If McCain and Palin are going to make up bogus excuses about talking with Gwen Ifill, do they think they’re going to be able to choose foreign leaders too? Or, actually …

Debate? What debate? That and the day’s other political news in the TPM Election Central Morning Roundup.

The judge presiding over the trial of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) is not happy with prosecutors.

TPM Election Central reports on a radio ad campaign that the National Right to Life Committee is preparing to run accusing Obama of allowing babies to die.

Late Update: Separately, Ralph Stanley cut a radio ad for Obama that’s now playing in Virginia.

Let’s face it. There’s a lot of good Sarah Palin video out there. Maybe you want to see the time she didn’t know what the Bush Doctrine was. Or maybe you want to go a little more highbrow and relive the moment she’d never heard of the Supreme Court (well, more or less). So as a public service, in advance of tonight’s debate, we’ve compiled the Official TPM Sarah Palin Video Florilegium — one page for one-stop Sarah Palin video shopping, even divided up by interviewer.

The Politico says McCain is pulling out of Michigan.

That Palin has a history of abuses of power back in Alaska?

John McCain’s latest line in his interviews this morning is that at least his veep knows FDR never appeard on television. Actually, he did. First president who ever did, in 1939, just to a pretty small audience.

Late Update: In fairness, as TPM Reader DP points out, McCain was only 3 in 1939. So he probably doesn’t remember.

Deck-stacking debate moderators, sinking poll numbers, and a running mate who can’t stop getting gotcha’d! But what can John McCain do about it? Life isn’t fair…

Full-size video at TPMtv.com.

Joe Lieberman just won’t quite answer CNN’s question of whether Sarah Palin is smarter than Joe Biden: