We absolutely adore Project Runway’s torturous insistence on throwing kinks into the machinery just when the designers are about to die from creative exhaustion. Starting to despise one another? Even better: It ups the tears-and-snippy-comments-per-square-inch ratio.

But hello, if you are a finalist and you don’t expect last-minute anguish, you don’t come prepared with three ideas crib-noted on your hand just for emergencies, and you don’t automatically assume that when it’s bad, it’s going to get worse - Grow up! Watch more TV!

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If you’re so star-struck you would pay good money to wear a piece of celebrity clothing (or if you’re just a sucker for a good cause), look no farther than Clothes Off Our Backs. Husband-and-wife actors Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle, Raising the Bar) and Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), founded the nonprofit in 2002, and it hosts charity auctions of celebrity attire, raising nearly $3 million for children’s charities.

Current auctions for clothing, accessories, and memorabilia from the 60^th Primetime Emmy Awards runs through Oct. 21 and will benefit Feeding America, The Art of Elysium, H.E.L.P. Malawi and Hope North. Among the items on the block:

1. E!’s Kristin Dos Santos’ Hugo Boss Black Collection Gown (size 6; above left, $1,000 opening bid)

2. Dancing With the Stars’ Julianne Hough’s BCBG Max Azria Gown (size 0; above center, $1,000 opening bid)

3. How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris’ Paul Smith tie (left, $75 opening bid)

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No one can accuse would-be First Lady Cindy McCain of having a dull, predictable hairstyle. Over the course of the campaign, she has been photographed wearing her flaxen, shoulder-length hair up in a tight bun, up in a tight ponytail, up in a high bun, up in a soft-sided semi-ponytail (a bit like Sarah Palin), in a loose bun, down with waves, down without waves, down with a flip, with bangs and without.

Most of us couldn’t pull off that many looks in a lifetime, much less in the course of a campaign. She is always elegantly dressed, and we find ourselves wondering which hairstyle she’ll have in the next photo-op.

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The sass! The pout! The tears! And that was just Kenley, biting and clawing her way through the last elimination challenge before Project Runway’s season-ending finale in two weeks. The reality TV show that can turn designer wanna-be’s into fashion stars is getting dramatic.

Turns out, Kenley could have kept her composure. Runway judges said the competition was too close, so they didn’t kick anyone off last night. The challenge of the evening, for the designers to create evening gowns inspired by nature, left Jerell, Leanne, Korto and Kenley still in the running. Top prizes on Runway  include the chance to show a collection at Fashion Week, a car and $100,000 to start their business.

Here are some sneak peeks from Korto, Kenley, Leanne (above, from left) and Jerell’s runway shows. You’ll see their complete collections on the finale Oct. 15.

Tonight’s presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama will be heavy on serious, significant topics. A very small, quite insignificant piece of the patriotic puzzle is the ongoing squabble over flag lapel pins.

Much has been made about the little bits of jacket jewelry - an old-school political tradition - during the campaigns. Obama wore a flag pin, then stopped, saying it was a hollow political statement. Then a veteran gave him a pin and he started wearing them again and was accused of flip-flopping. McCain has gotten attention also for not wearing a pin and the blog-o-sphere has railed against him. (Hillary Clinton sometimes skips the pin, Joe Biden usually has one on, and Rudy Guiliani never goes out without one.)

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