NY-23: How Sarah Palin Stands to Win (and Charlie Crist Stands to Lose)  —  Much has been made over the special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District.  For some, the attention might seem a bit much, given that it is merely one of 435 House seats.  —  In reality, this race is about much more than one House seat.

NSFT—Not Safe For Twitter!  —  That Mid-term CW in Full: … 2:21 P.M.  —  Uncensored Twitter Vitriol Unleashed!  Someone calls Stephen Fry “a bit ... boring.”  Can't have that. ...  More evidence that many celebrities have skins of pre-Internet thinness.

Reid reassures left Lieberman on board  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman has reached a private understanding with Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will not block a final vote on healthcare reform, according to two sources briefed on the matter.  —  The unpredictable Democrat-turned-Independent …

Gore's Dual Role in Spotlight: Advocate and Investor  —  WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Al Gore thought he had spotted a winner last year when a small California firm sought financing for an energy-saving technology from the venture capital firm where Mr. Gore is a partner.

FISTS FLY AT WASHINGTON POST  —  Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli found himself in the middle of an altercation Friday evening between Style reporter Manuel Roig-Franzia and editor Henry Allen, but will not say whether the two have been reprimanded by the paper.

In Iowa, Second Thoughts on Obama  —  WILLIAMSBURG, Iowa — Pauline McAreavy voted for President Obama.  From the moment she first saw him two years ago, she was smitten by his speeches and sold on his promise of change.  She switched parties to support him in the Iowa caucuses …

Some Democrats concerned over abortion provision in health bill  —  Bloc could withhold support over fears of a governmental role  —  While House leaders are moving toward a vote on health-care legislation by the end of the week, enough Democrats are threatening to oppose the measure …

D.C. cabbies on Afghanistan  —  Editor's note: For the first round of the America's Next Great Pundit competition, we've asked each of our 10 contestants to write a 750-word opinion column on a topic that's both timely and different from his or her initial entry.

Chris Christie's Next Case: Who Stole My Election?  —  Absentee voter fraud may play a significant role in New Jersey's gubernatorial election.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The race for governor in New Jersey is so close in final polls that it may well end up in a recount …

Jason Shih, Photo of Corzine Staffer busted for Drugs  —  BREAKING NEWS!!!  —  Libertarian Republican is the VERY FIRST Political Blog in the Nation to be running this exclusive Photo of Jason Shih of Paramus, New Jersey.  Permission was obtained from the Editors of The Leader serving East Rutherford …

Waiting for Obama  —  Hamid Karzai isn't the biggest problem in Afghanistan.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Afghanistan's messy election ended yesterday with President Hamid Karzai securing another five-year term after his challenger withdrew and a run-off was called off.

CNN Poll: 54 percent approve of Obama  —  Washington (CNN) — One year after he won a historical presidential election, a slight majority of Americans approve of the job Barack Obama's doing in the White House.  —  Fifty-four percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation …

Five Myths About Our Land of Opportunity  —  Economic Mobility, Children & Families, U.S. Poverty, U.S. Economy  —  Isabel V. Sawhill, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies  —  Ron Haskins, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies … 1. Americans enjoy more economic opportunity than people in other countries.

Jim Moran Calls GOP the “Taliban Ticket”  —  Always good copy, U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) likened the Republican ticket in Virginia this year to Afghanistan's radical Taliban movement in comments broadcast Sunday by WAMU radio.  —  At a get-out-the-vote rally in Fairfax County …

Blue Dog says Dem losses would strengthen centrists' position  —  Centrist Blue Dog Democrats might see their position strengthened if Democrats suffer broader losses Tuesday, one Blue Dog member suggested.  —  Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) argued that an election night rebuke …

Uncivil War: Conservatives to challenge a dozen GOP candidates  —  In what could be a nightmare scenario for Republican Party officials, conservative activists are gearing up to challenge leading GOP candidates in more than a dozen key House and Senate races in 2010.

U.K., France want Israel, PA to probe Goldstone war crimes claims  —  A joint French-British UN initiative would call on Israel and the Palestinians to hold immediate, independent investigations into war crimes allegations stemming from the war in Gaza, as part of a bid to send the Goldstone report …

Healthcare provision seeks to embrace prayer treatments  —  A little-noticed measure would put Christian Science healing sessions on the same footing as clinical medicine.  Critics say it violates the separation of church and state.  —  Reporting from Washington - Backed …

Washington Sketch: Will elections be a referendum on Obama?  Depends on who wins.  —  So, will Tuesday's elections in Virginia, New Jersey and New York be a referendum on the Obama presidency?  Let us put the question to a plebiscite.  —  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs votes no. …

Obama One Year Later: The Audacity of Winning vs. The Timidity of Governing  —  I had arranged to meet David Plouffe on Saturday afternoon at a Starbucks on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington.  The night before, a copy of his new book, The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons …

The Rundown, 10/3  —  It's Election Day 2009!  It seems like yesterday that America elected Barack Obama its 44th president, and now here we are, back voting again on gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, plus a much-anticipated special election in New York's 23rd district, and an anti-gay-marriage ballot initiative in Maine.

Obama taps Hollywood headliners  —  President Barack Obama has tapped a roster of Hollywood headliners for the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, among them actresses Sarah Jessica Parker, Kerry Washington and Alfre Woodard and actors Edward Norton and Forest Whitaker.

CAPTIVES  —  What really happened during the Israeli attacks?  —  A young man looks for his mother's grave in a cemetery in Beit Lehia that was destroyed by tanks in January.  Israel's three-week-long attack has given rise to charges of war crimes on both sides.  Photograph by Christian Als.