Sunday Pundits Dissect Biden Pick

GOP candidate once sat on board of far-right group linked to "anti-Semites"

(NEWSER) - With the election campaign in its last month, the Sunday talk shows turned to John McCain’s substantial slide in the polls, Politico reports. The highlights:

• Vice-presidential debate moderator and soon-to-be author Gwen Ifill suggested on Meet the Press that hype over her alleged pro-Obama bias came from a twitchy Sarah Palin camp: “It was also interesting to realize that if changing the subject from the stakes of the vice-presidential debate, then talking about the moderator, instead of talking about the candidate, they would do that.”
• Sarah Palin’s attempt to tie Barack Obama to a radical leftist is a “strategic mistake,” ex-Clintonite Paul Begala told Meet the Press, arguing that McCain himself once sat on the board of a far-right group Begala termed “a point of contact for extremists, racists, and anti-Semites.”

Focus back on Ohio, Fla., Penn., Mich., despite Obama plans

(NEWSER) - In the final 50 days, the biggest change in Barack Obama's camp is a return to old political strategy, the Washington Post reports. Partly because Sarah Palin's selection has solidified red/blue divisions of past years, Obama is targeting the same swing states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Florida—that determined the past two elections, and have a short list of others that could turn Democrat. More»

(NEWSER) - Talk shows were once again abuzz this morning, as both presidential campaigns entered the two-month sprint to the White House. A round-up of today’s highlights:

• Obama revealed to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he’d once seriously considered joining the military, and rebutted Palin’s jabs at his community organizing background: “For folks who suddenly have tried to grab the change banner, you know, they've got a very traditional view of what service means.”

Dems hit competing morning talk shows

(NEWSER) - Obama likened Hillary's stance on Iran to George Bush's "cowboy diplomacy" on Meet the Press today, while Clinton took to ABC to defend the gas tax and told voters mired in the Jeremiah Wright controversy "We should move on." Tim Russert ignored her advice, however, and devoted his first 18 minutes to the pastor, reports the New York Times. “Obviously, it’s distracted us,” Obama admitted. More»

Last state to be called leaves tally at Obama 365, McCain 173

(NEWSER) - Missouri, the last state up for grabs, looks to have gone Republican by less than a 1% margin, leaving John McCain with 173 electoral votes to Barack Obama’s 365, the Kansas City Star reports. There are still 3,000 uncounted provisional ballots, but McCain’s margin is large enough to declare him the winner of the state’s 11 electoral votes. More»