Internal Dem memo faults party message  —  Democrats are losing the battle for voters' hearts because the party's message lacks emotional appeal, according to a widely circulated critique of House Democratic communications strategy.  —  "Our message sounds like an audit report on defense logistics …

FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA  —  FEMA has truly learned the lessons of Katrina.  Even its handling of the media has improved dramatically.  For example, as the California wildfires raged Tuesday, Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the deputy administrator, had a 1 p.m. news briefing.

Court frees teen in controversial sex case  —  ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — The Georgia Supreme Court on Friday ordered that Genarlow Wilson be released from prison, ruling 4-3 that his sentence for a teen sex conviction was cruel and unusual punishment.  —  Wilson was convicted in 2005 …

The New Right-Wing Smear Machine  —  On February 27, 2001, two members of the American Gold Star Mothers, an organization of women who've lost sons or daughters in combat, dropped by the temporary basement offices of the new junior senator from New York, Hillary Clinton.

Panel to See Papers on Agency's Eavesdropping  —  The White House on Thursday offered to share secret documents on the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program with the Senate Judiciary Committee, a step toward possible compromise on eavesdropping legislation.

Analysis: Obama must show he's ready to rumble  —  CNN Senior Political Analyst  —  (CNN) — What can Sen. Barack Obama do to turn the Democratic campaign around?  He has to try a different kind of campaign.  —  No more Mr. Nice Guy.  —  When the senator from Illinois got into the presidential race …

NH primary: Room to breathe?  —  CONCORD - Secretary of State William Gardner said yesterday that key developments in Iowa and Michigan this week could clear the way for New Hampshire to hold its first-in-the-nation presidential primary in early January, rather than December.

Another Man From Hope  —  Who is Mike Huckabee?  —  Republicans have won five of the last seven presidential elections by running candidates who broadly fit the Ronald Reagan model—fiscally conservative, and firmly but not harshly conservative on social issues.

Democrats, the War and Shays's Rebellion  —  A poll released yesterday by the Associated Press made it official: Americans are more likely to believe in ghosts (34 percent) than to believe that President Bush is doing a good job with the war in Iraq (29 percent).

Coburn objects to earmarks irrespective of partisanship  —  Your Oct. 24 article "GOPsenators hunt for Democratic earmarks" implied, mainly through your sources, that my criticism of earmarks is more partisan than my long record indicates.  —  First, I understand that many senators don't appreciate my efforts to curtail earmarks.

Strike on Iran Would Roil Oil Markets, Experts Say  —  Price Hits Record Close; U.S. Tightens Sanctions  —  A U.S. military strike against Iran would have dire consequences in petroleum markets, say a variety of oil industry experts, many of whom think the prospect of pandemonium …

Officials balked on '05 Blackwater inquiry  —  State Department e-mails obtained by ABC News discuss how to deflect a Times reporter's questions about a civilian shooting death.  —  Even as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended her department's oversight of private security contractors …

The Outsourced Brain  —  The gurus seek bliss amidst mountaintop solitude and serenity in the meditative trance, but I, grasshopper, have achieved the oneness with the universe that is known as pure externalization.  —  I have melded my mind with the heavens, communed with the universal consciousness …

Sen. Webb On Hardball: "The Cheney element of the administration is well represented in the United States Senate"  —  Play (372) (thanks to Heather for vids)  —  On Thursday's Hardball Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) talked with Chris Matthews about the strong push from Dick Cheney and some members of the Senate …