Too Close to Call in Delaware  —  It looks like there's a real possibility of a major upset in the Delaware Senate primary on Tuesday night, with insurgent conservative Christine O'Donnell leading longtime Congressman and Governor Mike Castle 47-44.  That 3 point lead is well within the poll's margin of error.

Forbes Embraces Birtherism Lite.  —  Sometimes it's best to think of racism as intellectual laziness.  That is, it reflects a failure to evaluate people for who they actually are, because its easier to slip them into a familiar, predetermined category that doesn't upset other related conclusions a person might have come to as a result.

Pelosi has pocketed nearly twice as much lobbyist cash as Boehner  —  If you read this weekend's New York Times' hit job on would-be Speaker John Boehner and his “lobbyist friends,” you might think, as the reporter clearly thinks, that John Boehner is cozier with lobbyists than most powerful politicians are.

An Apology  —  Nicholas Kristof and I do not see the world—and America's role in it—in the same way.  I have sometimes expressed my disagreements with his opinions vociferously (vociferousness is my business).  But in yesterday's The New York Times, he quotes two sentences that I recently wrote …

Tea party outreach courts Jews  —  Tea partiers have downplayed the lack of diversity in their ranks, but on Monday one of the movement's leading organizers announced a new initiative to reach out to racial, ethnic and religious minorities - and their first target this High Holiday season are Jews.

The public hates almost everything Congress has done  —  Gallup has released a new poll asking respondents to assess the major accomplishments of Congress in the last two years: the national health care bill, the stimulus, the bailout of auto companies, the bailout of major banks and financial institutions …

Ground Zero Mosque Group Includes 9/11 Denier  —  In his interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien on Wednesday, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf defended his plans to build a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero, saying “You cannot heal a trauma by walking away from it.  We have to sit down.

America Is a Joke  —  The worst of times for politics and media has been the best of times for The Daily Show's host—and unfortunately things are getting even funnier.  —  I  —  t's hard to top a kick in the nuts.  —  Especially when the kicker is Linda McMahon, the Connecticut Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

The Exit Interviews: Sen. Bob Bennett  —  Q: What things do you think are most misunderstood by the public about being a senator or how Congress works?  —  A: They have no understanding of what we do.  They expect that we spend most of our time on the Senate floor debating.

Welcome back, Congress  —  Congress is back in session today, and it's got a lot on its agenda.  A food safety bill, for instance.  The Bush tax cuts.  An infrastructure bank.  Ratification of the START treaty.  But as Brookings' Thomas Mann says in this preview, they're not likely to actually do any of it.

Gangster Government Stifles Criticism of Obamacare  —  “There will be zero tolerance for this type of misinformation and unjustified rate increases.”  —  That sounds like a stern headmistress dressing down some sophomores who have been misbehaving.  But it's actually from a letter sent Thursday …

Halperin's Take: Brown Escalates War of Words With Bill Clinton  —  HALPERIN'S TAKE: The Whitman ad is probably the best TV spot by any campaign all cycle.  Clinton and Brown have always had a rough relationship, which probably hit rock bottom...  ... in 1992, when, in the same debate …

China, Japan, America  —  Last week Japan's minister of finance declared that he and his colleagues wanted a discussion with China about the latter's purchases of Japanese bonds, to “examine its intention” — diplomat-speak for “Stop it right now.”  The news made me want to bang my head against the wall in frustration.

Americans Spending More Time Following the News  —  Ideological News Sources: Who Watches and Why  —  OVERVIEW  —  There are many more ways to get the news these days, and as a consequence Americans are spending more time with the news than over much of the past decade.

MIDTERM BIEBER FEVER  —  Internet-savvy types know that teen heartthrob Justin Bieber pretty much rules the web.  Just last week, rumor spread that Bieber's fan base was so active on Twitter that the microblogging website has servers dedicated just to him.  Twitter didn't confirm, but they didn't deny it, either.