Deregulation Flurry Will Bind Next President · The Bush administration will lower dozens of environmental regulations in his lame-duck months and make the controversial rules difficult for a new administration to reverse. In 2001, Bush officials withdrew 254 Clinton regulations before they could take effect. (Washington Post)

Afghan War Deterioriating, McCain and Obama Advisers Briefed · Senior Bush administration officials briefed campaign advisers to John McCain and Barack Obama two weeks ago, on the grim news that the situation in Afghanistan is getting worse and a plan must be in place before January's Inaugural. (NYT)

Obama Infomercial Drew Record 33M Viewers · The impact on TV ratings of Sen. Barack Obama's 30-minute infomercial is manifest: 33.5 million viewers watched the ad, far more than the 19.8 million who stayed up to watch the last World Series game. The Obamathon pushed up ratings on all the stations that aired it (network and cable). The only loser? ABC, who did not. (NYT)

Most-Watched YouTube Supports McCain [VIDEO] · The most-viewed election-related video on YouTube was done by an Iraq war vet who critisizes Sen. Barack Obama, saying: "When you call the Iraqi war a mistake you disrespect the service and sacrifice of everyone who has died promoting freedom." (BBC) The video has been watched 11 million times.

Gores Campaign In Florida For Obama · Al and Tipper Gore returned to Florida to campaign for Sen. Barack Obama, pointedly calling attention to the fact that "every vote counts." (NYT)

Dole Claims God On Her Side; Hagan Charges ‘False Witness’ [VIDEO] · God has entered North Carolina politics in the final week, with Sen. Elizabeth Dole placing a controversial ad on TV that claims her opponent, Mayor Kay Hagan, is a godless atheist. (Charlotte Observer)

The Financial Crisis: Parallels To The 1930s [VIDEO] · Henry Farrell of George Washington University and Daniel Drezner of Tufts University discuss the parallels between the current financial crisis and that of the 1930s as well as examine the role of China in a global economic recovery. (bloggingheads.tv)

Alaska Gives Hero’s Welcome For Convicted Sen. Ted Stevens · Two days after being convicted of seven felony counts in Washington, DC for receiving and lying about $250,000 in gifts from an oil services company, Senator Ted Stevens returned to a hero's welcome in Anchorage by several hundred supporters. (NYT)

Bill Clinton, Obama Unite For Florida Crowd [VIDEO] · Bill Clinton appeared on stage with Sen. Barack Obama for the first time, in front of 35,000 wildly-cheering supporters at a rally near Orlando, Florida, broadcast live on local 11 p.m. news. (FOX) Both men had campaigned at separate rallies in Pennsylvania earlier in the day.

McCain Slams LA Times On Obama-Khalidi Tape, Despite His Own Ties · Sen. John McCain says the Los Angeles Times would show a tape that purported to show him at a neo-Nazi event, therefore he can't understand why it won't release a video of Barack Obama in the company of Prof. Rashid Khalidi, chair of the Middle Eastern Studies Department at Columbia University. (FOX)

Slave’s Daughter, Age 109, Votes For Obama · A 109 year-old daughter of a former slave has cast her presidential ballot for Sen. Barack Obama. (Austin's American-Statesman) When she first began to vote 70 years ago -- and until 1966 -- she paid a poll tax, designed in part to keep blacks and poor people from voting.