Friday's quickie political briefing

Today's fun video: What's real, what's fake in the presidential race?

For those who expected to see the SNL take on the presidential debate, (because Spin Control 2.0 always offers up SNL), it's inside the blog. Click here and scroll to the bottom.

Here are today's headlines in the presidential campaign from The Associated Press:

McCain in new hard-hitting ad hammers Obama over Ayers association

Obama says McCain trying to divide country with angry speeches and TV ads

Politically charged and tightly held, Palin ethics report to be released in Alaska

With economy worsening, working-class voters slowly warm to Obama

McCain’s missing the mark with Hispanics in swing states

To read the stories behind these headlines, click here and scroll down.

COUNTDOWN
25 days until the election
19 days to apply by mail for an absentee ballot in Idaho
11 days until the deadline to register to vote in Washington by going to the county elections office
7 days until ballots are mailed in Washington
5 days until the next presidential debate
Last day to pre-register to vote in Idaho. (Election Day registration also available.)Click here for information.
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THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Prez/Veep
John McCain holds a rally in La Crosse, Wis.
Sarah Palin has no public schedule.
Barack Obama campaigns in the Ohio cities of Chillicothe and Columbus. Joe Biden talks to voters in Springfield, Mo.

WA 5th Congressional
Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Mark Mays debated in front of the Greater Spokane Inc. breakfast. Read about it here.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This election is going to be decided when a husband and wife sit at a kitchen table, or a single parent sits at the kitchen table, looks at their bills and figures out who is most likely to help them with their financial condition.” — Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania.
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STAT OF THE DAY
An AP survey of election officials nationwide found that as of Oct. 1, the number of registered Democrats had grown by nearly 5 percent since 2004 — outpacing overall population growth in the 28 states where information on voter registration by party was available for 2004 and 2008. During the same time, the GOP lost more than 2 percent of its registered voters

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Richardson makes a Spokane stop

Bill Richardson didn't get very far in the presidential primaries last winter. The New Mexico governor was out of it shortly after the New Hampshire primary, although he did get back in the spotlight briefly when he endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton.

That prompted one noted Hillary supporter to put Richardson on par with a traitor of Biblical proportions. But that was then.

In this now, Richardson was a big hit in Spokane Thursday, making a speech to the annual luncheon sponsored by the Gallatin Group and Avista at the Davenport Hotel, and revving up the Democratic troops for Obama and Chris Gregoire later in the afternoon at the Carpenters' Union Hall in the Logan Neighborhood.

He lavished praise on fellow governor Gregoire, although he admitted their relationship wasn't always close.

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