Here in Blaine, MN McCain is now referring to Raines as an Obama "supporter." You know, like Farrakahn. Or, uhm, McCain and a certain nutty pastor...

The AP's Glen Johnson looks at McCain's and Obama's plans for Social Security in the wake of the market turmoil:

The Republican presidential nominee says all options must be considered to stave off insolvency for the government insurance and retirement program, and top McCain advisers say that includes so-called personal retirement accounts like those President Bush pushed in 2005 but abandoned in the face of Democratic opposition. The aides tried to soothe voters concerned about the bankruptcies, takeovers and bailouts on Wall Street by declaring McCain favored only the option of such accounts, just for younger workers, and most likely in a conservative investment vehicle such as bonds. . . .

Democrat Barack Obama opposes the accounts and has warned they could be a precursor to eliminating the government entitlement program. . . . Obama, a senator from Illinois, has suggested shoring up the program by imposing the 6.2 percent Social Security tax on earnings above $250,000; currently, only the first $102,000 in income is subject to the tax. Income in the "doughnut hole" between those figures would not be taxed.

Senator Honorable brings back his sleaziest smear. Real classy.

Putting aside the political nature of McCain's statements, our colleague Justin Fox has an excellent analysis of McCain's Fannie/Freddie arguement here.

This is Superbowl time for politics. 45 days. Just over a month. The nation's future is at stake. The world's future. The Supreme Court. Taxes. War. Health care. The price of gas. Your child's education.

People who regularly eschew partisanship and politics now spit at their televisions and scream and drink and choke up when they hear the candidates speak. They gather with strangers to knock on doors. They wear T-shirts and affix bumper stickers. They answer questions from children not yet old enough to read: "Mommy? Daddy? Do you like McCain or Obama?" And the kids learn. They must decide to play for team blue, or team red. This stuff matters. It is, in short, a wonderful time for our country, a time when the nation comes alive to do the one thing that has always defined us, to cast a free vote. And that is an emotional act. You can overhear it in the conversations at bars or in the office. You can hear it in the roar of arenas that the candidates fill. As Americans, we weigh the issues with our minds, but we tend to decide with our guts. Among those who vote, we care a great deal.

I mention all this because I watched a lecture this morning by Jonathan Haidt, an associate professor at the University of Virginia who specializes in something called "moral psychology" and the "moral foundations of politics." The lecture is called "The Real Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives," and it examines how we organize ourselves into political teams, and why a "moral matrix" sometimes makes political debate so difficult. Haidt talks about how conservatives have strict restrictions for sex, and how liberals have strict restrictions for food. He explains, I think quite convincingly, how our minds approach politics, and argues not for a lessening of partisanship, but for a greater understanding of how the other side works. The lecture is 19 minutes long, and not boring at all. Since it's Friday and the markets are rebounding, I hope you can find the time.

Bush:

In our nation's history, there have been moments that require us to come together across party lines to address major challenges. This is such a moment. Last night Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke and Chairman Cox met with congressional leaders of both parties, and they had a very good meeting. I appreciate the willingness of congressional leaders to confront this situation head-on.

Obama:

Today, I fully support the effort of Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke to work in a bipartisan spirit with Congress to find this kind of solution. What we're looking at right now is to provide the Treasury and the Federal Reserve with as broad authority as necessary to stabilize markets and maintain credit. We need a more institutional response to create a system that can manage some of the underlying problems with bad mortgages, help homeowners stay in their homes, protect the retirement and savings of working Americans.

McCain:

You know, my friends, there are certainly plenty of places to point fingers, and it may be hard to pinpoint the original event that set all this in motion, but let me give you an educated guess. The financial crisis that we're living through today started with the corruption and manipulation of our home mortgage system. At the center of the problem were the lobbyists, politicians and bureaucrats who succeeded in persuading Congress and the administration to ignore the festering problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac… Two years ago, I called for reform of this corruption at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress did nothing. The administration did nothing. Senator Obama did nothing, and actually profited from this system of abuse and scandal. While Fannie and Freddie were working to keep Congress away from their house of cards, Senator Obama was taking their money. He got more, in fact, than any other member of Congress, except for the Democratic chairman of the committee that oversees them. And while Fannie Mae was betraying the public trust, somehow its former CEO had managed to gain my opponent's trust to the point where Senator Obama actually put him in charge of his vice presidential search.

This CEO, Mr. Johnson, walked off with tens of millions of dollars in salary and bonuses -- guess for what? -- for services rendered to Fannie Mae, even after authorities discovered accounting improprieties that padded his compensation. Another CEO for Fannie Mae, Mr. Raines, has been advising Senator Obama on housing policy (chuckles); this even after Fannie Mae was found to have committed, quote, "extensive financial fraud" under his leadership." Like Mr. Johnson, Mr. Raines walked away with -- guess what? -- tens of millions of dollars.

Setting aside the outright lie that Raines is advising Obama, is this really the time for finger pointing and partisanship?

A surprisingly informative interview with Maria Bartiromo about this bailout business.

The New York Times editorial board--once again calling a lie a lie--slams both McCain and Obama for their Spanish-language ads about immigration policy. I've given up any hope of McCain running an honest campaign, but if Obama really wants to present an honorable alternative to McCain's non-stop sleaze, he should take down his immigration ad immediately.

At least, it is in Virginia. As Amy Sullivan notes on TIME.com:

Even though bags of candy corn and other Halloween treats have barely hit drugstore shelves, Virginia voters will start casting their ballots on Friday at early voting sites around the commonwealth. Another half dozen states will open up early voting next week before the candidates even meet for their first debate of the campaign. In all, 36 of the 50 states will allow early voting this year, including many key battleground states like Ohio and Colorado. As many as one-third of all voters are expected to make their selection before Election Day.

This new reality is upending traditional campaign strategies, not just for the organizations of Obama and McCain, but also for down-ballot candidates and ballot initiative efforts. And it has hyper compressed the presidential race. No sooner had the nominees selected their running mates and introduced themselves to the nation than they began pivoting to present their closing arguments, as Obama almost appears to be doing in his new two-minute economy ad. In years past, candidates stayed on alert for an "October surprise" that could alter the race at the last minute. In the brave new world of accelerated elections, any October surprise would come too late.

In the next newsstand issue of TIME, we try to map out the truthiness and falsiness that has come to dominate the airwars, and the debate, in the presidential campaign. You can see it online as a pdf.