Hoffman leads big  —  Doug Hoffman has a commanding lead in the special election for New York's 23rd Congressional District.  —  In a three way contest with Democrat Bill Owens and Republican Dede Scozzafava Hoffman leads with 51% to 34% for Owens and 13% for Scozzafava.

Christie leads  —  Chris Christie leads Jon Corzine 47-41 in PPP's final poll of the New Jersey Governor's race, with Chris Daggett at 11%.  —  Corzine had pulled to within a point of Christie on our poll three weeks ago after trailing by as many as 14 points over the summer …

Karzai declared elected president  —  Hamid Karzai has been declared the elected president of Afghanistan by poll officials, after they scrapped the planned second round of the vote.  —  The Independent Election Commission announcement comes a day after Mr Karzai's sole challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of the race.

The Worst Bill Ever  —  Epic new spending and taxes, pricier insurance, rationed care, dishonest accounting: The Pelosi health bill has it all.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi has reportedly told fellow Democrats that she's prepared to lose seats in 2010 if that's …

If Fox Is Partisan, It Is Not Alone  —  The Obama White House's decision to challenge Fox News appears driven equally by strategy and frustration.  It is also a test case for politicians in both parties.  —  That is because partisan fragmentation throughout America's news media and their audiences has grown significantly.

Obama Strategy on Health Care Legislation Appears to Be Paying Off  —  WASHINGTON — After months of plodding work by five Congressional committees and weeks of back-room bargaining by Democratic leaders, President Obama's arms-length strategy on health care appears to be paying dividends …

White Men Are Not Very Progressive  —  A nice map from dreaminonempty at Open Left illustrates the vote share won among white men in the 2008 presidential election: … I would say that another message is that progressive politics is badly disadvantaged by a situation in which the overwhelming majorities …

DVR, Once TV's Mortal Foe, Helps Ratings  —  In what may seem a media business version of the Stockholm syndrome, television network executives have fallen in love with a former tormentor: the digital video recorder.  —  The reason is not simply that more households own DVRs …

Comcast Said to Be Close to Gaining NBC Universal  —  By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN  —  General Electric and the cable giant Comcast have moved closer to a deal giving control of NBC Universal to Comcast, and a formal announcement could be made sometime next week, people briefed on the talks said Sunday.

Planned Parenthood Director Leaves, Has Change of Heart … Planned Parenthood has been a part of Abby Johnson's life for the past eight years; that is until last month, when Abby resigned.  Johnson said she realized she wanted to leave, after watching an ultrasound of an abortion procedure.

Palin robocalls urge Virginians to 'vote for Sarah's values'  —  RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) - Sarah Palin isn't staying out of the Virginia governor's race after all.  —  Less than 48 hours before voters head to the polls to elect a new governor, several Virginians reported receiving robocalls …