The Smear This Time  —  ON Oct. 11, 1991, I testified about my experience as an employee of Clarence Thomas's at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  —  I stand by my testimony.  —  Justice Thomas has every right to present himself as he wishes in his new memoir, "My Grandfather's Son."

GOP Is Losing Grip On Core Business Vote  —  Deficit Hawks Defect  —  As Social Issues Prevail;  —  'The Party Left Me'  —  \*country-region\*country-regionWASHING TON\*\* — The Republican Party, known since the late 19th century as the party of business, is losing its lock on that title.

Democrats Surpass Republicans in Fund-Raising  —  The Democratic presidential candidates continued to raise significantly more money during the last three months than their Republican counterparts, according to official and unofficial third-quarter fund-raising tallies that were released yesterday.

White House Civil War  —  Promised real power as Bill Clinton's vice president, Al Gore found he had a rival for that role: the First Lady.  And when Hillary decided to run for the Senate, a tense competition got ugly.  In an excerpt from her new book about the Clinton White House years …

Independents May Be Crucial in New Hampshire  —  Dr. Sally Garhart Eneguess voted for Senator John McCain in 2000 in the Republican presidential primary here.  In January, Dr. Eneguess said, she intends to vote for Senator Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential primary.

Groups call for separate vote on FEC nominees  —  Determined to rally opposition to one controversial appointee to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), several watchdog groups are calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to hold separate votes on each of four agency nominees.

Report Says Firm Sought to Cover Up Iraq Shootings  —  Employees of Blackwater USA have engaged in nearly 200 shootings in Iraq since 2005, in a vast majority of cases firing their weapons from moving vehicles without stopping to count the dead or assist the wounded, according to a new report from Congress.

Obama to Urge Elimination of World's Nuclear Weapons  —  Senator Barack Obama will propose on Tuesday setting a goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons in the world, saying the United States should greatly reduce its stockpiles to lower the threat of nuclear terrorism, aides say.

Clinton's baby boondoggle  —  Politicians often try to attract votes by obliquely appealing to the voter's self-interest.  Vote for me, a candidate might say, and I'll cut taxes or boost school spending or protect your embattled industry from foreign competition.  But Hillary Clinton is taking a more direct approach to parents.

CBSNews.com Chief to Lead a News and Blogs Site  —  The Huffington Post, a news Web site, plans to announce today the appointment of a new chief executive, Betsy Morgan, who will leave her job as the general manager of CBSNews.com.  —  Ms. Morgan will switch from running the Web site …

No more Mr. Nice Guy  —  CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Fred Thompson has a folksy, good old boy persona on the stump, but it may not last much longer.  —  When I asked him if he is an 11th Commandment man — Never speak ill of a fellow Republican — he responded, "I am more of a 12th Commandment man …

Congressman Rudy Giuliani: Pro-Life?  —  Congressman Pete Sessions, a staunch pro-life Republican from Texas and a Rudy Giuliani supporter tells The Brody File that if Giuliani was a member of Congress today, he'd be considered pro-life.  Here's the money quote: