Penny Manis
AC360 Senior Producer

Good morning people!

It is Columbus Day, so kick back and enjoy the day! But it is business as usual here at CNN, so make sure you tune in because we have a lot of news for you later tonight.

Barack Obama will deliver an economic address from Ohio later today, where he will also hold his debate preps ahead of Wednesday when the 2 candidates face-off again. 22 days to go till Election Day, and Obama will do everything he can to maintain his lead. Candy Crowley will have the latest on his ticket later tonight.

Meanwhile, John McCain has promised his supporters that he will whip (Obama’s) you-know-what in this upcoming debate (his response drew laughter it was meant in half-joking manner), but McCain may be trying to shift the tone somewhat following an emotionally–charged week, he reiterated a couple of times this weekend that he wants to conduct a respectful race and point out the stark differences between himself and Obama on policy issues.

Also, he has acknowledged that his campaign had taken a hit because of economic issues, and word is that he is looking at new economic proposals in the wake of the financial crisis. We may hear more about those today as he campaigns in 2 states that he is trying to keep red this year, Virginia and North Carolina. Dana Bash has scored an interview with McCain, so she’ll have great reporting on him later tonight.

John King will report from battleground state of Missouri. We have brought up the issue of how some whites may or may not vote for Obama (otherwise known as the Bradley effect) but tonight John will look more closely at the hope and anticipation in black communities at the prospect of Obama as President.

Gary Tuchman is planning to follow Sarah Palin around for a few days and offer colorful stories from her campaign trail which could offer a good sense of the vibe at her rallies. He will then hop onto the Joe Biden trail end of this week or next week and offer similar pieces.

We’re watching the markets closely today, governments all around the world were busy this weekend coming up with solutions to this financial crisis, and the markets reacted relatively positive thus far. The bond market is closed today, but the stock markets are open so we’ll see what happens.

Last but not least, Tom Foreman continues our series 10 Most Wanted: Culprits of the Collapse. See you at 10pet!