•Kerry says Iraq distracted Bush from North Korea: "They have taken their eye off the real ball." [NYT]
•Powell reiterates there is no basis for Hussein-9/11 connection, does not endorse war with hindsight. [WP, LAT, BG]
•Bush's emphasis of security easily spoiled by vulnerabilities: recession, terrorism, Iraq. Next week, Bush, Karzai at UN; Bush, Allawi in Rose Garden. Jim Jordan: "The basic structure of public opinion is working against Bush, but his campaign is very effective at using the incumbency." [WP]
• Media Fund to air sharper, edgier ads to motivate young African Americans: "Bush said he would leave no child behind. But he wasn't talking about your child. . . Don't keep getting played." [WP]
•Kerry: "I don't know what you're talking about in terms of the 'Bush bounce.'" [BG]
•Edwards says "the American people are going to see a very clear contrast" and vote for Kerry. [NYT]
• Election officials concerned about integrity of absentee vote: "It seems like whenever there is hanky-panky in elections, it's usually through absentee voting." [NYT]
•Kerry, Edwards, Daschle may be cornered by flag vote. Durbin: "All they're doing is setting the stage for 30-second [attack] ads for the campaign." [WP]
•Bush livens up the trail. Begala: "He doesn't have the stamina of a Clinton or the charisma of a Reagan, but when he's on his game, and he's not tired, he has a folksy, down-home approach that works for him." [NYT]
• Hundreds of veterans rally against Kerry. [LAT]
• With Texans for Truth and "60 Minutes" scandal, focus on Bush's guard duty likely to increase. [LAT, USAT]
• Both candidates have flipped and flopped. [USAT]
•Kurtz: "If journalists devoted the same investigative energy to the candidates' efforts to bolster Medicare and Social Security or deal with the mess in Iraq -- as opposed to precisely what happened on the Bay Hap River in 1969 -- perhaps more people might find campaign coverage compelling." [WP]
• Current polls translate to 269 electoral votes for Bush. [WT]
• Character has become "crux" of race. [WSJ]
• Colorado Republicans seek to defeat measure to make electoral votes proportional to popular vote; if passed, other states may follow, altering a fundamental of presidential campaigns. [WSJ]
•Edwards visits North Carolina mill affected by flooding. [WP]
•Edwards on Cheney's eBay remark: "If we only included bake sales and how much money kids make at lemonade stands, this economy would really be cooking." (Sounds familiar, no?) [LAT]
•Rather, CBS News face "terrible, devastating blow" to credibility, reputation if documents are fake. [WSJ, USAT]
• Capitol Hill job-hunting a strain during election years. [WP]
• Viewers of "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry" impressed with candidate. [BG]
