George W. Bush's first executive order when he took the mantle of president of the United States in 2001 was to create the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Bill Clinton signed an executive order undoing restrictions on abortion advocacy funding when he came into office in 1993. Presidents issue executive orders to direct federal agencies, and these orders have the force of law in some cases.

When either Barack Obama or John McCain takes office in January, he can put his own priorities into action.

One billion dollars.

That's how much Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain have raised collectively during the most expensive presidential campaign in history, according to numbers released this week by the Federal Elections Commission.

To put it in perspective, that's the equivalent of someone purchasing over 125 million paperback copies of McCain's autobiography Faith of My Fathers or Obama's The Audacity of Hope.

After his conviction on seven counts of corruption Monday, Sen. Ted Stevens resumed his re-election bid in Alaska. Prominent Republicans such John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have called for him to step down. But some of his fellow Alaska Republicans haven't followed suit.

Even though the presidential campaign has dragged on for almost two years, voters aren't so exhausted that they're staying away from the polls. In fact, numbers indicate just the opposite.

Early voters in Georgia have waited as long as eight hours in lines to cast ballots and avoid the expected crush of voters on Election Day. Already, 1.2 million people have voted in the state, more than 20 percent of the state's 5.6 million registered voters.

RICHMOND, VA.-It was a bad day for a campaign rally: rainy and cold. But then polls show it's a bad year to be campaigning as a Republican.

Several hundred small business owners, with Joe the Plumber (a.k.a. Joe Wurzelbacher) as their hero and "no higher taxes on small business" as their rallying cry, gathered Saturday in a warehouse near Richmond, Va., for a John McCain rally.

Leaders at Saturday's rally discounted Barack Obama's lead over McCain in national polls just 10 days before Election Day.

WASHINGTON-A gospel choir shook the walls and brought hundreds to their feet. A moment later the mayor of Washington, D.C., walked into the Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Roman Catholic Church and sat in a chair beside church leaders and folk from nearby neighborhoods.

The congregation clapped and shouted, but they didn't come out on a Thursday night just to cheer for the mayor. They wanted some accountability from the man they voted into office.

WASHINGTON-With Election Day less than two weeks away, lawmakers returned to Washington to pepper financial regulatory officials with questions on the financial crisis. Some lawmakers condemn witnesses' policies of deregulation, and are putting free market ideology on trial.