Halloween-hooked election stories. Election-hooked Halloween stories. It’s time.

The (Torrance, CA) Daily Breeze is “Handicapping the winners in the Halloween mask race.” While one mask sales tracking poll has Obama Mask leading McCain Mask 54 to 46, anecdotal evidence is mixed. Here’s Leland Van Andler, owner of the store Lelands Just For Fun in Hermosa Beach (CA) speculating as to why, as the Daily Breeze reports, he “has sold all seven of the Obama masks he has ordered and none of the McCain masks:”

“You have to look at the masks, though,” Van Andler said. “McCain isn’t a very good mask.”

(What McCain’s mask may lack in Halloweeny oomph his recent campaign trail talk is more than making up for: “I’ll take a cleaver and I’ll take a meat ax and I’ll take a scalpel and we will stop this out-of-control spending!”)

Speaking of “not very good” likenesses, what’s up with the frowning Cindy-McCain-O-Lantern, Associated Press? All of your other pumpkin-carving patterns (the Obamas, John McCain, Palin, Biden) are happy-looking or at least poker-faced.

A reason for Cindy to smile? “Interest Grows In John McCain Halloween Masks,” according to The Chicago Sun Times last week. But you should know that this “interest” is “based on Internet searches from Wisconsin-based computers, not on actual sales.” So Wisconsin-dwelling, presidential-candidate-mask-Web-shoppers appear to be leaning (browsing?) McCain. But McCain still hasn’t made the sale.

Oh, and CNN tells you how to get a Palin wig. For your dog.