Politics

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A Halloween retailer says it can predict the presidential race based on sales of Obama or Romney masks. It also offers children’s elephant costumes. (Image provided by Spirit Halloween)

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Washington Nationals' relief pitcher Craig Stammen pitches against the Chicago Cubs during their baseball game at Nationals Park, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Richard Lipski)

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Protesters march outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Tuesday. The 81st anniversary of a Japanese invasion brought a fresh wave of anti-Japan demonstrations, with thousands venting anger over the colonial past and a current dispute involving contested islands in the East China Sea. (Associated Press)

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President Obama talks with David Letterman on the set of the "Late Show With David Letterman" at the Ed Sullivan Theater, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Teachers strike in 2012 because the mayor of Chicago asked for concessions. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

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Lunch is served as Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign fundraising event at The Grand America in Salt Lake City, Utah, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Songwriter Randy Newman comments on the presidential election with a satirical song that declares: “I’m dreaming of a white president.” But Mr. Newman backs President Obama. (Associated Press)

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Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart (left) and political pundit Bill O’Reilly will face off for a special 90-minute live debate about the 2012 presidential race. The Oct. 6 debate will be streamed online from George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium. (Associated Press)

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Lakhdar Brahimi (left), the U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, speaks in Mafraq, Jordan, on Tuesday as Andrew Harper, the UNHCR representative to Jordan, listens during a visit to the Zaatari refugee camp for Syrians who fled the civil war. (Associated Press)

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President Obama boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to New York on Sept. 18, 2012. (Associated Press)

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Lunch is served as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks Sept. 18, 2012, at a campaign fundraising event — the first in which reporters' cameras were allowed — at the Grand America in Salt Lake City. (Associated Press)