POLITICAL HOT TOPICS: Thursday, Oct. 2nd, 2008

CNN: Biden, Palin have different missions in debate
Democratic Sen. Joe Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin each have a mission this week: Attack the two men running for president. But both vice presidential candidates have challenges in meeting their goals ahead of Thursday night's debate.
Both have been praised for their skills.

CNN: Bailout plan forces McCain, Obama into balancing act
With the bailout proposal dominating the campaign trail, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama must balance sending out a message of a bipartisan solution while trying to gain a political advantage.

Washington Post: Obama, McCain Stand United In Pressing Hard for Rescue
After months on the campaign trail and countless missed votes, Barack Obama and John McCain returned to the Capitol last night as just two of 99 senators voting on a massive Wall Street rescue plan, but their forceful advocacy for the controversial measure may help push it into law.

USA TODAY: Both VP hopefuls have something to prove
It's rare that the undercard is as eagerly awaited as the title bout. But in this election, the vice presidential debate could be such a matchup.

Washington Post: Palin's Strengths Rooted in Alaska
The valley where Sarah Palin was raised is vast and tree-packed, and so quiet that once, when Palin's parents left a door open in their antler-festooned house, a moose poked its nose into their den.

NYT: Biden Relies on His Closest Adviser, His Sister
As Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. puzzles out the perfect tone to take with Gov. Sarah Palin in Thursday night’s debate, he is getting advice from a woman who has been an intimate since he was a grade school student with a stutter and a paper route.

NYT: Not-So-Secret Handshake
It was Senator Barack Obama who crossed the aisle.
As the senators gathered to vote on the $700 billion financial rescue package on Wednesday evening, Mr. Obama walked over to the Republican side of the chamber to extend a greeting to Senator John McCain.
He got a chilly response.

Washington Times: Democrats play up Palin's abilities
First, Democrats portrayed her as a small-time mayor from the nation's most remote state, a one-time beauty queen who was wholly unworthy of becoming vice president of the United States.

WSJ: Biden Prepares for Palin With Eye on Gender Pitfalls
For all the speculation over how Sarah Palin will fare in the vice-presidential debate Thursday night, her Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, faces a challenge of his own: taking on the Alaska governor without coming across as sexist or a bully.

NYT: Moderator’s Planned Book Becomes a Topic of Debate
In mid-August, shortly after the Commission on Presidential Debates named Gwen Ifill of PBS as a moderator of the coming vice-presidential event, she wrote an essay in Time magazine that identified her as the author of a coming book, “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.”

Boston Globe: Candidates trade hits on taxes and spending
Republicans ramped up their assault today on Barack Obama as a tax-and-spend liberal.
On the tax side, John McCain's campaign unveiled a new web ad that features running mate Sarah Palin. "How are you going to be better off if our opponent adds a massive tax burden to the American economy?" the spot shows Palin saying.
"Good question," the announcer says.

Washington Post: Skepticism of Palin Growing, Poll Finds
With the vice presidential candidates set to square off today in their only scheduled debate, public assessments of Sarah Palin's readiness have plummeted, and she may now be a drag on the Republican ticket among key voter groups, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

AP: Independent groups aim at McCain, Obama in new ads
Their messages run the gamut, but an explosion of outside advertising targeting the presidential candidates has the same goal: to provoke voters on issues from abortion and judges to killing wolves and John McCain's age.

Politico: Debates should be more than sound bites
Presidential debates are among the most watched broadcasts on TV, rarely surpassed by programming other than the Super Bowl and the most hotly contested NFL conference championships. Given their popularity and importance, it is a shame that the debates, which promise so much, deliver so little.