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.

‘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.

House Dems want Medicare for everyone  —  Say hello to “Medicare Part E” — as in, “Medicare for Everyone.”  —  House Democrats are looking at re-branding the public health insurance option as Medicare, an established government healthcare program that is better known than the public option.

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 …

BREAKING** 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.]

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

Senators Express Discomfort With Health Overhaul  —  Greg Hitt reports on the politics of health care legislation.  —  With floor debate over health care looming, Republican and Democratic senators in the political middle are becoming more assertive about their concerns.

The Financial-Crisis Lit Cheat Sheet  —  This week marks the official publication of the longest, most comprehensive, and highest-priced ($32.95!) work of Crisis Lit yet, New York Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin's epic Too Big to Fail, which clocks in at a whopping 539 pages (minus the index).

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 …

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 …