COVER
The Temperament Factor: Who's Best Suited to the Job? (The Well / Cover Story)
Call it reflexes in a crisis. Or instincts under pressure. The qualities that a President needs to succeed are both essential and elusive
What Kind of Temperament Is Best? (The Well / Cover Story)
Four historians discuss how the personalities of Presidents can determine how they handle crises
NATION
The Big Bank Bailout: Are You Next? (The Well / Nation)
The U.S. helped unlock lending by injecting $250 billion into big banks. But consumers and businesses mauled by the market aren't in a spending mood
Financial Advice From the Pros (The Well)
Financial experts offer advice to Main Street
The FDIC's Boss: Sheila Bair, America's Passbook Protector (The Well / Profile)
The job of the FDIC's Sheila Bair is a bear: balancing the rights of small depositors against those of the megabanks that Washington hopes will kick-start the economy
The Democrats Drive for 60 in the Senate (The Well / Nation)
It was a fantasy a month ago. Democrats now eye a filibuster-proof Senate
Postcard from Chief Dull Knife College (Postcard: Lame Deer)
On reservations nationwide, tribal colleges are teaching Native Americans what other schools don't. Sharpening minds at Chief Dull Knife College
ESSAY
My Own Election Exit Poll (Commentary / The Awesome Column)
What kind of people vote a month before the campaign ends? People who know what they're doing
Round Three (In The Arena)
McCain summoned old-fashioned antigovernment outrage in the final debate. But this is a different year
The Leader We Deserve
Obama and McCain are both good men. But, in times like these, that isn't good enough
BRIEFING
The Moment
10|14|08: Afghanistan
The World
10 ESSENTIAL STORIES
Verbatim
The Page
A Brief History Of: The 401(k)
The Skimmer
Pop Chart
Drawing Room
Joerg Haider
William Claxton
Milestones
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Oliver Stone's Verdict on George W. (Movies)
Oliver Stone's biopic of the President leaves its central figure a mystery and the moviegoer unmoved
Bodies of Evidence (Television)
In the new sci-fi series Fringe, bioscience goes evil. For the viewer, that's where the fun starts
Sweetness and Light (Music)
With Little Honey, Lucinda Williams gets happy. Her fans will be happy too
Brotherly Love (Books)
Per Petterson's new novel sets a sister's devotion against the backdrop of war
Sarah Vowell's Favorite Five
Short List
TIME's Picks of the Week
BUSINESS
The Economy Really Is Fundamentally Strong (The Well / The Curious Capitalist)
John McCain's "gaffe" wasn't really wrong: the U.S. economy will dip, but it should come back
HEALTH & MEDICINE
Insurance for $30 a Month (Life / Health)
New just-in-case policies aren't perfect, but they'll do in a pinch
SCIENCE
Mars: Pop. 6 (The Well / Science)
No gridlock yet, but traffic on the Red Planet is getting heavier
SOCIETY
Sustainable Sushi (Life / Going Green)
Yes, we're overfishing the oceans, but here's how consumers can help keep the seas stocked
A Frosh New Start (Life / Education)
College gets warm and fuzzy for the Harry Potter generation
SPECIAL SECTION
The Massive Master Plan (Global Business / Saudi Arabia)
The kingdom's scheme to build five new cities gives ambitious a new meaning
In the New World Disorder, Loads of Rivals for America (Global Business / Global Competitiveness)
Countries and companies are facing an economic environment that is not only borderless but also ruleless
A Historian on the Lessons of the Depression (The Well / History)
Today's crisis isn't a repeat of the Depression. But we can still borrow lessons from the past
TO OUR READERS
Taking the Temperature
In the campaign homestretch, TIME--with some wise friends--sizes up the qualities we should look for in a President