An eagle-eyed political observer noticed a few uncanny similarities between First Lady hopeful Cindy McCain and those victimized blondes populating so much of Alfred Hitchcock's work. We can't say we disagree, though if the natural next step requires Mrs. McCain to race through the Arizona desert tonight with a few thousand stolen dollars from her husband's campaign, we'd urge her to skip the shower when she stops for a rest.

Adorable Republican stronghold Dixville Notch, New Hampshire held its annual midnight election, and is officially terrorist for That One. Barack Obama's RESOUNDING 15-6 victory over John McCain is the resort village's first vote for a Democratic president in 40 years. And yet Ben Smith of Politico thinks it's too early to call the whole election for Obama. What do you think the commenters have to say about that?

This election year has proved a boon for the chattering class of political pundits, but there are few on cable news who can break things down as well (or as loudly) as comedian Chris Rock. After making a memorable appearance on Letterman in September to rebut Bill Clinton ("Hillary lost!"), Rock showed up at a Barack Obama rally in Tampa over the weekend, and it wasn't to promote Madagascar 2. While joking that he took his children trick-or-treating Friday at John McCain's many houses, Rock critiqued the Republican candidate's own wife-swapping, $100 million bailout of yore. "You want somebody who can relate to what you have to say," Rock continued. "Like if I have problems getting laid, I wouldn't call Brad Pitt 'cause he wouldn't know what I was talking about!" Clip above.

Let's check in with famous and successful media critic Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post. What is Mr. Kurtz writing about today? The Monday after John McCain's much-discussed appearance on Saturday Night Live, his second of the general election campaign and coming just weeks after his running mate Sarah Palin's well-publicized cameo, Kurtz's column is, of course, about how Obama is on TV all the time, and all the television talk shows are In The Tank for Barack Obama.

An estimated 66 percent of economists plan to vote for Barack Obama, while 80 percent of CEOs plan to support John McCain. [TheBigMoney]

Did you watch Saturday Night Live? Ben Affleck was lame. John McCain was funny. Cindy McCain was the funniest(!). The ending was strangely awkward. But you know what wasn't as funny as it should've been? The Keith Olbermann sketch. Ben Affleck's "Keith Olbermann" impression was basically his "Alec Baldwin" except louder. The sketch lasted forever and wasn't funny until the "special comment" at the end, which should've been the sum total of the bit (watch the whole thing after the jump, kids!). But apparently John McCain thought it was the best! The McCain campaign was delighted with the absurd bit, and said it was "about time" that SNL mocked MSNBC's most indignant anchoir. So of course Ana Marie Cox emailed Olbermann himself for his response to the McCain camp's response to his getting made fun of on a tee-vee show. He responded faux-good-naturedly and also had some secret sexy news about Sarah Palin going rogue!

♦ John McCain's appearance on Saturday Night Live didn't generate Sarah Palin-like ratings, but it was still an impressive showing nonetheless. [THR]
♦ No word yet on who will take over NBC's Meet the Press. Chuck Todd, David Gregory, Gwen Ifill, and even Katie Couric all remain possibilities. [NYT]
♦ CBS is on a primetime ratings roll, although Sumner Redstone is still screwed, apparently. [NYT, NYT]
♦ Another profile of Rachel Maddow, just in case the 237 other pieces on MSNBC's rising star in recent weeks have yet to whet your appetite. [NYM]
♦ In case you missed it, the clip of Sarah Palin getting punked by a couple of Montreal radio personalities, who explain how they managed to get through to her. [ABC]

♦ A "crazed" Madonna fan stormed the set of Guy Ritchie's new movie this weekend and threatened to kill him with a 12-inch knife before the 16-year-old was arrested. [Mirror, Daily Star]
♦ Is Ashley Olsen planning to marry boyfriend Justin Bartha in a secret wedding on the French Riviera? That's what the National Enquirer claims! Also: She supposedly wants Karl Lagerfeld to design her dress. [Daily Express]
♦ Joaquin Phoenix was acting "odd" and wobbly at an event in San Francisco last week, and now his friends are worried he's back to drinking and doing drugs. [P6]
♦ Beth Ostrosky and Ryan Reynolds both finished the NYC Marathon yesterday, along with about 35,000 other people. [NYDN]

Neocons the nation over got a little thrill up their legs this spring, when News Corporation overlord Rupert Murdoch said he might uncage the editorial-page pitbulls at his Wall Street Journal to issue presidential endorsements for the first time since Herbert Hoover was president (!). Sure, newspaper endorsements are useless in presidential races, but the Journal's frenzied rantings would have been kind of fun to read, assuming they did not give you rabies. But when the Journal issued its big McCain editorial this weekend, it was just all, "Meh, he's OK."

John McCain was reasonably funny on Saturday Night Live last night, but the show's most entertaining moments came during Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impression in his opening sketch. One was a joke about Palin's $150,000 wardrobe, the other about how she wants to run in 2012. It's funny because Palin's a terrible, out-of-control pick of a running mate and because McCain is broke and doomed. Ha.... ha? In the attached clip, McCain says the SNL gig was to "humanize" him with people who don't watch Meet The Press, but instead it's already being read as a "big... 'fuck you'" to Palin. Credit should probably go to Fey: She's a charmer but will most definitely cut you. Sort of like Palin. Sketch highlights are after the jump.

Though both Barack Obama and John McCain were rumored to be planning appearances on last night's episode of Saturday Night Live, only McCain showed up in the end, and the two sketches he appeared in repped a decidedly mixed bag.McCain was game throughout the cold open, a QVC ad that spoofed his inability to match Obama's major network infomercial. Unfortunately for the candidate, his willingness to self-deprecate (with wife Cindy along for the ride as a ginsu knife spokesmodel) was deflated by a clearly over-it Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, whose every through-the-motions gesture read, "Is an 8.5 not enough for you people?" Later, McCain appeared solo for a Weekend Update skit where he was greeted with a chorus of boos before launching into an amiable self-ribbing. Was the bit funny enough to overcome that rocky first impression? We've got the Hulus — cast your vote. Click to view

When Matt Drudge saw the Zogby poll that put McCain up a point last night, he let out a squeal of glee. "A story I can control!" he shrieked, probably still in his The Crow Halloween costume and makeup. McCain is within the margin of error in one Zogby poll, that much is true. But on the same morning where Drudge tries to sell a McCain victory, respected National Journal Charlie Cook says that the Republican candidate can't win without divine intervention. We have to ask: could Obama really be in trouble?Drudge has to tell his story, and in this case it's that McCain slipped above Obama in what basically amounted to an afternoon and a morning of polling. As of this writing, Drudge's "reporting" consisted of this quoting this John Zogby exercise in hyperbole:

Click to viewBoomp3.com A couple of fiendish film flashers got their Halloween jollies in a day early as they spooked spectacular sassy screen star Kate Hudson at popular celeb hangout, LAX. The fiends wore spooky burlap sacks over the faces and shouted scary phrases like “Boo!” and “John McCain won the election!” while jumping out in front of the Raising Helen star. [Photo Credit: WENN] *A Call To The Bullpen is a work of fiction. Although the pictures we use are most certainly real, Defamer does not purport that any of the incidents or quotations you see in this piece actually happened. Lighten up, people ... it's a joke.

Senator John McCain will appear on the popular "sketch comedy" television program Saturday Night Live this weekend. McCain hosted the show in 2002, so he's no stranger to their fun-loving antics. The only difference is that this time out, McCain is, we're told, running for president, and the election is on Tuesday. So, sure, hanging out in New York City sounds good, why not. Barack Obama was rumored to be considering an appearance too, but it seems like he might spend the weekend before the election campaigning in swing states? He has spent enough time on network TV, thank you. (Though someone could still make a stilted, unfunny, stunt cameo during SNL's Monday night prime time election special! Keep hope alive!) [AP]

"Where have Silicon Valley's Republicans gone?" laments CNET News writer Declan McCullagh. George W. Bush backer Tim Draper has switched to the Obama team. There are a few stalwarts: Former Valley CEOs Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina have campaigned for McCain. And the two are going to be special guests at an election-night party thrown by Lead21. The group, which describes itself as "an influential political organization formed by entrepreneurial business leaders," is coy about the location of the party.But we're not. A source told us it's being held at the rented mansion of Facebook board member Peter Thiel, the former PayPal CEO and founder of Clarium Capital, a hedge fund. Thiel backed Ron Paul in the primaries, but what we really want to know is: What is the gay investor's position on California's proposed gay-marriage ban? Festivities start at 6 p.m. Oh, need directions? Thiel is listed in the phone book. Update: Lead21 chair Sonia Arrison writes:

♦ Madonna and Alex Rodriguez were able to fly out to the Hamptons for a "quick and cozy rendezvous" without anyone knowing, but only because Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld picked the couple up (separately) from the East Hampton airport and let them hang out for several hours at their waterfront manse. [P6, The Sun]
♦ With her husband Rossano Rubicondi filming a reality show in Italy, Ivana Trump has been hanging out with a 23-year-old Belgian model named Marius Rusovici. [P6]
♦ Tina Brown and Cathie Black are enemies, apparently, since they "disagreed on just about everything" and "wouldn't even look at each other," at a conference this week. [R&M]
♦ Is John McCain making an Saturday Night Live appearance this weekend? Does anyone care? [MSNBC]

Neocon Times columnist Bill Kristol was of course acting smug and cute last night on the Daily Show, since that's basically his gig: Smarmy right-wing fish in left wing ponds. But he just didn't seem to have it in him to truly bait the other side. He declared John McCain would triumph on Tuesday but, wait, ha ha, it's just a joke of the make-a-Daily Show-audience-heckle-me variety, and Kristol admitted as much (and did succeed in getting booed).

Barack Obama's finally taken a shot at Republican Vice Presidential charade Sarah Palin, America's Favorite Halloween Joke-slash-Future of the Republican Party. The official campaign ad repeats the fun old McCain quote about how he doesn't understand that "economy" thing and his VP pick will probably have to help him with math. Then, cut to Palin winking. Remember how she can't even wink correctly? It was stupid when George W. Bush winked in debates, but at least the man can actually wink. Palin flinches. When it comes to the economy, can America handle flinching? Until we read otherwise, we're going to assume this is one of those ads that are just sent to political journalists and not necessarily played on real tv? There isn't even any talking in it. Click through to watch, and also read a preview of a zinger to be delivered in North Carolina today! Click to view From Obama's prepared remarks for a rally in Raleigh, today:

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens will be remembered for his babbling attempt to explain the Internet on Capitol Hill. Also, for being a crook who used his position to get his house remodeled for free. “Ted Stevens was found guilty of corruption,” says a prepared statement from McCain's team. “This verdict is also a sign of the corruption and insider-dealing that has become so pervasive in our nation’s capital.” Keating Five! Sorry, Mr. Future President, I just blurted that out. It's the layoffs. (Photo by AP/Gerald Herbert)

Granted, most of the trends associated with the presidential campaign are morbidly depressing, from hateful posters to bigoted screaming at rallies to Sarah Palin's sad and frightening interview flubs. But in the last few weeks before the election, a flurry of campaign-inspired "yo momma" jokes have taken their rightful place alongside Tina Fey's Palin impression and Chris Rock's "Hillary Lost!" routine as among the rare bright spots. Tech executive Anil Dash got the ball rolling on his Twitter stream last week (see headline to this post!) and the jokes just kept snowballing. "Yo mama so fat, McCain refers to her as 'Those Ones,'" wrote loresjoberg. More: