Ex-aides unload on Christine O'Donnell  —  By pulling off arguably the biggest upset of the primary election season Tuesday, Christine O'Donnell shocked the Republican establishment and political pundits who didn't think her campaign for the Delaware GOP Senate nomination had a chance.

The Backlash Myth  —  Many of my liberal friends are convinced that the Republican Party has a death wish.  It is sprinting to the right-most fever swamps of American life.  It will end up alienating the moderate voters it needs to win elections.  —  There's only one problem with this theory.

The Tax-Cut Racket  —  “Nice middle class you got here,” said Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader.  “It would be a shame if something happened to it.”  —  O.K., he didn't actually say that.  But he might as well have, because that's what the current confrontation over taxes amounts to.

Mao's Great Leap Forward ‘killed 45 million in four years’  —  Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, qualifies as the greatest mass murderer in world history, an expert who had unprecedented access to official Communist Party archives said yesterday.

Fighting to Protect Consumers  —  Over the past several weeks, the President and I have had extensive conversations about the vital importance of consumer financial protection.  —  The President asked me, and I enthusiastically agreed, to serve as an Assistant to the President and Special Advisor …

Why Democrats Can't Win on Taxes  —  Many Democrats up for re-election do not want to vote for any tax increases, but Obama has drawn a line in the sand against tax cuts “for the rich.”  —  To listen to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrats are fired up for a tax debate.

Stimulus funds failed to create enough jobs: LA City Controller  —  The Los Angeles City Controller said on Thursday the city's use of its share of the $800 billion federal stimulus find has been disappointing.  —  The city received $111 million in stimulus under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act …

Iowans Courting DeMint For A Visit  —  Here's a sign how how quickly Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-SC) stock is rising in the right wing of the GOP: Bob Vander Plaats, the chairman of Mike Huckabee's '08 Iowa campaign, approached DeMint's staff on Friday about visiting Iowa.

Comedians Stewart and Colbert plan Oct. 30 rally on the Mall  —  Comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert plan a pair of rallies on the National Mall shortly before Election Day.  —  Stewart said he was organizing a “Rally to Restore Sanity” in Washington on Oct. 30, billed as a …

Where Have All the Deficit Hawks Gone?  —  I noticed that earlier this year we were overwhelmed by a wave of anti-deficit grandstanding throughout the Democratic Party while the Catfood Commission was sending up trial balloons about cutting Social Security benefits, raising the retirement age …

Pope visit: Five suspected Islamist terrorists arrested over assassination plot  —  Police have arrested five suspected Islamist terrorists, working as street cleaners in London, over an alleged plan assassinate the Pope.  —  The men were arrested during raids at 5.45am at a rubbish depot …

2012 hopefuls to slam Barack Obama  —  The tough rhetoric of the 2012 Republican presidential primary season will get a tryout Friday when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) slam President Barack Obama at the Family Research Council's “Values Voters Summit.”

Documentary?  Better Call It Performance Art  —  CASEY AFFLECK wants to come clean.  —  His new movie, “I'm Still Here,” was performance.  Almost every bit of it.  Including Joaquin Phoenix's disturbing appearance on David Letterman's late-night show in 2009, Mr. Affleck said in a candid interview …

Harvard/Peretz Controversy Illustrates Folly of Charitable Donations to Wealthy U.S. Universities  —  Canaday Common Room entrance, former home of The Harvard Independent (my photo, available under cc license)  —  I realized dimly that New Republic editor in chief Martin Peretz had apologized …

Waiting for Thune  —  I've spent the last couple of days in Des Moines, mostly chatting with Republicans about the coming 2012 caucuses.  —  They're starting, as Jonathan (mostly) and I reported, unexpectedly slowly, and a variety of factors are keeping things murky: The unsettled field …

Is Ohio slipping from Democrats' grasp?  —  1. New numbers out of Ohio from Quinnipiac University show Republicans running away with the gubernatorial and Senate races even as Democrats insist that they are still in the game in this most critical of electoral battlegrounds.