LIGHTNING ROUND: WINGNUTS GETTING DESPERATE.

• We now know the following about Sarah Palin: She has voracious reading habits. She thinks being homosexual is a choice. She often gives foreign policy advice to John McCain. She is unable or unwilling to say whether rape victims should carry pregnancy to term or whether the morning after pill should be legal. She believes journalistic ethics have collapsed in the past 20 years. And, according to John McCain, Palin is essentially a Harry Truman-like figure.
• There seems to be a consensus growing that Palin may come away from tomorrow's debate victorious, although it's unclear whether this will be because of her folksy style, her commanding performance at the 2006 gubernatorial debates, her stunning ability to consistently give non-answers or because expectations have been set so, so low. I think Adam has the right take when he observes that Palin will use every opportunity to attack the top of the Democratic ticket, and for that all she needs are well-scripted zingers aimed at Barack Obama. It will seem as though Joe Biden isn't even there. Of course Palin will look a bit clueless on substantive policy questions, but what will count is that she shifted the focus back to Obama.
• You can sense the growing desperation in conservative circles these days. Their newfound obsession with the fact that veep debate moderator Gwen Ifill is writing a book about Barack Obama slides neatly into the comfortable territory of liberal media bias. The Hugh Hewitt interview wasn't a series of softball questions, it was tee ball. And the constant refrain running though it was conspiracy against poor Sarah. Never mind that the existence of the Ifill book has been known for months. Never mind that John McCain, while concerned, thinks Ifill "will do a professional job." But I disagree with Nate Silver, who thinks Obama should call the right's bluff and ask for Ifill to step down. Sure, changing moderators at the last minute might throw Palin back on her heels, but is that really worth legitimizing the right's favorite way to claim victimization -- crying bias when the news doesn't assist them politically?
• Greg Sargent reports that AFL-CIO deputy political director Mike Podhorzer urges caution when looking at Obama's strength with low information voters. "Low information voters who haven't been following this don't know very much about Obama, in a way that might be different from other elections," he said. "Voters are saying, `I really don't want another four years of this, but I don't know much about him.'" It's pretty astonishing that a presidential candidate who has been in the public eye for the better part of two years, written two books, given numerous speeches on all sorts of controversial topics can remain a mystery to these voters. The Wall Street Journal has a slightly different take when looking at new voters. Though they Obama over McCain 2-1, 46 percent of these voters might not vote at all. Moreover, a new Pew survey confirms that Obama's post-debate gains have been the consolidation of Democratic-leaning voters and some independents.
  
• Sean Quinn has a fascinating discussion on the significance of McCain's "tongue jut" as a classic poker "tell." Quinn cites retired FBI agent Joe Navarro: "Tongue-jutting behavior is a gesture used by people who think they have gotten away with something or are “caught” doing something. I have seen this behavior in flea markets both in the United States and in Russia, among street vendors in Lower Manhattan, at poker tables in Las Vegas, and in business meetings. In each case, the person made the gesture -- tongue between the teeth without touching the lips -- at the conclusion of some sort of a deal or as a final nonverbal statement."
• Kathleen Parker, who recently wrote that Sarah Palin ought to step down as VP nominee, is surprised at the hate mail she has been getting as a result. Responding to insinuations that she is a traitor, Parker naively observes, "When we decide that a person is a traitor and should die for having an opinion different from one's own, we cross into territory that puts all freedoms at risk." Imagine that. 
• The Center for Public Integrity PaperTrail blog reports that "The office of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has effectively denied a Center request for a list of her overnight guests at the governor’s mansion, dating back to her inauguration in December 2006. ... In 1997 John McCain criticized Clinton for the number of overnight White House stays by donors, telling CNN: 'Look, we never put up a for-rent sign on the Lincoln bedroom. It was never Motel 1600 when President [George H. W.] Bush and President Reagan were there.'"
• Speaking of Clinton, the Big Dog campaigned hard for Barack Obama down in Florida today, arguing Obama is stronger on the issues, governing philosophy, and judgment in choosing a VP. Despite what the former president believes in his heart, was there really ever any doubt that he would do all he could to elect a Democrat in November?
• And finally, ever wonder what it's like to interview Sarah Palin? This simulator ought to sate your desire.

--Mori Dinauer