John McCain says his campaign is coming back strong in the final days of the race according to both his internal tracking polls and his gut.

"We are coming back strong," McCain told ABC News' Charlie Gibson in an interview today. "I have been in enough campaigns — I see this kind of enthusiasm and this kind of turnout. I can sense it. I can feel it more than my internal polls, which are very good."

McCain said he is within the margin of error or close behind Democratic rival Barack Obama in key swing states, including Virginia and Florida, and that he is leading in North Carolina. Public polls show Obama leading narrowly in all three, with his largest lead in Virginia (6.5 percent according to RealClearPolitics' poll average). > Read More

A new study suggests voters who are illegal immigrants could distort the outcomes of elections.

It estimates that as many as 2.7 million non-citizen immigrants are registered to vote in the United States.

Only American citizens are legally eligible to vote.

Researcher David Simcox found that in some districts in California, Florida, and New York, there were more registered voters according to county election records than eligible voters according to the U.S. Census.  He concluded that the discrepancy was due to non-citizens who registered to vote.

Simcox writes, "There is an urgency for citizens, naturalized or native, to decide whether voting should remain an exclusive attribute of citizenship and to demand the safeguards to make it so."

Not everyone appears to agree with Simcox's conclusions, however.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Texas election officials dispute the reliability of the report.

-Brendan Sasso

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s claim that the media are limiting her free speech rights draws ridicule from liberal bloggers today, while conservatives focus on how John McCain can win, and both sides tussle over the kind of Supreme Court justices Obama would appoint.

Palin’s worry that her First Amendment rights have suffered when the media question her allegations against Barack Obama is an example of a typical right-wing grievance instinct, Salon’s Glenn Greenwald declares. The insistence that the media step aside while Palin makes scurrilous allegations is an incoherent view of the First Amendment, blogs Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen. Palin deserves a pass for ridicule of her assessment of the vice president’s responsibilities, The Plank’s Jason Zengerle argues, but it is warranted in this instance, in which Palin looks “clueless.”

There are indications that the races in swing states are closer than some public polls may indicate, The Corner’s Lisa Schiffren asserts, saying the real question is whether or not McCain will stand up and fight the electoral battle. Numbers show that early voting numbers have sometimes been a poor predictor of which way a state is going in the Electoral College, Jim Geraghty writes at The Campaign Spot. A McCain campaign conference call today marshaled enough data and evidence to show their campaign is still alive and kicking, the Weekly Standard’s Gary Andres says.

Meanwhile, Obama’s disclaiming the importance of judicial philosophy in Supreme Court nominations is off-base because Obama, who taught constitutional law, must truly know better, The Corner’s Ed Whelan argues, pointing to the recent Supreme Court decision on gun rights as evidence of his claim. Obama was simply claiming that judicial philosophy ends up impacting a small sliver of cases on the entire federal docket, few of which reach the high court, Matthew Yglesias counters. Obama was not lying as Whelan accused, TalkLeft’s Big Tent Democrat writes, but simply ducking the question—perfectly acceptable for a political candidate.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Palin Speaks on the First Amendment – Glenn Greenwald, Salon
As Nasty as She Wants to Be – Steve Benen, Political Animal
What if it’s Really Close? – Lisa Schiffren, The Corner
McCain Campaign Predicts Comeback – G. Andres, Weekly Standard
Obama’s 99 Percent Lie – Ed Whelan, The Corner
The 99 Percent Solution – Matthew Yglesias, Think Progress
McCain Plan Offers Lower Taxes – B. Simpson, The Minority Report
Wow – Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
GA-Sen: Headed for a Runoff? – Todd Beeton, MyDD
Da Coach and Da 'Cuda - AllahPundit, Hot Air

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
College Newspapers Back Obama 63-to-1 - Editor & Publisher
Stevens Insists He Will be Vindicated - New York Times
GOP Tries to Raise $5 Million in Next Three Days - The Hill

-Michael O'Brien

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) has denied the allegations in a lawsuit that his wife's company received payments from one of Coleman's campaign donors, as The Hill's Michael O'Brien reports.

Coleman's denial, however, hasn't stopped the media scrutiny over the suit. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that he cancelled a scheduled appearance Wednesday after being asked about allegations. And, as seen in a YouTube video, Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Paul McEnroe pressed Coleman to answer questions about the case while they walked to Coleman's car. Coleman refused to respond to the questions.

Coleman faces a stiff challenge for his seat from Democrat Al Franken.

See the video below.

Embattled Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) said no one cares about controversial comments she made on television a few weeks ago during a debate against Democratic challenger Elwyn Tinklenberg.

“The number one thing people have been concerned about as they talk to me…has been… the bailout. That’s their main concern,” she said, saying no one had brought up her controversial comments in which she accused some members of Congress and Barack Obama of being "anti-American" except for the media.

“The idea that [the remarks are] not an issue in the campaign is simply not credible," Tinklenberg countered during a debate on Minnesota Public Radio. "It’s what has given this campaign a national interest.”

Bachmann argued preventing tax increases for everyone as the defining issue of the election. “I am a principled conservative and I stay true to my values and beliefs,” she said.

When Tinklenberg tried to link her with President Bush, Bachmann retorted, “I’ve clearly gone to Washington as a reformer and one who challenges the Bush administration.”

Listen to the debate here:

A pair of polls released Friday show Georgia's U.S. Senate race continuing to favor Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss by small but stable leads over Democratic challenger Jim Martin.

A Rasmussen poll conducted Thursday of 500 likely voters gives Chamblis a 5-point lead, 48 percent to 43 percent, while a CNN/Time poll conducted between last Thursday and this Tuesday of 690 likely voters shows Chambliss with a 9-point lead, 53 percent to 44 percent.

The most recent RealClearPolitics polling average gives Chambliss the lead by 5.5 points.

-J. Taylor Rushing

A Democratic poll out Friday on the Oregon U.S. Senate race shows challenger Jeff Merkley with a comfortable lead over GOP incumbent Gordon Smith, although the poll contrasts with others that show the race closer.

The Public Policy Polling survey of 1,424 likely voters shows Merkley ahead of Smith, 51 percent to 43 percent, suggesting Merkley is likely riding on the coattails of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's 57-42 percent lead over Republican rival John McCain. The PPP poll was conducted between Tuesday and Thursday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percent.

The most recent RealClearPolitics polling average gives Merkley the lead over Smith as well, but only by 3.8 percent.

-J. Taylor Rushing

Just days from Election Day, Americans indicate that of the four presidential and vice presidential candidates, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be overwhelmingly elected come Tuesday as their favorite . . . Cabbage Patch doll.

According to a four-way auction of special edition Cabbage Patch dolls of Barack Obama, John McCain, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden (D), and Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate–the only female candidate–is by far and away the favorite. As of 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, the Palin doll had received 61 bids, the current high bid being $3,650. The next highest recipient of bids was Obama, who had been bid on 50 times, and was fetching a price of $1,225.

John McCain drew $200 less in bids than Obama, and Biden trailed the field badly–receiving 38 bids for a total of $610.

The auction, still open for bidding on eBay.com, will continue until Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., just a little after the regular polls open in most parts of the United States. The proceeds from the auction go to the Marines' Toys for Tots programs.

-Michael O'Brien

John McCain defended his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), from criticism by comparing her to the last small-state governor to reach the Oval Office, Bill Clinton.

McCain was asked about Palin on ABC on Friday, a day after his foreign policy adviser, former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, said that she wasn't yet ready to become commander-in-chief.

McCain said that Palin had the "qualifications of leadership."

"And I would remind you again there was an obscure governor of a small state called Arkansas that everybody said wasn't qualified," he added, referring to Clinton. "Well, I didn't vote for him, but he got elected and reelected."

Clinton won the White House in 1992 as the governor of Arkansas.

McCain noted that Palin is one of the most popular governors in the country and that she has executive experience that neither Barack Obama nor Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) have.

Press accounts this week have said suggested that Palin has already set her sights on the 2012 presidential race.

Asked whether Palin is the future face of the Republican Party, McCain said: "I think, to a large degree, as vice president or — or — I think there's no doubt that — because she has united our party in a large degree. And she's, in many ways, an inspirational figure. So… but I know that Sarah is out there working 24-7 for our election."

Interestingly, McCain noticeably stumbles in his response when talking about whether Palin could become something other than vice president.

See the video of the response below (courtesy of Townhall's Matt Lewis).

A new ad by Sen. Elizabeth Dole's (R-N.C.) campaign dismisses criticism that it's questioning Democrat Kay Hagan's faith, yet it still tries to link her to atheists.

A Dole ad released Tuesday attacked Hagan, Dole's opponent in her Senate race, for attending a fundraiser hosted by an adviser to the Godless Americans political action committee. Hagan, a former Sunday School teacher, responded by charging Dole with "bearing false witness" against a fellow Christian.

Dole's new ad, released Friday, begins with a narrator declaring that Hagan's faith isn't the question. The narrator goes on to suggest that the Democrat still erred by going to the fundraiser, which other people wouldn't have attended.

Watch Dole's new ad below.