Noteworthy News and Links: 10-6-2008

A few interesting news stories from the past few days…

• New York Times: Economic Unrest Shifts Electoral Battlegrounds with Multimedia presentation| As economic news worsened, the electoral map shifted in Senator Barack Obama’s favor in September.
• Washington Post: U.S. Fiscal Crisis Seems to Have Altered Political Map | The faltering economy has left Sen. John McCain on the political defensive, altering the landscape in many of the most important battleground states and providing a series of avenues for Sen. Barack Obama to claim the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House in November, according to political strategists in both parties.
• Politico: Obama to preempt McCain assault | Branding his opponent as “erratic in a crisis,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is preempting plans by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to portray him as having sinister connections to controversial Chicagoans.
• McCain’s Montana Ballot Problem | Ron Paul will top some ballots in Montana, where he received 25% of the vote during the primary caucus. Mark Nickolas predicts Obama squeezes out a narrow win.
• 538: Omaha, Nebraska’s One Electoral Vote Is In Play | Only Nebraska and Maine divide their state electoral votes on a district-by-district basis rather than winner take all.
• The Atlantic: Rethinking 2008 | This year, the youth vote will finally make a difference.
• Scholarly journals from Cambridge on the 2008 election | Collection of published political journals, many focus on the 2008 presidential election