Is Clinton pollster Mark Penn taking his candidate's "aura of inevitability" thing just a bit too far? First, he throws out that Hillary could pick off almost a quarter of GOP women in a general election, and now he's saying that if that matchup was between Hillary and Rudy Giuliani, Hillary would win hands-down -- because she's already beaten Rudy once before. Of course it all depends on what your definition of "beaten" is. By Penn's loose terms, it means Hillary's closing the gap in the 2000 Senate race before Giuliani dropped out citing health problems. (Ben Smith, The Politico)

But Penn is quick to refute the "inevitability" charge when asked about it. "I really feel in the campaign there's absolutely no sense of that," he said. (Linda Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor)

Stalled? Fred Thompson has tapped nearly 75,000 donors between July 1 and Sept. 30, which is more than double the contributors Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani signed up during their first reporting periods. (Julianna Goldman, Bloomberg)

Indeed, Thompson and John Edwards, who's also has to contend with a so-far disappointing campaign, have raised the biggest share of money from donors who gave $200 or less. (Fredreka Schouten, USA Today)

But whatever success the other candidates might be having in the fundraising department, Clinton is still doing it the best. (Peter Nicholas and Tom Hamburger, Los Angeles Times)

The Edwards campaign announced yesterday its "True Blue Majority" initiative, which is designed to sell the idea that only Edwards can "ensure that Democrats maintain and expand Democratic majorities in Congress." (Sam Youngman, The Hill; Jenn Abelson, Boston Globe)

Continuing a string of union endorsements, Edwards picked up the endorsement of the Iowa Postal Workers union. (Tony Leys, Des Moines Register)

The GOP candidates will be attending the "Values Voter" summit starting today in Washington. Mitt Romney is expected to a announce that as president he would convene a White House summit on ways to "strengthen the family, particularly in the inner city." (Mike Allen, The Politico) Meanwhile, John McCain, who has often been at odds with religious conservatives, is expected to say: "I know you might not always agree with me on every issue, but I hope you know I'm not going to con you." (Liz Sidoti, Associated Press)

Romney is also expected to hit Giuliani on the "electability argument": "We're not going to beat Hillary Clinton by acting like Hillary Clinton," according to excerpts from his speech. (Jake Tapper, ABC News)

Mike Huckabee has no intention of joining Sam Brownback just yet. (CNN)

"Marshall Plan for the 21st Century." Bill Richardson wants to eliminate global poverty and illness, protect the environment, and stimulate economic development. (William Petroski, Des Moines Register)

Get these and today's other election stories at RCP's Politics and Election page.