Republicans making gains against Democrats ahead of midterm elections  —  Republicans are heading into the final weeks of the midterm campaign with the political climate highly in their favor, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.  Americans are increasingly frustrated by a lack …

One Nation, Two Deficits  —  The nation faces a nasty dual deficit problem: a painful jobs deficit in the near term and an unsustainable budget deficit over the medium and long term.  This month, the Senate will be debating an issue with significant implications for both …

It Pays To Be Crazed  —  A church in Florida is planning to burn copies of the Koran on September 11.  That proposal has been widely condemned, and now General Petraeus has entered the fray, warning that such a protest by the church could endanger American servicemen: … This strikes me as troubling.

Polarization of Supreme Court Is Reflected in Justices' Clerks  —  WASHINGTON — Each year, 36 young lawyers obtain the most coveted credential in American law: a Supreme Court clerkship.  Clerking for a justice is a glittering capstone on a résumé that almost always includes outstanding grades …

‘Rhymes With Fagin’  —  Time magazine adds its voice to the chorus of those attempting to delegitimize the Jewish state.  —  If you're a reader of a certain age, you might understand the headline.  —  In May 1977, when Menachem Begin was elected Israel's prime minister …

Obama to Push Tax Break  —  Businesses Would Be Allowed to Write Off 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.

Republican Runs Street People on Green Ticket  —  TEMPE, Ariz. — Benjamin Pearcy, a candidate for statewide office in Arizona, lists his campaign office as a Starbucks.  The small business he refers to in his campaign statement is him strumming his guitar on the street.

Appeasing the Google Gods  —  I can no longer file a story in our computer system without filling out a box, a small gray square that may well determine the future of serious journalism.  —  The box is supposed to contain words and phrases that will help me reel you in.

No cameras in debate after Spratt's request  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Rep. John Spratt will debate his Republican challenger Mick Mulvaney on Tuesday, but the only people who will get to see any of it have already bought tickets to the sold out dinner at a South Carolina Lions Club.

Happy F**kin' Labor Day!  —  Dear Rahm Emanuel:  —  Happy F**kin' Labor Day!  I read this week that — according to a new book by Steven Rattner, your administration's former “Car Czar” — during White House meetings about how to save the tens of thousands of jobs that would be lost if GM …

What we lost when we lost our factories  —  Daniel Gros — not to be confused with Daniel Gross — has a sobering essay arguing that, in the long-term, America does have a skills problem: We need to eventually refocus our economy around exports rather than credit-fueled housing-and-tech bubbles, but that's easier said than done.

Audit finds Sharpton's nonprofit on brink  —  Tweet  —  An accounting firm hired by Al Sharpton's National Action Network found the civil-rights group in such financial disarray that it flunked its record-keeping — and may not even survive, The Post has learned.