Obama Against a Compromise on Extension of Bush Tax Cuts  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday will make clear that he opposes any compromise that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy beyond this year, officials said, adding a populist twist to an election-season economic package …

Daley won't run for re-election: ‘I have done my best’  —  Mayor Richard Daley, with his wife and members of his family, speaks at a City Hall press conference to announce that he will not run for re-election in 2011.  (Antonio Dickey / Mayor's Press Office) |  MORE PHOTOS

Parties Tied at 46% in Generic Ballot for Congress  —  Latest weekly update shows more competitive contest  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans and Democrats are tied at 46% among registered voters in Gallup's weekly tracking of congressional voting preferences, marking a shift after five consecutive weeks …

AP Exclusive: Murkowski says she's not a quitter  —  JUNEAU, Alaska — A week after conceding the GOP primary, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she's not a quitter and is “still in this game.”  —  Murkowski told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she's been inundated with calls and e-mails from supporters …

Fidel to Ahmadinejad: ‘Stop Slandering the Jews’  —  (This is Part I of a report on my recent visit to Havana.  I hope to post Part II tomorrow.  And I also hope to be publishing a more comprehensive article about this subject in a forthcoming print edition of The Atlantic.)

Building on Faith  —  AS my flight approached America last weekend, my mind circled back to the furor that has broken out over plans to build Cordoba House, a community center in Lower Manhattan.I have been away from home for two months, speaking abroad about cooperation among people from different religions.

OMG: Spitzer and Parker Are Like a Modern Day Gable and Lombard!  —  You know what CNN has been missing in its lineup?  Cutesiness.  —  We really need cutesiness in political coverage, of the kind that champion lightweight/professional ditz Kathleen Parker provides.

Desert Firestorm: The Nevada Senate Race Heats Up  —  A Retooled Angle Campaign Threatens to Topple the Majority Leader  —  After a disastrous start as the Republican Senate nominee in Nevada, Sharron Angle has begun to turn her campaign around and is once again raising Republican hopes …

Obama channels Hendrix on critics: ‘They talk about me like a dog’  —  Has President Obama been listening to a lot of Jimi Hendrix lately?  With just under two months to go before Election Day, Obama kicked off the fall campaign season Monday with an aggressive speech targeting Republicans.

KY-Sen: Rand Paul staffer caught posing as progressive at Daily Kos  —  As you probably know, there's a moneybomb underway to raise money for Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway's campaign challenging Rand Paul for U.S. Senate.  —  Well, it turns out that at least one member …

State Gains Would Give Redistricting Edge to G.O.P.  —  The midterm elections are being closely watched for the answer to a high-stakes question: Will Republicans have a majority in Congress for the next two years?  But it is the outcome of a lower-profile battle over state legislatures …

Doing the DOJ's Job for Them: Demanding Valid Voter Rolls Before November  —  I have sent notice letters to 16 states informing them that they are in violation of the National Voting Rights Act.  Private lawsuits may follow if they do not comply.  —  As the saying goes: if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself.

Rome is Burning  —  There is a critical point that I fear the commentariat is just not getting.  In my darker moments I fear that some of my fellow economists aren't getting it either but we aren't going to go there.  —  Look at these two graphs because they tell you the fundamental problem in America today:

The United States of Inequality  —  In 1915, a statistician at the University of Wisconsin named Willford I. King published The Wealth and Income of the People of the United States, the most comprehensive study of its kind to date.  The United States was displacing Great Britain …

Obama to Push Tax Break  —  Businesses Could Speed Up Write-Offs of New Investment in Plants, Equipment  —  President Barack Obama, in one of his most dramatic gestures to business, will propose that companies be allowed to more quickly write off 100% of their new investment in plants and equipment through 2011.

Obama Left Largely Helpless As Judicial Vacancies Reach Crisis  —  What's Your Reaction: … The Obama administration is aware of the growing alarm over its inability to fill long-standing judicial vacancies.  White House officials frequently voice displeasure with the pace …

‘Muslim’ gargoyle adorns French cathedral  —  It has been traditional for stonemasons to be featured on gargoyles  —  A Muslim stonemason in France has been immortalised by having his face carved on a gargoyle on the side of the medieval cathedral in Lyon.