Obama strategy: Marginalize critics  —  This is the first of a two-part look at the marginalization of the GOP.  Tomorrow: GOP officials fear that the party's image is being defined increasingly by boisterous conservative commentators.  —  President Obama is working systematically …

U.S. to Order Steep Pay Cuts at Firms That Got Most Aid  —  WASHINGTON — Responding to the growing furor over the paychecks of executives at companies that received billions of dollars in federal bailouts, the Obama administration will order the companies that received the most aid to deeply slash …

NY-23: Scozzafava Photo-Op Goes Horribly Wrong  —  Michael Patrick Leahy, the Tea Party activist who has been going after NY-23 GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava with hammer and tongs, produces this photo of the candidate stumping today outside of one of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman's offices.

‘Die quickly’ congressman creates namesofthedead.com; GOP cries foul  —  Rep. Alan Grayson, whose “die quickly” remark gained him much attention, has created a new website based on his meme called “namesofthedead.com.”  —  On the site, visitors can log the names and stories of friends …

ACORN Video: Prostitution Scandal in Philadelphia, PA Part I  —  *UPDATE Below*  —  Alinsky Rule #1: “Power isn't only what you have, it's what the enemy thinks you have.”  —  [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed.  Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

‘Doc fix’ collapses, Reid tells colleagues AMA led him astray  —  A group of Democrats joined all Republicans in blocking a 10-year freeze of scheduled cuts to doctors' Medicare payments, legislation that was considered important to getting a broader healthcare bill through later this year.

Coffee-making naked guy rebuffed by exposure charge  —  SPRINGFIELD, Va. - Eric Williamson faces an indecent exposure charge after a passerby saw him in the buff in his own home making coffee.  —  It happened at 5:30 a.m. Monday.  —  Channel 5 reports the woman and 7-year-old boy who saw …

They All Look Alike: MSNBC Mistakes Jesse Jackson for Al Sharpton  —  Reverends!  All reverends look alike.  Jesse Jackson was on MSNBC today to help poor people, and Contessa Brewer introduced him as “the Rev. Al Sharpton.”  If Fox News did this, there would be sit-ins.

Why we had to get rid of GM's CEO  —  The man who led the auto bailout tells about his shock at the state of the carmaker's finances and management. … Everyone knew Detroit's reputation for insular, slow-moving cultures.  Even by that low standard, I was shocked by the stunningly poor management …

Senator Vitter's Office Finally Comments On Judge Who Denied Interracial Marriage  —  Okay, you may have heard that GOP Senator David Vitter of Louisiana has come under fire for refusing to comment on or condemn Keith Bardwell, a white justice of the peace from his state who refused to preside over the nuptials of an interracial couple.

San Francisco Alters When Police Must Report Immigrants  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco board of supervisors voted Tuesday to overturn a city policy that has been at the center of a national debate over offering illegal immigrants sanctuary.  —  The policy, ordered by Mayor Gavin Newsom …

Goldman Sachs's Griffiths Says Inequality Helps All  —  Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) — A Goldman Sachs International adviser defended compensation in the finance industry as his company plans a near-record year for pay, saying the spending will help boost the economy.

Franken Schools Right-Wing Analyst On Medical Bankruptcies In Countries With Universal Care: 'It's Zero'  —  Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Medical Debt: Can Bankruptcy Reform Facilitate a Fresh Start.”  The hearing examined medical bankruptcies in America …

Michelle Obama Hula-Hooping our way to health  —  First, the buff first arms.  Then the First Lady's White House playground.  Then the First Lady's White House victory garden.  Then the First Lady's patronage of farmer's markets for things that grow in the filthy ground or hang on trees where birds perch and do things.

Megan Williams to recant Logan County sex-torture testimony  —  CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Seven people pleaded guilty for their part in abusing Megan Williams — but now Williams says that abuse never happened.  —  She will hold a press conference Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio, to recant her claims of abuse …

The New Untouchables  —  Last summer I attended a talk by Michelle Rhee, the dynamic chancellor of public schools in Washington.  Just before the session began, a man came up, introduced himself as Todd Martin and whispered to me that what Rhee was about to speak about — our struggling public schools …

Volcker Fails to Sell a Bank Strategy  —  Listen to a top economist in the Obama administration describe Paul A. Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who endorsed Mr. Obama early in his election campaign and who stood by his side during the financial crisis.

Will lower health-care costs mean higher wages?  —  As we went over yesterday, the theory of the excise tax is that employers will buy less costly health-care plans and put the money they save into wages.  Most of you had one question in response to that, which was well expressed …

Iran Agrees to Draft of Deal on Exporting Nuclear Fuel  —  VIENNA — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that Iranian negotiators had agreed to a draft of a deal to ship much of Iran's stockpile of nuclear fuel to Russia, but cautioned that it would still …

The convenient obsession with the dollar  —  Over at Politico, Eamon Javers notes an odd trend in the Drudge Report: … Drudge isn't the only one obsessed about the dollar.  Last week, James Pethokoukis blogged the following for Reuters: … OK, let's be as plain as possible about this …

It's Time for the RNC and NRCC to Ask for Their Money Back — By: Jim Geraghty  —  Earlier this week, I was noting that it was unrealistic for conservatives to expect national Republican committees, like the RNC and National Republican Congressional Committee, to do anything but back the Republican …

Obama Takes a Health Care Hiatus  —  WASHINGTON — As Congressional leaders and White House officials huddle behind closed doors to settle their differences on health care legislation, one of the most powerful voices in the debate — President Obama's — has grown noticeably quieter.

McDonnell pulling away  —  Bob McDonnell has opened up a double digit lead over Creigh Deeds in his quest to be Virginia's next Governor.  He now leads 52-40, up from 48-43 three weeks ago.  —  McDonnell's standing is largely the result of two things: considerable support from independents and a disengaged Democratic electorate.

The GOP's New York Fiasco  —  Republicans try to lose a House seat.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Republicans are telling themselves that a political wave is building that could carry them to big election gains next year.  Judging by their performance so far in a special election in New York …