Voters unhappy with Bush and Congress  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deepening unhappiness with President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress soured the mood of Americans and sent Bush's approval rating to another record low this month, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Sen. Larry Craig's interview with Matt Lauer  —  Idaho senator regrets guilty plea, blasts Romney in exclusive NBC interview  —  TRANSCRIPT  —  Larry Craig: I liken it to we're in the middle of hurricane season.  And we were.  And there were no hurricanes.  I became the political hurricane that everybody wanted to talk about.

Birth-Control Foe To Run Office on Family Planning  —  The Bush administration again has appointed a chief of family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who has been critical of contraception.  —  Susan Orr, most recently an associate commissioner in the Administration …

Pelosi sours on Senate  —  Frustrated by lack of legislative progress in the Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is increasingly touting Democratic achievements in the House.  —  Her statements represent a significant shift from the stance she took six months ago.

McKinney registers in Calif., where some want to nominate her  —  Former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has registered to vote in California, where some want her to run for president as a Green Party candidate.  —  McKinney posted a letter on her Web site last month saying she has no interest in the Green Party nomination.

Hmmm ...  It hasn't gotten much attention outside of the Boston suburbs and truly hardcore political junkies.  But there was a congressional election today.  The topline is that the Democrat, Nikki Tsongas, wife of the late Massachusetts senator and presidential candidate Paul Tsongas, won.

Attorney general nominee pledges independence  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Attorney General-designate Michael Mukasey made it clear to senators Wednesday that he would be independent of the White House and would make legal decisions based "on facts and law, not by interests and motives."

Many GOP Donors Yet to Open Wallets  —  More than a third of the top fundraisers who helped elect George W. Bush president remain on the sidelines in 2008, contributing to a gaping financial disparity between the GOP candidates and their Democratic counterparts.

Timing of gifts stirs 'earmark' debate  —  WASHINGTON — Days after a Senate committee approved $1 million for a Woodstock concert museum, the project's Republican billionaire backer and his family contributed $29,200 to help the Democrats who requested the money, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer.

Press Conference by the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  We're now more than halfway through October, and the new leaders in Congress have had more than nine months to get things done for the American people.  Unfortunately, they haven't managed to pass many important bills.

Syrian officials admit site attacked by Israel nuclear  —  Israeli reps at UN Disarmament Commission meeting overhear Syrian official say facility targeted by Air Force last month nuclear  —  Syrian officials have admitted that the site attacked by the Israeli air force last month was a nuclear facility …

techPresident Launches 10Questions.com  —  Dear techPresident readers and friends:  —  We're excited to announce the launch of 10Questions.com, a new kind of online presidential forum, one that aims to make the most of what the internet has to offer to politics.

Morgan Stanley Sells Entire New York Times Stake  —  Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest shareholder in New York Times Co., sold its entire stake today, according to a person briefed on the transaction, sending the stock to its lowest in more than 10 years.

Rudy Roughs Up Arabs  —  Now comes "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week."  —  David Horowitz's conservative Freedom Center has designated next week the time to "break through the barrier of politically correct doublespeak that prevails on American campuses, if you want to help our brave troops, who are fighting the Islamo-Fascists abroad."

Clinton Proposes Big Grants for Family Leave  —  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday proposed giving $1 billion in grants to states that enact paid family leave laws and said that she would support requiring employers to provide workers seven days' annual paid sick leave.

BLOGOSPHERIC SEGREGATION.  —  One of the things I love about TAPPED is that it's a general progressive politics blog, a health care blog, a feminist blog, an education policy blog, a foreign policy blog, an election blog, and a legal blog all in one, due to the personalities and predilections of its contributors.