Politics Audio/Video - NPR

A fellow at Oil Change International and at the Institute for Policy Studies, she argues that the oil industry's grip on policy and government has never been stronger. She documents her concerns — and argues for remedies — in a new book.

The presidential election is exactly one month away, and Republican John McCain appears to be behind in the polls. Surveys suggest that Democrat Barack Obama is approaching the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. The two candidates will meet Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn., for a town hall-style debate.

Nevada is one of several states still up for grabs. Republican voters in the state's rural counties are enthusiastic about Republican presidential nominee John McCain. But Democrat-run voter registration drives are gaining ground in urban areas like Las Vegas. Neither campaign is taking the state for granted.

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama campaigned Monday in North Carolina, where he told supporters that Congress should pass an economic stimulus package to help American families. He also said John McCain lacks the understanding necessary to fix the troubled economy.

Jurors heard secretly recorded telephone conversations Monday in the trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. The calls were taped in 2006 with the consent of witness Bill Allen, who admitted under cross-examination that he never tried to bribe the Alaska lawmaker. Stevens is charged with lying about money and gifts on financial disclosure forms.

The Democrat and Republican presidential hopefuls debate Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn. On Monday, Republican John McCain campaigned in New Mexico, arguing that Barack Obama is inexperienced and raising questions about Obama's past relationships.

In some states, voters who show up at the polls with a candidate's name on a T-shirt or hat could be turned away. In South Carolina, the law has been in effect for more than 40 years.

John McCain and Barack Obama will face each other in a town-hall-style format Tuesday night in which the audience asks the questions. They need to put on a show at least as good as their running mates did last week.

Even as the company was heading toward collapse, executives at Lehman Brothers were being awarded millions in bonuses and special payments. Lehman CEO Richard Fuld has told Congress he feels "horrible" about the way the company imploded.

Voting advocates are concerned that people could be prevented from voting if they are aggressively questioned by political parties or other voters at the polls Nov. 4. Laws governing this intimidation vary from state to state and are often vague.

Obama and McCain have both talked about the need to change the way the federal government works. What might smaller government mean for American citizens? Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, and Paul Light, professor of public service at NYU, talk about how Americans think about government.

Both the McCain and Obama campaigns are starting to get personal, with attacks about each other's past and associations. Our senior Washington editor explores who is likely to benefit, as the candidates focus on dirt.

Oktoberfest weekend is a time for pierogies, polka and politics in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., home to white, Catholic swing voters. But a lot of voters in northeast Pennsylvania's former textile and mining communities are still undecided.

The presidential election is four weeks from Tuesday. Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama debate in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday. The latest polls show Obama has pulled ahead of McCain in key battleground states. The economy is the big issue. The latest surveys show Obama is trusted more to handle the economy.

Barack Obama's Democratic presidential campaign could alter the electoral map that decides the White House. Virginia has been a traditionally red state, but Obama has been working hard to make it a blue state. Other states that could swing Obama's way include Florida, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Iowa.

Barack Obama is seeking votes where Democratic presidential candidates normally don't. That includes tiny Appalachian mountain towns like those in southwestern Virginia. But local voters have many questions about Obama's positions, and he faces obstacles even among some Democrats.

As part of a strategy to get Liberty University's 10,000 students to vote, the school founded by the late Jerry Falwell will cancel classes on Election Day, bus students to the polls and lift curfew so students can watch the results on TV.

Satire has played a part in politics for hundreds of years, but how is it different in the YouTube era? Is it all in good fun, or is there something being lost in all the laughter?

Palin's latest punch accuses Obama of "palling around with terrorists," while a new ad from his campaign calls McCain "erratic in crisis."

One thing both candidates agree on is that the education system — particularly "No Child Left Behind" — is broken. The question is: How would they fix it?

In the latest political podcast, NPR Washington Editor Ron Elving and Political Editor Ken Rudin discuss the debates so far, national polls and surprisingly close Senate races.

Classical music historian Robert Greenberg speaks with host Liane Hansen about historic campaign songs. Music and politics have been intertwined in the United States since the 1800s when President Thomas Jefferson and President John Quincy Adams were in office.

On the campaign trail, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are both taking some credit for helping to pass the $700 billion financial rescue package. But the two men part company on what else is needed to revive the ailing economy.

Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, first came to national attention as one of the House managers in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. The former Republican congressman from Georgia discusses the impeachment hearings, civil liberties and national security.

The bailout package signed into law on Friday was passed amid dire warnings that the U.S. economy was on the verge of collapse. Still, many Americans are asking: Was it necessary? NPR's Adam Davidson tackles the question.

Scott Simon discusses the week's news with Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr. Right now, the financial emergency facing the nation is "clearly" the overriding issue in the race for the White House, Schorr says. Also discussed: the VP debate.

Michael Bloomberg's decision to ask the city council to overturn New York's term-limit law so he can run for a third term as mayor seems popular so far. But some denounce his plan to change the law by calling a vote of people with a personal stake in going along with him.

Scott Simon talks to NPR News Analyst Juan Williams about the vice presidential debate.

The House on Friday passed a modified version of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill which it had rejected on Monday. What changed their minds? In a word: fear, says New York Times business columnist Joe Nocera.

The two-week drama over the fate of a $700 billion bailout bill ended Friday with the House passing the financial rescue plan that it had rejected on Monday. Fifty-seven lawmakers switched their votes from no to yes, but others remained adamantly opposed to the end.

People on Main Street aren't the only ones angry about the current financial crisis. Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange have complaints of their own.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was one of the lawmakers who switched her vote on the financial bailout package to ensure its passage. The freshman congresswoman says the new version of the bill was better and with a financial crisis looming, it would have been irresponsible to vote against it.

The U.S. House has reversed itself and given final approval to a giant economic bailout bill. The measure — revised, re-framed and expanded — passed comfortably by a vote of 263 to 171. It attracted 26 more Republicans and 32 more Democrats than last Monday night.

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is facing federal corruption charges in Washington, D.C., while running for another term. Stevens has held on to his Senate seat for four decades with overwhelming support. But this year, he has a significant challenger in the mayor of Anchorage.

SpaceX's flagship Falcon1 rocket has successfully launched from an island in the central Pacific, becoming the first privately-developed rocket to orbit the planet. NASA has already contracted SpaceX to begin private space flight missions to the International Space Station beginning in 2010.

Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving offers an analysis of the House vote on the $700 billion bailout package. He also discusses Sen. John McCain's decision to halt his campaign efforts in Michigan.

Gas prices and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made energy a central talking point for both presidential campaigns. Elgie Holstein, energy advisor to Democratic candidate Barack Obama, explains the senator's policies on alternative energy, offshore drilling and energy independence.

Last night's debate was touted as the most anticipated vice presidential debate ever. Did the candidates live up to the expectations? Slate.com's Dahlia Lithwick and the National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez discuss how the vice presidential candidates fared in last night's face-off.

In Reno Thursday, a group of Republican women — including Nevada's GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden —watched the Palin-Biden debate together. We attend their debate-watching party and see what they thought of the vice presidential candidates.