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 …

Nancy Pelosi keeps losing Democrats on tax cuts  —  If the House works its will, the top income tax brackets will enjoy at least one more year of the Bush tax cuts — a development that would be a sharp rebuke of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Barack Obama.

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 …

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 …

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.

Jon Stewart Plans to Rally Against Extremism  —  Jon Stewart announced his much awaited “big announcement” on Thursday's edition of his late-night program, “The Daily Show.”  He plans to stage a rally in Washington to counter what he identified as extremists on either side of the political spectrum.

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 …

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 …

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 …

OBAMA WARNS OF ‘CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF OUR DEMOCRACY’.... We talked earlier this week about far-right interest groups collecting millions for attack ads, all in support of Republican candidates, and financed through shadowy groups awash in undisclosed donations.

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 …