By Leonard Doyle

The skewering of Sarah Palin as a cultural benchmark for Middle America never ends. Thanks to Palin herself  Saturday Night Live’s crusade to turn the plucky small-town mayor and would-be vice president into a national joke is fast gathering pace. What's extraordinary is that a  whole chunk of the latest script was lifted straight  from her fumbled interview with Katie Couric. If this was a dictatorship Tina Fey and Amy Poehler would be behind bars being tortured in Gitmo by now. As the commentator Andrew Sullivan writes: "How does McCain win an election with a national joke as his running-mate?"

By Leonard Doyle

This is the much discussed video of  Sarah Palin apparently being anointed in a ceremony conducted by  Bishop Thomas Muthee - who can be heard praying that she be protected from witchcraft. Her election would help keep witchcraft out of schools, and help evangelicals infiltrate government positions. She accepts divine protection from Alaska's witches without blinking, which is how she said she reacted to McCain when he offered her the job as his vice presidential running mate.

By Leonard Doyle

An incendiary poll by the Wall Street Journal/NBC News reveals that nearly half of voters do not believe Sarah Palin would be up to the job of being president. Because voters are concerned with McCain's age (72), there is now a combustible combination in the minds of many voters, especially the independents who were tempted to vote for the Republican ticket.

By Leonard Doyle

A new ad campaign by the National Rifle Association falsely accuses Obama of wanting to "ban use of firearms for home defense, ban possession and manufacture of handguns, close 90 per cent of gun shops and ban hunting ammunition," reports FactCheck.org, a watchdog linked to neither party that exposes false statements made by both campaigns.

Here's the ad:

By Leonard Doyle

Just as the press was going into open revolt over loss of access on the Straight Talk Express (see my previous post), McCain appeared deus ex machina for a news conference. Not a lot was said, but we are just three days before the first one-on-one presidential debate and he will be looking for some decent reviews.

Earlier yesterday McCain was busy lowering expectations by praising Obama. "He's very, very good," he told some volunteers. "He was able to beat Senator Hillary Clinton, who as we all know is very accomplished - very accomplished. So, these are going to be tough debates."

McCain is not going to debate "boot camp" to prep for the big event, he is doing it on the hoof and will be at Ole Miss (the University of Mississippi) in Oxford where the debate is being held on Friday night by Thursday afternoon.

The McCain-Palin campaign is getting twitchy with reporters and the famous Straight Talk Express is rapidly degenerating into a "No Talk" experience for those on the campaign trail.  According to Politico.com the press have begun to revolt.  Today the campaign backed away from a promise to allow print journalists report Sarah Palin’s  U.N. meetings. Instead it became an elaborate photo op.
The press have gone cold on the McCain-Palin experience  and the  networks even voted to ban any use of photographs and videos from her UN events in protest.

By Leonard Doyle

National Daily Tracking Surveys
End date: 9/21/08

Daily Kos (D) / Research 2000
1,100 LV, 3%; Live Telephone Interviews
Obama 49, McCain 43

Diageo / Hotline
915 RV, 3.2%: Live Telephone Interviews
Obama 47, McCain 42

Gallup
2,740 RV, 2%; Live Telephone Interviews
Obama 48, McCain 44

GWU Battleground / Tarrance (R) / Lake (D)
800 LV, 3.5%; Live Telephone Interviews
McCain 48, Obama 47

Rasmussen
3,000 LV, 2%; IVR
Obama 48, McCain 47

By Leonard Doyle

It's definitely effective as propaganda, as 9 million viewers attest. But is the disabled veteran really speaking on behalf of all those Iraqi families blown to pieces in this illegal war, or the innocent (or indeed the guilty) who were tortured and driven insane under George Bush's orders? Are we really expected to believe that the majority of Iraqis now applaud the US for its sacrifices in blood and treasure?

By Leonard Doyle in Washington

Obama's campaign is getting an official soundtrack - Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement.

The AP reports that it features Kanye West, John Legend, Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder and others and is available for sale exclusively through Obama's campaign.

Proceeds from the CD (£14 for a digital download) will help fund Obama's campaign until 4 Nov, Election Day.

Steve McKeever, CEO and founder of Hidden Beach Records and Obama supporter, said he had been talking to the Obama campaign about Yes We Can for a while.

While most of the songs on the disc have been previously released — such as John Mayer's "Waiting On the World to Change" and Stevie Wonder's classic "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" - a few of the songs are new, including Legend's "Pride in the Name of Love" and "Promised Land," a song by Malik Yusef featuring Kanye West and Adam Levine of Maroon 5.