A new interview with Sarah Palin just released has us wishing that we were whisked back to the fall where we knew we could count on Tina Fey and SNL to send it up the following Saturday. The interview features Palin given the opportunity to watch the clip of Tina playing her in the VP debate and firing off what some said was the best line of the election year: "Marriage is a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers." It turns out that Palin had not seen the clip before the interview a few days ago—despite the clip being rerun ad nauseam on cable news and quoted in newspapers everywhere. Her response: "The Mama Grizzly rises up in me hearing things like that." more ›

On Election Night two months ago, it appeared that America was only sending one famous Harvard alum who was also a well-publicized cocaine user to Washington. Not so! Today the Minnesota State Canvassing Board certified results showing Democrat Al Franken as the winner of the Minnesota Senate race. Lizard people, unite! more ›

We all know by now that Wall Street turns to Congress when it needs a bailout. But where in turn do the House and Senate turn when their failed presidential bids are still mired in debt for their bailout ? Why, Bon Jovi, of course. Fresh off the Lost Highway Tour, Bon Jovi will play at Town Hall on the 15th on behalf of another lost highway of sorts: Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Hillary and Bill will be in attendance for photo ops for $1000 ticket holders who they hope will help eradicate the $6 million plus the campaign was still in debt as of last month. The invitation to the concert told donors who had already hit the limit in donating to Clinton that they can attend the event if they recruit two or more people at a certain seating level. Before the concert, VP-elect Joe Biden will help out the cause with a fundraiser in Philadelphia. With all of the love JBJ has shown the Democrats in hosting fundraisers previously for President-elect Obama and the losing Kerry and Gore bids that preceded him, we're surprised that he won't get to burn a "Blaze of Glory" through the inaugural ball. more ›

Bill Ayers has written an op-ed for the New York Times this weekend where he addresses his decision to stay silent throughout a presidential campaign in which he "felt at times like the enemy projected onto a large screen in the “Two Minutes Hate” scene from George Orwell’s 1984." Ayers admits regrets for some of his actions with the 1970s anti-war group the Weather Underground and takes "responsibility for the risks we posed to others," but overall defends them as "attacks on property, never on people, (that) were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam war." And as for all of his alleged "paling around" with now President-elect Obama, Ayers says, "I knew him as well as thousands of others did, and like millions of others, I wish I knew him better." more ›

Democrats now in the majority of the state senate for the first time in over forty years appear to be preparing to stall on voting to legalize gay marriage, a big issue that helped push them over the top this election year. Several factors appear to be giving Democrats hesitation: the strong wave that came out against gay marriage in the Prop 8 battle in California, fear of the issue backfiring on Governor Paterson's reelection chances in 2010 and the hopes to appease Gang of Three leader Ruben Diaz who has said he will not support a majority leader who would allow a same-sex marriage vote come to floor. Naturally that leaves many pushing for legalization ASAP upset after all the money poured into Democratic senate campaigns from gay rights groups around the country and the mobilization on their side amidst the Prop 8 battle. Liz Krueger, a senator from the Upper East Side told the Times, “We want to get there, but we want to get there the right way or else we risk setting ourselves back another decade." more ›

11:57 p.m.: The "next First Family of the United States" is introduced and Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama walk onstage to the cheering crowd. President-elect Barack Obama seems tired and moved--it's been an emotional few days for him. But he gives a rousing speech outlining his plans and rallying the country:

If there is anyone out there who doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. more ›

Americans all over the country are heading to their polling places to cast their votes for President as well as a number of other races. Polls opened at 6 a.m. in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and they close at 8 p.m. in NJ and CT and at 9 p.m. in NY. more ›

After months and months (practically ) of politicking, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama are entering the final hours of their presidential campaigns. Both candidates visited battleground states over the weekend in hopes of ensuring a victory tomorrow. more ›

With their hold over the state house in jeopardy for one of the first times in the last seventy years, senate Republicans are pulling out all the stops to hold onto their narrow majority this election. Only a single seat separates Republicans and Democrats in the senate and there are more close races this election than in years past. GOPers are banding together and having those in safer races pouring their resources into candidates more at risk of losing a seat. The party has also taken to the airwaves in spots warning New Yorkers of the agenda being pushed by national groups who are pushing Democrats in hopes of legalizing gay marriage in the state. And locally the GOP has gotten a boost from Mayor Bloomberg joining the campaign trail. Ironically, LI Senator Charles Fuschillo told the Times, “The biggest fear is that if we lose the majority, all funding goes to New York City.” more ›

With less than 48 hours left before the election, John McCain stopping into Saturday Night Live to perform in a couple of sketches seems like it should be huge news. But with so much attention being showered on the show this year throughout the campaign season, somehow it just felt par for course at this point in a period that Tina Fey for one calls "the weirdest time in my life." more ›

“No buttons. No posters. No leaflets. No. None.” That's the friendly reminder New Yorkers are getting from the city's Board of Elections in regards to showing your colors when you head to the polls this Tuesday. This doesn't just apply for your "I Support Joe the Plumber" contemporary shwag. A NY Times reader was asked to remove her four-decade-old “Lindsay for Mayor” button on a previous Election Day. And despite a brouhaha earlier this week over concern about the preparedness of the BOE, Mayor Bloomberg tells us he expects all systems to be a go come Tuesday. more ›

Former president Bill Clinton made, as Politico's Jonatha Martin reports, "his first campaign appearance by Barack Obama's side" at a late-night rally in Florida. Clinton said, "Barack Obama represents America’s future and you better be there for him next Tuesday.” See video of the rally after the jump. more ›

Tonight, Barack Obama will get 30 minutes of prime time on CBS, NBC, Fox , Univision, MSNBC, BET and TV One to deliver his campaign message. It's a rare, but not unprecedented, move (Ross Perot bought 30-minute informercials during the 1992 presidential campaign). The campaign's chief strategist David Axelrod explained why they went with a 30-minute option, "The airways are glutted with 30-second ads and it's hard to break through." more ›

The issue of gay marriage may once again be enough of a deciding factor to turn the tide in a big election year. This time though it's in small fights for state senate seats here in New York that are seeing heavy donations come in from gay rights advocates. With only two seats needed to swing control of the senate over to Democrats and Governor Paterson's open support for legalizing gay marriage, advocates believe that "this is the year for New York" as openly gay Senator Tom Duane tells the NY Times. The paper says that upwards of $500,000 is quietly coming into small, tight races in places like Rochester, suburban Buffalo and out in Suffolk County from sources all over the country. A Republican spokesman for the state senate responded to all this by saying that “national, left-wing agenda” has no place in the New York Senate races. more ›

Dissension within the McCain campaign has begun spilling over into the public with campaign aides speaking out about Sarah Palin taking her cues less and less from within their camp and instead deciding to "go rogue." The rift appears to be pretty sizable with one aide telling CNN, "She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone...Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom." more ›

A new AP-GfK poll says John McCain and Barack Obama are "essentially running even among likely voters... The poll, which found Obama at 44 percent and McCain at 43 percent, supports what some Republicans and Democrats privately have said in recent days: that the race narrowed after the third debate as GOP-leaning voters drifted home to their party and McCain's 'Joe the plumber' analogy struck a chord." An AP-GfK poll from three week earlier gave Obama a 7 point lead. Other polls have Obama leading by many more points--a University of Wisconsin poli sci professor explains that the poll differences are due to the randomness of respondents, "If they all agree, somebody would be doing something terribly wrong," but added the wide variation means "there's something to explain." Well, we'll only know for sure after November 4. FiveThirtyEight.com has been keeping track of polls--both national and statewide--to project what will happen in 13 days. more ›

How far will Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Quinn go in order to get term limits legislation passed through City Council? One source tells the Post that next year Quinn is considering "significant reorganizing of everything, including the Finance Comittee." Such a reshuffling might give the Speaker a convenient way give a push out the door to Finance Committee Chairman David Weprin, one of the most vocal critics of the term limit bill. That would cost Weprin $18,000 of annual salary he receives from his chairmanship. more ›

The school is "agog" over hosting the debate, according to the NY Times. One student said there's a lot of enthusiasm among classmates, “I’ve noticed a level of engagement in classes I haven’t seen before this semester. The debate has really caused people to take a new look at things and think more deeply about these issues.” Which would make the millions spent on having the debate there worth it! Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz said, "It is amazing. I mean there are going to be 3,100 journalists here, live telecast back to Ireland, Japan, Singapore." more ›

Hofstra University on Long Island is gearing up to welcome John McCain and Barack Obama and tons of media this week. The school may spend over $3.5 million, including a $7,500 fee to apply and $1.35 million to the Presidential Debate Commission to be a host. Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz points out to Newsday that the school opened a center for presidential studies, not to mention holding eleven conferences to discuss different presidential administrations since 1982, "Nobody could suggest it was just a publicity stunt on our part." Check out the Hofstra Debate website as well as its Educate '08 site. more ›

Last night, it was confirmed that Democratic candidate Barack Obama's camp bought 30 minutes of national primetime on CBS and NBC to air on October 29 at 8 p.m. His campaign is also negotiating with ABC as well as Fox, which could have a conflict if there is a Game 6 of the World Series. more ›

Yesterday, Presidential candidate John McCain's campaign angrily lashed out at the NY Times, calling the Old Gray Lady a "pro-Obama organization." more ›

After Ed Koch said he was supporting Barack Obama for president because Sarah Palin scares him, Koch has been hearing from some of the folks who subscribe to his commentary via e-mail. The former mayor shared some of the missives he received--plus replies he's sending--with the NY Times(which incidentally is one of Koch's most trusted news sources!). more ›

John McCain and Barack Obama made their first official appearance together as their parties' presidential nominees today during a visit to the World Trade Center site. McCain's wife Cindy and Mayor Bloomberg also accompanied the candidates down the ramp to the "pit." (Michelle Obama is in Chicago with the daughters.) more ›

If it's the presidential election, it means that we are all going to be beaten down by the outrage, both imagined and real. more ›

Last week's Republican National Convention sparked passionate debate over the qualifications and treatment of Sarah Palin as well as John McCain's poaching the message of "change" from the Democrats the week prior. Possibly lost in the shuffle was the relatively small amount of airplay given to the 9/11 attacks, especially when compared to how central a theme they were throughout the previous RNC held here in New York. Even Rudy Giuliani didn't spend a great deal of his speaking time hearkening back to 9/11 in comparison with his usual rhetoric. more ›

If you're a registered Democrat or Republican, you can head to your voting location to cast your vote in primary elections in your district. There are a number of hotly contested seats (here's a list of candidates PDF): Real World alum Kevin Powell is hoping to usurp longtime Representative Edolphus Towns in Brooklyn, City Council members Simcha Felder and Kendall Stewart are hoping for Kevin Parker's State Senate seat in Brooklyn, Daniel Squadron challenging State Senator Martin Connor in Manhattan and Paul Newell to looking to defeat Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, also in Manhattan. more ›

Barack Obama and John McCain will come together at Ground Zero for Thursday's seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks "to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with the families and friends who lost loved ones.” The notion to commemorate in unity came about during a conversation Wednesday when Obama had called McCain to congratulate him on the Republican nomination. Obama pitched the idea and McCain immediately accepted the invitation. This will be the two candidates first joint appearance coming out of the conventions. Later that night, the two will participate in a forum on public service at Columbia University. The campaigns had already pledged to suspend their television advertising on Thursday. more ›

Hillary Clinton will be in Florida tomorrow, as Barack Obama's campaign mobilizes prominent Democratic women to hit the campaign trail on his behalf as the GOP touts Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. more ›

Barack Obama made his way through New Jersey yesterday, capping off a day of campaigning and fund raising with a $30k a head dinner party at Bon Jovi's house last night. Bon Jovi joked about Barack being more than experienced enough for the Oval Office saying, "When I look at Barack, I see an old man." (Obama is one year Bon Jovi's senior.) Obama spoke briefly saying he expected the attacks to worsen, following the aggressive tone set at the RNC. He even questioned how his opponent truly felt about the campaign his party was about to wage saying, "If you asked John McCain if this is the kind of campaign he intended,' he might say 'No.'" A few miles away , McCain's campaign held a rally at the Lincroft Inn. "We'll have to make due with Jon Bon Jovi on stereo," said state coordinator Rick Mroz. more ›

John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination last night, “Let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do-nothing, me first, country second, Washington crowd: Change is coming... I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not. You know, I’ve been called a maverick, someone who marches to the beat of his own drum... I don’t work for a party. I don’t work for special interests. I don’t work for myself. I work for you." more ›