," he told the board impatiently. "I'll be glad to provide it to you."

McCain lags in the polls in Iowa, where Barack Obama engineered an unprecedented ground game during the caucuses and won the support of Iowans who cherish the state's status as an early kingmaker in the nominating process. His fourth-place finish in the caucuses was not unexpected; he did not curry much favor with the state's evangelical population, and his stalwart opposition to ethanol subsidies has never won him many Iowan friends.

*** UPDATE *** In its sum-up piece, the Register calls McCain's performance "crisp and deliberate."

MORE : "Compared to earlier visits, however, when he was a long-shot caucus candidate and more relaxed, McCain on Tuesday was serious, on message and in no mood to be challenged. He was often quick to respond by challenging the premise of a question."

From NBC's Mark Murray
In his campaign's latest TV ad, McCain speaks to the camera in addressing the current economic crisis and talking about the need for leadership.

[Youtube:bsSo7sC9M2s]

The script:
MCCAIN: What a week.
Democrats blamed Republicans,
Republicans blamed Democrats.
We're the United States of America.
It shouldn't take a crisis to pull us together.
We need a President who can avert crisis.
Put people back to work.
Grow our economy.
And move people from surviving to thriving.
We need leadership without painful new taxes.
That will make our country strong again.
I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

*** UPDATE *** Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan fires back, "In the latest sign of his increasingly erratic campaign, John McCain is actually running an ad attacking behavior that he himself exhibited in blaming this financial crisis on Barack Obama. What a week indeed."

From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
As seemingly every word of Sarah Palin's interviews are rehashed and parodied on the eve of the first and only vice presidential debate, Republicans are working hard to shed light on what they believe are dubious public statements coming from Joe Biden.

In particular, the McCain campaign is focusing on two statements -- one recent and one more dated -- in which they believe the Delaware senator exaggerates the circumstances of visits to Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively. In both instances, the Obama camp stands by Biden's original statements.

Last week, as Biden discussed the threat still posed by al Qaeda in Afghanistan during a speech to the National Guard Association, he made mention of the fact that his helicopter "was forced down" there this year. The McCain campaign quickly called the line an "exaggeration" -- meant to suggest the incident was a result of enemy fire rather than weather. But with numerous accounts verifying Biden's claim, most news outlets made little note of it.

Then on Tuesday, the McCain campaign circulated an article on FoxNews.com highlighting a claim Biden made as a presidential candidate during a debate last year. Discussing Iraq, Biden said he had been "shot at" during one of his seven visits inside the Green Zone. According to The Hill, which asked about the statement days after the debate, Biden clarified that he was "near where a shot landed" in the Green Zone during a 2005 visit, and that he felt the building shake. "No one got up and ran from the room -- it wasn't that kind of thing," he told the newspaper.

The Fox story compared Biden's "shot at" statement to Hillary Clinton's infamous claim during her presidential bid that she landed in Bosnia under the threat of sniper fire. That statement, however, was repeated several times by the candidate (and twice by her husband). Still, the McCain campaign was earnestly pushing other reporters to bite on the story line.

"How is it different?" McCain spokesperson Ben Porritt asked. "Clinton said she was surrounded by sniper fire and then had to back off. Biden is the same, except he is being allowed to keep telling the tale."

This morning, the McCain campaign sent reporters a statement from Michael Durant, who piloted a Black Hawk helicopter shot down in Somalia in 1993. Durant noted both Biden's recent "forced down" and year-old "shot at" comment, adding that neither story "appears to be true, and Sen. Biden has never accounted for the discrepancies."

"I've been on a helicopter that was 'forced down' by enemy fire, and I've been 'shot at.' Neither is easily confused with being caught in a snow storm or awakened by a loud bang in the night," he said.

The Obama campaign called Republican efforts to raise doubts about Biden "textbook Roveian tactics," and supplied several news reports of both incidents to back up Biden's claims. In one of them, a top McCain surrogate, Sen. Lindsey Graham, mentions a "rocket going 300 meters" from where he and Biden were in Iraq.

"Today, you can spell desperation 'McCain,'" Biden spokesperson David Wade said. "In the middle of a week when Republicans are calling for Gov. Palin to be dropped from the ticket and Sen. McCain's angrily flailing on the economy, the McCain campaign is loaded for bear trying to switch topics."

From NBC's Mark Murray
Yesterday, the RNC independent expenditure unit began airing a new TV ad in battleground states that blasts Obama for the price tag of his spending proposals -- on top of the cost of the $700 billion bailout measure.

Here is the Obama campaign's response, which notes the price tag of McCain's tax cuts and the transition costs of allowing younger workers to invest their payroll taxes in the stock market.

 

Script:
OBAMA: I'm Barack Obama, and I approve this message.
MCCAIN: "I can't wait to introduce her to the big spenders in Washington…"
ANNOUNCER: Big spenders…like John McCain.
McCain's tax plan means another three TRILLION in debt.
His plan to privatize Social Security – ANOTHER trillion.
Tax credits sent to insurance companies, yet another trillion.
So as we borrow from China to fund his spending spree, ask yourself.
Can we afford John McCain?

*** UPDATE *** McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds replies, "Barack Obama is lying with impunity and now he is shamelessly accusing John McCain of being a 'big spender' while failing to cite a single legitimate McCain spending item – not a single new proposal or program. The truth is Barack Obama has realized that his requests for a billion dollars in pork barrel spending and his proposal for nearly a trillion dollars in new federal spending is desperately at odds with the American pocketbook."

From NBC's Mike Viqueira
House Democrats had a conference call late this morning. The upshot: they will likely put the loaded up Senate financial rescue package on the floor on Friday.

There are two caveats.  First, the Senate will have to pass their version of the bill tonight. That's likely; passage is considered to be almost a lock.The second provision: House Republicans will have to show that they can deliver more votes. The Senate package is designed to attract Monday's wayward GOP representatives, and Democratic leaders now think that they aren't going to lose fiscally-minded Blue Dogs and that their "aye" vote count from Monday will at least hold, if not grow.

Congressional leaders appear to have learned a lesson and will not put the package on the floor unless they are assured that the votes are there. The last thing they want is a replay of Monday's failed vote.

The House remains in recess until tomorrow, but Republican House chiefs John Boehner and Roy Blunt are in the Capitol today, working the phones and looking for votes for the Senate plan.