House health-care reform bill includes public option, Medicaid expansion  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will unveil a health-care reform bill on Thursday that includes a government insurance option and a historic expansion of Medicaid, although sticking points in the legislation involving abortion and immigration remain unresolved.

The Outlook for the 2009 Elections  —  We are still a few days away from Election Day, but party strategists, operatives and local activists are already blaming their own nominees for their defeats.  —  The clearest evidence that the Virginia gubernatorial race is over …

Iowa Republicans wince at Palin fee  —  A conservative Iowa group's effort to lure Sarah Palin to its banquet next month has had an unintended effect: Rather than exciting conservatives about the prospect of a visit from the former Alaska governor, the group's plan to raise a six-figure sum …

Gates, Crowley Spotted Together In Cambridge Bar  —  CAMBRIDGE (WBZ) ― Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley were spotted at a pub in Cambridge Wednesday night.  —  The owner of “River Gods” told WBZ the two sat in a booth together and talked for about an hour.

Nervous W.H. intervened in N.J. race; top Obama adviser now in charge  —  One of President Barack Obama's key political advisers has become the central strategist in New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's bruising campaign for re-election, a race the White House desperately wants to win to avert …

‘Audacity to Win’: Excerpt by Plouffe on Obama Campaign  —  In a new memoir, The Audacity to Win, David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama's 2008 race for the White House, provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse inside the campaign.  Here's an excerpt:  —  Agony.  Ecstasy.

U.S. Economy Began to Grow Again in the Third Quarter  —  Ending the longest contraction since World War II, the United States economy finally grew in the third quarter of this year, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.  —  The nation's gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate …

Corzine Leads Christie by Five Points in New Jersey  —  With less than a week to go before Election Day in New Jersey, a new survey conducted for Stan Greenberg and James Carville's organization Democracy Corps shows Democratic Governor Jon Corzine slightly expanding his lead over Republican Chris Christie to 5 points.

Obama Visits Returning War Dead  —  President Obama traveled to Dover Air Force Base early Thursday morning to meet with family members and pay his respects as the flag-draped coffins carrying bodies of 18 American troops killed this week in Afghanistan were returned to the United States.

Attorney O'Quinn killed in Houston wreck  —  Prominent Houston attorney John O'Quinn was one of two men who died this morning when their SUV slammed into a large tree on Allen Parkway after the driver apparently lost control, police said.  —  “I'm stunned.

Orly Taitz Smacked Down: Birther Lawsuit Dismissed  —  Central District of California Judge David O. Carter has dismissed Barnett et al v. Obama et al, Orly Taitz's most successful lawsuit — that is, the one that got the furthest through the legal system — demanding proof of the president's citizenship.

Perry on Palin vs. Cheney  —  Gov. Rick Perry, a bit breathless from running, was on 98.1 KVET this morning to tout the Rise Across Texas Challenge, an 850-mile bike ride next March benefiting the Rise School.  —  The governor also talked politics a bit.  He said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour …

Democrats Ask New Jersey Secretary of State to Ignore Mismatched Signatures on Absentee-Ballot Requests — By: Jim Geraghty  —  This year, New Jersey's registered voters can request a mail-in ballot for any reason.  (Before 2005, voters needed to provide a reason for why they needed an absentee ballot.)

A Question  —  Last night at a roundtable for our nations's elite, that is to say, “bloggers,” Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President, implied, though did not say outright, that one consequence of the real estate bubble was that manufacturing and other types of businesses were finding it difficult to obtain credit at favorable terms.

Little “Obama Effect” on Views About Race Relations  —  Attitudes toward race not significantly improved from previous years  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of Americans, 56%, believe that a solution to America's race-relations problem will eventually be worked out — a figure that is roughly …