WEDNESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Obama, speaking to reporters in Florida, turned down McCain’s offer to delay the debate. “Presidents are going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time,” he said. “It’s not necessary for us to think that we can do only one thing, and suspend everything else.”
* As far as the University of Mississippi and the Commission on Presidential Debates are concerned, Friday’s event is still on.
* The original Treasury plan for a $700 billion Wall Street bailout is just about dead, but congressional alternatives are looking more promising.
* Like TPM, I’ve heard rumors that a deal is very nearly in place. It would be a shorter-term deal, totaling around $150 billion.
* A criminal investigation has begun at the Justice Department, looking into whether fraud contributed to the collapse of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and AIG.
* Just two hours before Georgia was set to kill Troy Davis, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay, and will decide Monday whether to grant Davis’s appeal for a new trial.
* Brandon Friedman has the latest on just how deadly Afghanistan has become.
* What a surprise, healthcare premiums are still on the rise.
* It’s good to see Congress take a stand to require insurance companies to treat mental ailments the same way as physical ailments.
* What did KBR know and when did they know it?
* That’s quite a ghost-writing operation the McCain campaign has put together.
* Quote of the Day, in response to McCain’s stunt this afternoon: “If you were wondering how bad McCain’s pollster was telling him things are, there’s your confirmation.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
