Drudge’s Influence Waning. Developing… · The Drudge Report's influence has peaked and is on the wane, according to several pundits who note the decline in Drudge's ability to set the agenda.  Huffington Post and Politico at times get more traffic. (TPM)

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)

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.

Obama: Bipartisan Cabinet If Democrats Win [INTERVIEW] · ABC's Charles Gibson interviewed Sen. Barack Obama in North Carolina, about the next steps if he wins or loses. (ABC News) Obama told Gibson that he would "absolutely" want Republicans in his cabinet if he was elected, not ruling out current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and stressed the importance of protecting national security interests. Among his replies: "It's going to be even more important for Democrats to come in with some modesty and humility if we win."

Cold Rain, But Obama Rallies Pa. Crowd · A driving rain, mud and temperatures in the 30s did not stop Sen. Barack Obama from rallying a crowd of 9,000 people in Chester, Pa., wearing jeans and sneakers and with no protection from the elements. (Washington Post) His Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, canceled a rally in Quakertown, an hour away, despite his decision to target Pennsylvanian voters.

Obama Accepting Untraceable Donations · Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign confirmed that it allows donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards that can be used to evade limits on whether and how much an individual is legally allowed to give, or to mask a contributor's identity. (Washington Post)

London Times: Republican Party Fractured [ANALYSIS] · The Republican Party is at war with itself, with the ideological cement that once bound it together eroded by President Bush's legacy of "unfinished wars, a tainted reputation for competence, record high spending, a global economic crisis and the effective nationalisation of the financial system," catalyzed by Sen. John McCain's "dysfunctional campaign," writes the London Times.

Questions Raised On McCain-Supported Land-Swap In 1990s · Sen. John McCain's behind-the-scenes maneuvering on a land deal in the 1990s contrasts with his image as a congressional ethics champion and his post-Keating scandal pledge never to intervene with regulators again, according to an in-depth article from McClatchy's Washington Bureau.

DNC Borrows $10M For More House, Senate Races · The Democratic National Committee is taking out a new $10 million line of credit to split among House and Senate campaign committees, as more races come into play. (Politico)