The Note's Must-Reads

October 17, 2008— -- 2008: McCAIN and OBAMA:

ABC News' Jake Tapper: "McCain, Obama Unleash Comedy Stylings" LINK

The New York Times' William J. Broad and Cornelia Dean: "If Elected ...: Rivals' Visions Differ on Unleashing Innovation" LINK

The New York Times' Adam Nagourney and Jim Rutenberg: "Polls Cause Campaigns to Change Their Itineraries" LINK

The New York Times' Kirk Johnson: "Stateside: Rise in Voting by Mail Transforms Race in Colorado" LINK

The Washington Post's Michael D. Shear and Amy Gardner: "McCain Forced to Fight for Virginia - Traditionally Red State Finds GOP Struggling to Match Obama Operation" LINK

The Washington Post's Dan Balz and Shailagh Murray: "As McCain's Road Gets Steeper, Obama Warns of Overconfidence" LINK

The Washington Post's Kristen Mack: "Va. Election Preparations Inadequate, Study Finds" LINK

The Washington Post's Sandhya Somashekhar and Amy Gardner: "Funds Aplenty for Last Lap - Candidates Well-Positioned for Final Campaign Blitz" LINK

The Politico's Roger Simon: "McCain, Obama try to be funny...on purpose" LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Nick Timiraos: "Surveys Split On Who Has Lead In Presidential Race" LINK

USA Today's David Jackson: "Obama And McCain Take Debate To The Trail" LINK

Time Magazine's David Von Drehle: "McCain Throws Sink, and Plumber, But Obama Isn't Rattled" LINK

The Washington Times' Jennifer Haberkorn: "'Swift Boaters' spending sinks" LINK

The New York Daily News' David Saltonsall: "Where you Sit Says a Lot About Where You Stand at Annual Al Smith Dinner" LINK

2008: McCAIN:

ABC News' Jake Tapper: "McCain Robocalls: Obama Is a Baby-Killing, America-ignoring, Hollywood-loving, Terrorist-Loving..." LINK

ABC News' Teddy Davis, Rigel Anderson, and Hope Ditto: "McCain Tax Jab Overlooks His Own Proposal" LINK

ABC News' Ron Caiborne: "McCain Plays Defense" LINK

The Politico's Carrie Budoff Brown and Amie Parnes: "McCain discovers plumber no ordinary Joe" LINK

The Boston Herald's Joe Dwinell: "Poll: John McCain's attacks work to narrow gap" LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Douglas A. Blackmon: "Two Families Named McCain" LINK

The Associated Press' Jim Kuhnhenn: "Lobbyist speaks out, denies affair with McCain" LINK

Newsweek's Christopher Dickey: "Stormy Weatherman: The former terrorist Bill Ayers may want to see McCain get elected" LINK

Newsweek's Sharon Cliff: "'Health' of the Mother: Is the mother's-health exception to bans on late-term abortion being abused as John McCain suggested? We take a look at the laws" LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Matea Gold and Maeve Reston: "McCain Appears on Letterman Show, Hat in Hand" LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Staff: "David Letterman's Top 10 Swipes at The McCain-Palin Ticket" LINK

2008: OBAMA:

ABC News' Jake Tapper: "Obama: 'Don't Underestimate Our Ability to Screw It Up'" LINK

ABC News' Jake Tapper: "Obama Sets Sights on Battle Grounds to Deliver Final Blow" LINK

ABC News' Jake Tapper: "Obama Introduction Snafu at Al Smith Dinner" LINK

The Washington Post's Eli Saslow: "A Rising Political Star Adopts a Low-Key Strategy" LINK

The Politico's Ben Smith: "Group hits Obama on license issue" LINK

The Boston Herald's Dave Wedge: "Barack Obama on attack in New Hampshire" LINK

The Wall Street Journal's Karl Rove: "Obama Hasn't Closed The Sale" LINK