With just 13 days left until the US presidential election, pollsters, writers, analysts, bloggers and the over-opinionated have ramped up the political coverage, and Crikey are hot on their trail, with all the latest news, analysis and videos covered at our Campaign Crikey news page and  blog.

If you’ve been enjoying our videos, check out our daily wrap of the best US election videos each day on our US election blog.

Here’s a pick of the best commentary as featured on our website:

The significance of Obama’s grandmother. Obama has called [his mother’s] death of ovarian cancer at age 53 the worst experience of his life and said, “The biggest mistake I made was not being at my mother’s bedside when she died.” — The Stump, The New Republic

Historians size up Obama’s time out. When Senator Barack Obama announced he would stop campaigning for more than 36 hours starting on Thursday, and would instead fly to Hawaii to visit his gravely ill grandmother, presidential historians noted that it was an unprecedented step for a candidate this close to Election Day, but they differed about the political risks of such a personal decision. — The Caucus, New York Times

Time‘s access struggle with McCain. Time columnist Joe Klein, who’s been a forceful critic of the McCain campaign (and already said he’s unwilling to accept a post-election apology), has found himself without a seat on the McCain or Palin planes the past four months. In June, Klein was kept from boarding the McCain plane over what they said had been a security issue. More recently, when trying to fly on the Palin plane last week, Klein told Politico over e-mail that the campaign’s response was he “couldn’t be accommodated at this time.” — Michael Calderone, Politico

The Obama I (don’t) know. Obama’s vague calls for change that “you can believe in” are, to my thinking, wholly retrograde in their implications. At heart, he is an unreconstructed New Dealer who can see, and articulate, both sides on every question — but only as a prelude to championing the old corporatist agenda with a vengeance. — The Libertarian, Forbes

Evangelicals soul-search on the possibility of an Obama win. Colorado is now emerging as a key battleground state, and Republicans are counting on the evangelicals to help McCain hang on. The party has sent emissaries to 400 churches over the past few days to recruit volunteers for “evangelical-to-evangelical” phone banks. It has also used the churches to generate excitement about Palin’s rally schedule yesterday, handing out tickets after morning services on Sunday. — On the road to the White House, Guardian

The best speech in a comic mode. The John McCain I know is this man: jovial, relaxed and having good fun as he takes good-natured jabs at his colleagues and himself. McCain’s problem in the debates has boiled down to one thing: the dynamics of the campaign put him in a position in which he had to be tough and on the attack, landing hard blows. It’s clear that this is not a role that McCain likes, and in fact he feels awkward trying to fulfill it. Looking back at this campaign over time, this is the McCain speech I want to remember. — Harper’s

The latest election coverage on the Crikey blogs:

US election – Welcome to the holding pattern — Pollytics

Presidential election minus 17 days — The Poll Bludger

Boris Johnson supports Obama — Trevor Cook, Corporate Engagement

Rolling Stone on Palin. Get Down. — Jonathan Green

Plus, don’t forget to check out our US correspondent Guy Rundle’s blog straight from the campaign trail.

US election video wrap:

Highlights from yesterday’s campaign trail video wrap include:

Obama gets catty about Palin’s “standards on negative campaigning”

Tina Fey dissects Sarah Palin’s accent

And don’t forget to pledge your allegiance by buying a set of First Dog on the Moon US election badges from the Crikey shop.