McCain hints he may raise Obama-Ayers ties in tonight's debate

http://www.boston.com/new...ts_debate/

John McCain will apparently take the dare in tonight's final presidential debate.

After his campaign began attacking Democratic rival Barack Obama over his ties to 1960s radical William Ayers, McCain did not raise the issue during last week's debate.

Afterward, Obama told ABC News that he was surprised McCain didn't bring it up face to face. Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, was more direct, telling a campaign crowd: "In my neighborhood, you got something to say to a guy, you look him in the eye and you say it to him."

McCain appeared to take the bait yesterday. "I was astonished to hear him say that he was surprised I didn't have the guts to do that, because the fact is the question didn't come up in that fashion," McCain told a St. Louis radio station. "I think he's probably ensured it will come up this time."

FOON RHEE

Poll shows large expansion in Obama's lead in a week
Thanks to a huge swing among independent voters, Democrat Barack Obama has built a double-digit lead over Republican John McCain just in the last week, according to a new poll released last night.

The New York Times/CBS News poll gives Obama a 53 percent to 39 percent lead, compared with a much narrower 48 percent to 45 percent edge in the same poll last week. Among independent voters, the change is even larger. Obama now leads 51 percent to 33 percent, when McCain had led 49 percent to 39 percent a week ago.

A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg national poll, also released last evening, gives Obama a 50 percent to 41 percent lead among likely voters. He led 49 percent to 45 percent in the same poll last month.

FOON RHEE

Clinton says she's unlikely to seek White House again
Hillary Clinton tried yesterday to put to rest some of the speculation surrounding her political future.

Conspiracy theorists are convinced - despite Clinton's now-enthusiastic backing of onetime rival Barack Obama - that she wants him to lose in November so she can run again in 2012, when she would also be on the ballot if she seeks reelection to her US Senate seat.

But in an interview aired yesterday on Fox News Channel, Clinton said the chances of her running for president again are "probably close to zero." Also asked on a scale of 1 to 10 about the chances of her taking a seat on the US Supreme Court, she replied, "Zero. I have no interest in doing that."

And of the odds that she will become the next Senate majority leader? "Oh probably zero. I'm not seeking any other position except for being the best senator for New York that I can be."