Speaking at James Madison University in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told the people who packed into an overflow room that the 2008 election represents “a clear choice between the past and the future.” There were about 8,000 people at the soccer field at James Madison, but there wasn’t room for them at the indoor venue where there were 12,000 more people, mainly students too excited to sit.

Alaska Senator Republican Ted Stevens, convicted of seven felonies, is being persistently pressurized by fellow Republicans to step down from the Senate. John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, have wasted no time in separating their campaign from the “corruption and insider dealing that has become so pervasive in the nation's capital.”

Republican John McCain has lately been picking on Congressman Barney Frank warn voters about the fiscal dangers that would accompany Barack Obama’s presidency. It appears Frank has found a comfortable home in McCain’s speeches in the campaign’s closing days.

As it is customary for candidates to return to their home state to vote on Election Day, the Alaska Governor is also expected to do the same. The campaign, however, has not announced this officially yet, due to the amount of time it takes to fly to Alaska and the need for the GOP Vice-Presidential nominee to continue campaigning.

In case Palin travels to her Anchorage office the evening of November 3rd, she will travel back to the continental US after she votes, to join her running mate in Phoenix for their Election Night party.

While political leaders often achieve national prominence by riding a wave of issues or ideology, the strength of Republican vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin lies more in her image. Palin has unapologetically cast her image as one who shares the lot and the views of a large segment of the population. 

Though there has been exhaustive, undeniably sexist criticism of this Alaska Governor, she has been unequivocal in giving visibility and a voice to her supporters - mostly non-urban and white voters, neither poor nor wealthy, religious, who strive for self-reliance.

Washington - The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 1 per cent on Wednesday to the lowest level since June 2004 in an effort to keep the US economy out of a prolonged recession.

The US central bank acknowledged that economic activity had "slowed markedly," in a statement from the Fed's board of governors. Turmoil in financial markets had intensified and further restricted the availability of credit to both households and businesses, the Fed said.