Spin Cycle

The Dow dropped more than 700 and Asian and European markets followed suit overnight in a rout driven not by the financial crisis but by fears about the depth of the underlying recession.

In their final debate at Hofstra, McCain turned in a more forceful performance, attacking Obama on virtually every front during the 90-minute contest.

After scoring early, McCain may have hurt his cause by veering from hot button to hot button, and Obama may have helped his by remaining calm. . Balz: It was an "aggressive underdog" against a "cool counterpuncher." Newsday's Gordon: Too little, too late for McCain.

Obama wore an American flag lapel pin, McCain did not, and he seemed to think ACORN was a greater threat than al Qaida.

Joe the hopes-to-be-a-$250,000 plumber stole the show. Live, he seems to be a living talking point for McCain, and says (hopefully non-racially) that Obama tap dances around questions "almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr."

Debate factchecking is here. And here.

McCain and Obama will be together again one more time, at the Al Smith dinner in NYC tonight.

Two big cellphone providers, whose business is overseen by the Senate committee McCain chairs, provided free portable towers to improve cell reception at Cincy and John McCain's ranch in Sedona, AZ.

Sarah Palin was in NH yesterday, trying to reverse a slide in a state that has traditionally loved John McCain.

A key legal battle in Ohio could knock a lot of the state's new registrants off the voter rolls.

Bloomberg spent a tone-deaf day in California, urging voters there to pass an initiative that would take redistricting out of the hands of legislators even as his underlings back home in NYC tried to get legislators to take power away from voters and ram through a term-limits extender.

The United Federation of Teachers came out in opposition to Mayor Three-term, saying term limits should go to the voters, and the process should not be short-circuited by City Council.

Craig Johnson's law partner wants Cablevision to pull a Barbara Donno ad that falsely implies Johnson was involved in some sort of pension fraud, but Cablevision is poised to refuse the request.