A few highlights from last night’s annual Al Smith dinner in NYC:

Did you think you’d ever heard a major party senate candidate caught begging, just before the start of a debate, that it wasn’t fair that he wouldn’t be allowed to bring in notes? Even though both campaigns had agreed already that that wouldn’t be allowed.

It’s Colorado senate candidate Bob Schaffer (R-CO), sweatshop supporter and Abramoff water-carrier, leaving all his self-respect on the field …

DCCC unfurls a $15 million spinnaker (loan) to try to take full advantage of the wind at Dems’ back this cycle.

The General Counsel of the Obama campaign is currently holding a media conference call to “Announce Major Action Taken Today To Address Illegal Conduct and Improprieties in the Sham “Anti-Fraud” Campaign Orchestrated By McCain-Palin and the RNC.”

We’ve got a new page just posted that is all about tire swinging. The term itself is explained, with a replay of the original, literal tire swinging moment. Then we categorize some of the best known tire swingers as either chronic repeat offenders, struggling to rehab but still tire swinging, or completely broken the tire swinging habit. Take a look.

Vandalized ACORN offices in Boston and Seattle and threats of death or violence in Providence and Cleveland follow in the wake of McCain’s bogus “vote fraud” scam.

Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL), responding to the question of how many affairs he’s had: “You’re asking me over a lifetime? I’m just saying I’ve been unfaithful and I’m sorry for that.”

It looks like the big media outlets are starting to catch on to what we’ve been reporting all week at TPM Election Central — that the real campaign McCain is running on the ground with mailers and robocalls is even nastier than the stuff McCain is saying publicly and struggling mightily to defend.

Election Central reports:

In two private conference calls this week with leading fundraisers, surrogates, and prominent supporters, senior Obama advisers expressed genuine worry that his lead in the polls is creating a complacency among supporters that the advisers are afraid will create a serious drag on fundraising and turnout, a person who was on both calls says.

A former top voting rights official in the Justice Department tells TPMmuckraker that the current FBI investigation of ACORN is “a continuation of injecting DOJ into what has clearly become a political issue” and violates department policies.