John McCain, looking through a crystal ball to 2013 and the end of a prospective first term, sees "spasmodic" but reduced violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden dead or captured and government spending curbed by his ready veto pen.

IN THE HEADLINES

While some Republicans are eager to exploit the political weaknesses Hillary Clinton has exposed in Barack Obama during her march through the backcountry, John McCain won’t be able to make use of Obama’s cultural disconnection as ably as the former first lady.

A Virginia House of Delegates panel known for sending tax bills to their graves could be the first — and possibly last — stop for Gov. Tim Kaine’s $1.1 billion transportation funding package, legislators and staffers said.

Nevada's top election official on Wednesday challenged a re-election bid by a Washoe County school board trustee - in a move that could trigger a court battle over the state's voter-approved term limits.

Ohio's attorney general resigned Wednesday under threat of impeachment because of a sexual harassment investigation in his office and his extramarital affair.

College professor Elliot Maltz worried that he might misplace his ballot or forget to mail it in time for next Tuesday's election.

STUNNED GOP: House Republicans vowed campaign changes Wednesday after their third straight defeat in congressional races in once-friendly territory. "The political atmosphere ... is the worst since Watergate," Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia wrote in a memo to leadership.

Stunned House Republicans vowed campaign changes Wednesday and debated the wisdom of attacking Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama in congressional races after their third straight election defeat in once-friendly territory.

The resignation of Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann means fellow Democrats will be exposed to the same ethics charges that helped them win in 2006 and now will tinge the ballot in a presidential election year.