News Buzz: Poll: Economy Will Recover Quickly, McCain-Obama Race Tightening

Nervous Now, Many Americans Expect Economy to Improve: Despite predictions of a global recession—bolstered today by a report that jobless claims rose more last week than expected and by an announcement from Alan Greenspan that the current crisis is a "credit tsunami"—most people expect the economy to improve relatively quickly. An AP poll found that most Americans think the economy will be better and the stock market will be on the rise in just three months and that within a year, real estate will be worth more and more jobs will be available. One respondent even said, "It's a great time to buy a house." That optimism differs sharply from the opinion of most analysts and of Congress, currently toying with the idea of having a second economic stimulus bill.

AP Presidential Poll: Race Tightens in Final Weeks: While other polls have found Barack Obama keeping his lead or even gaining over rival John McCain, an AP poll released today had a different discovery. The race tightened after the last debate, according to the poll, with Obama running at 44 percent and McCain at 43 percent, compared with the 7-percentage-point lead the AP had found in Obama's favor three weeks ago. McCain particularly improved among rural voters and whites who haven't finished college. The poll came as a pointed reminder to both sides that the race isn't over till it's over, although some pollsters dismissed it as an outlier.

U.S. Turns Over Control of 12th Iraqi Province: The Sunni-dominated "triangle of death" and the rest of Babil was handed over to the Iraqi government today. The southern province is the 12th of 18 to be relinquished. Although American troops will remain in the area for assistance, the Iraqi government now has the lead responsibility for the security of the province. One promising sign is that the number of attacks has fallen 80 percent in Babil compared with a year ago. Even so, the area—like the rest of Iraq—remains volatile.