10/31 Roundup: Spooky Politics, Scary Economy, Akaname the Filth Licker

Leader: Witch Candidate do you Support?

- Boo! I've dressed McCain and Obama up in possible Halloween costumes.  Will this change the way you vote? Apparently one in seven voters are still persuadable-- a hair-raisingly, spine-chillingly high number, if you ask me. Two years into this race, how can anyone not have made up their mind yet?

- Kevin Drum catalogues the names Barack Obama's been called: A socialist! A terrorist! A goblin!  Ok, not a goblin. Obama's hoping Arizona voters don't find him too scary.

- John McCain says Joe the Plumber is his role model.  Better him than Joe the Werewolf, I suppose. This weekend he'll be getting into the game, appearing on SNL, presumably in costume!

- A growing number of voters are spooked by the idea of Sarah Palin as VP.

Economy

- Steve Perlstein is haunted by his prescient predictions: Turns out the $125 billion Hank Paulson forced on the nation's biggest banks isn't being used for loans after all.

- Evidently determined to leave the country in monstrously worse condition than ever before, President Bush is seeking to weaken government rules protecting consumers and the environment before he exits the scene.

Election '08

- Did Obama ask Rahm Emanuel to be his Chief of Staff? Or was it just a trick?

- In much the same way that mysterious groups are telling black Virginians to go vote next Wednesday,  unknown demons in Nevada are calling up Hispanic voters and inviting them to vote by the phone. NDN's Andres Ramirez is quoted on the subject by Fox News.

- By enfranchising so many new voters, early voting is proving to be a nightmare for Florida Republicans.

- John Dickerson writes for Slate that the McCain campaign has been unusually cheery lately.  But do they have reason to be, with still ghoulish poll numbers?

International

- The NY Times and LA Times both run pieces on Somali Pirates, and their reign of terror over the high seas in the Indian Ocean

- Tonight's festivities not real enough for you? Try Estonia, which has real ghosts, or Japan, where Akaname the Filth Licker lurks in dirty bathrooms.

- Fearing a curse, Nicolas Sarkozy tried to ban a voodoo doll made in his effigy. The courts wouldn't have it.

One More Thing

- The NY Times has an article on the best methods to rid your house of poltergeists.

- Last, watch as Rick Sanchez skewers Mike Goldfarb in horrifying fashion: