Winning Dede: How Dems got her nod  —  Fearful that the party had almost no chance of winning the Nov. 3 New York special election after Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava abruptly announced Saturday that she was dropping out, high-ranking national Democrats immediately began working to secure …

New Jersey Gov Race Tips To Christie By 2 Points, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Daggett Voters Key As Race Is Too Close To Call  —  In the see-saw New Jersey Governor's race, Republican challenger Christopher Christie has 42 percent to Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine's 40 points …

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 …

Obama Strategy on Health Legislation Appears to Pay 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 …

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.

Clinton's Mideast pretzel  —  Hillary Clinton's voice has not been heard all that often in the Mideast peace process, but she has provoked crises with almost every word.  —  Administration officials hold Clinton largely responsible for entrenching an unsuccessful focus on settlements in thesprint …

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 …

The War on Trita Parsi  —  Trita Parsi heads the National Iranian American Council, a non-profit representing the interests of the Iranian-American community.  NIAC is an opponent of the Iranian regime's human rights abuses, condemning discrimination against religious minorities …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Goldman takes on new role: taking away people's homes  —  How one couple beat Goldman Sachs and saved their home  —  SAN JOSE, Calif. — When California wildfires ruined their jewelry business, Tony Becker and his wife fell months behind on their mortgage payments and experienced firsthand the perils of subprime mortgages.