CNN confirms: McCain, Obama to meet with Bush about bailout
President Bush has asked both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama to join him for a meeting at the White House Thursday afternoon to discuss the economic bailout plan, a White House official said.

NYT: First Debate Up in Air as McCain Steps Off the Trail
Declaring that it was time to “set politics aside,” Senator John McCain said Wednesday that he would temporarily stop campaigning and seek to delay Friday’s debate with Senator Barack Obama to return to Washington to help forge an agreement on a proposed $700 billion bailout of financial institutions before Congress.

Washington Post: Palin Pushes McCain as Market Reformer
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, in her third interview since joining the Republican presidential ticket, licked her finger and stuck it in the air, saying that Sen. Barack Obama might wait and "see what way the political wind's blowing" on the Wall Street rescue package.

NYT: Gore’s Call to Action
Al Gore, the former vice president and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is nothing if not passionate on the issue of global warming. But his usual fired-up remarks on the subject took a step into the Gandhian realm on Wednesday when he told an audience at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York that the crisis was so severe and intractable that it was time for direct action.

CNN RADIO: Will they square off Friday night and who did Palin flatter?
The debate debate, and Sarah Palin meets with an almost awkward amount of flattery from a key world leader. Lisa Desjardins has today's CNN Political Ticker.

NYT: Letterman: McCain’s Cancellation Not Funny
Senator John McCain may have disappointed many expectant voters and debate viewers with the decision to suspend his campaign, but none more so than a late-night talk show host on CBS.

LA Times: Some voters aren't waiting until election day to cast ballots
The campaign isn't over, but the voting is underway. Before watching the presidential debates and without waiting for the next round of TV ads, millions of voters who have made up their minds about John McCain and Barack Obama will cast ballots before election day, thanks to expansive new early-voting laws.

LA Times: Pastors plan to defy IRS ban on political speech
Setting the stage for a collision of religion and politics, Christian ministers from California and 21 other states will use their pulpits Sunday to deliver political sermons or endorse presidential candidates — defying a federal ban on campaigning by nonprofit groups.

WSJ: Obama Puts Spotlight on Women's Pay Gap
Barack Obama is highlighting the pay gap between men and women among a package of women-sensitive issues to keep Hillary Clinton backers from defecting and offset the Sarah Palin phenomenon, a strategy that could resonate among women given growing concerns about their economic security.

LA Times: McCain's image as reformer takes a hit
Charges about the pervasive influence of lobbyists have been constant refrains in the 2008 race, but new reports that a company owned by John McCain's campaign manager received a $15,000 monthly stipend from a major mortgage firm at the center of the credit crisis are clouding the Arizona senator's effort to portray himself as a Wall Street reformer.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Advocates seek out voters among homeless, poor
Hurricane Katrina swept away many of his possessions and the city of Seattle evicted him from his dwelling beneath an overpass, but Joseph Gentris took a step Wednesday toward regaining his sense of personal pride: He registered to vote.