10/2 Roundup: The Senate Says Yes, DebateMaina, Angry McCain

- The Senate passed the bailout bill, by a vote of 74-25, and a whole lot of people breathed the first half of a sigh of relief.  It will likely go up for a vote in the House tomorrow morning.

- The NY Times editorial board has pushed for the bill as a first step, but today they point out a crucial point it misses: It fails to keep people in their homes.

- Daniel Gross at Slate has an interesting (if scary) piece comparing the bailout to a hedge fund.

- Paul Krugman describes two narratives of the bailout saga, both of which turn out to be wrong.

- Enough about all that.  The fun news today is all the anticipation of tonight's VP debate.  NDN has you covered with a guide to the coverage.

- Other good backgrounders and forecasts have been published by: Salon, which says the shootout will be fun, but reminds us that a matchup between the political second bananas isn't likely to decide anything; The Caucus, where they tell you what to look for; Politico is wondering if this debate will matter, even if it's a "barrel of gaffes"; TNR's Michelle Cottle warns us not to underestimate Palin; and Jack Shafer at Slate thinks the format is stupid.

- The NY Times talked to people who know about Vice Presidencies, and collected a batch of questions that should be asked tonight.

- Time has collected video from the 10 most heated moments in VP debate history.

- Obama has surged ahead in polls across the country in the past day or so.  Nate Silver at 538 analyzes some of yesterday's returns. Marc Ambinder calls it an ObamaPollSplosion.

- Maybe that's what McCain has been so angry about lately.  He was short with the editors of the Des Moines Register yesterday (video here), and Chris Cillizza at the Fix has picked up on McCain's rage as a theme, and Time's Joe Klein writes about his "mercurial temperament."

- The latest installment of the Palin-Couric interview is loaded with laugh/cringe lines. Most notably, she takes an curious stance on Roe vs. Wade, and then can't think of any other Supreme Court decisions she opposes. People are becoming increasingly skeptical of Sarah Palin, the Washington Post reports.

- Her accent has confused many, but Slate has done the research, and it turns out to be genuine: Sarah Palin's accent is a Wasillan accent.

- Leonardo DiCaprio, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston and others implore America's youth: Please don't vote!

- And Slate publishes The Collected Poetic Works of Sarah Palin.