News Round-Up: Sorry, Johnny Boy...

Lots of news today; I can't move without bumping into a new McCain story, it feels like. Two points for getting the media to watch your every move, but neg points for GETTING THEM TO HATE YOU.

Huffington Post, John Dinges: McCain's Private Visit With Chilean Dictator Pinochet Revealed For First Time

John McCain, who has harshly criticized the idea of sitting down with dictators without pre-conditions, appears to have done just that. In 1985, McCain traveled to Chile for a friendly meeting with Chile's military ruler, General Augusto Pinochet, one of the world's most notorious violators of human rights credited with killing more than 3,000 civilians and jailing tens of thousands of others.

The private meeting between McCain and dictator Pinochet has gone previously un-reported anywhere.

New York Times, Political Memo: In McCain’s Uphill Battle, Winning Is an Option

Mr. McCain’s advisers said the key to victory was reeling back those Republican states where Mr. Obama has them on the run: Florida, where Mr. McCain spent Thursday; Indiana; Missouri; North Carolina; Ohio; and Virginia. If he can hang on to all those states as well as others that are reliably red, he would put into his column 260 of the 270 electoral votes necessary to win. Mr. McCain’s advisers said they would look for the additional electoral votes they need either by taking Pennsylvania from the Democrats, or putting together some combination of Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire and New Mexico.

Mr. McCain’s advisers are most concerned about Virginia, and understandably so. On the other side of the coin, Mr. McCain’s advisers believe that if he wins or comes close in Pennsylvania, he will probably win in Ohio and Florida. Aides to Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama agree that Mr. McCain remains very much in the game in Ohio and Florida. Not easy, but not impossible either.

NY Observer, The Sarah Palin Show? 'Americans Just Want to be Entertained,' Says Tina Brown

But did Ms. Palin have something else on her mind when she invited the former Survivor contestant to join her this weekend? It seems she may have been looking for career advice. The Hollywood Reporter floated the idea of some version of The Sarah Palin Show to a handful of TV types and it seems that at least a few of them think that, if running-mate John McCain loses the race, the Alaska governor could have her second act on the small screen.

Daily Mail, McCain under strain: tired candidate makes trio of slip-ups and stays behind in polls

As his gruelling two-year campaign enters its final week, John McCain is showing signs of fatigue, making three gaffes in the last 48 hours.

The Republican presidential candidate made a major boob when he effectively agreed with the sentiment that people from Western Pennsylvania were racist.

The blunder came when he spoke to an audience in the region. He said: 'You know, I think you may have noticed that Senator Obama's supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately. And you know, I couldn't agree with them more.'

Oh, and just for kicks, Jon Stewart to Sarah: No, ma'am.