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.

Bayh Says Poverty Increase Means Congress Should Ignore ‘Fairness’ And Cut Taxes For The Rich  —  Yesterday, the Census Bureau released a report showing that one in seven Americans is currently living in poverty, and that the median income decreased by nearly five percent during the last decade.

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 …

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 …

Murkowski supporters: come to “campaign kickoff” tonight  —  From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage -  —  Lisa Murkowski supporters are urging people to come out tonight for what's being called a “campaign kick off,” although her campaign manager isn't ready to say that she's decided to run.

Romney Unleashed … That's how Mitt Romney, potential presidential candidate, begins his speech to the Values Voter Summit here in Washington today.  The rest of the speech is much less temperate than anything I've heard Romney give this year.  Romney has the fundamentals for a presidential bid down pat …

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 …

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 …

Palin Endorses Continetti  —  THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained an advance copy of the new paperback edition of The Persecution of Sarah Palin by (THE WEEKLY STANDARD's) Matthew Continetti.  As you can see on the cover, the book carries with it the official endorsement of none other than Sarah Palin herself.

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 …

Dinesh D'Souza Digs Himself in Deeper  —  Some more criticism of Forbes's disastrous Obama cover story  —  Dinesh D'Souza has responded to my, uh, criticism of his smear piece that, shamefully, made the cover of Forbes with its claims that Obama is directed by a “Kenyan, anticolonial” …

Huckabee Supports Denying Coverage For Those With Preexisting Conditions  —  1 hour and 42 minutes ago — Chris Harris  —  Today marks the start of the religious right's Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC.  After a rousing multi-verse rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee took the stage.

Erick Erickson Smacks Down CNN's Bash for Calling Voter Anger Racist  —  Are you getting tired of hearing liberal media members claim the voter anger around the country is all because Barack Obama is black?  —  RedState Editor and CNN contributor Erick Erickson is, for on Wednesday's …

Unions Find Members Slow to Rally Behind Democrats  —  The Democrats will depend on labor unions — the shock troops of their political campaigns — to offset two new developments this election cycle: Tea Party enthusiasm and corporations' ability to spend unlimited amounts thanks to a Supreme Court ruling.

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 …

Dana Bash: Snowe sounds off  —  4:50 p.m. - Few Republican lawmakers were as stung by Rep. Mike Castle's surprising loss to his conservative GOP opponent as Maine Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe.  —  In a hallway just off the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, she sounded off about her place …

Deal and Barnes tied  —  Former governor and Democratic nominee Roy Barnes is now tied with former congressman and Republican nominee Nathan Deal in their race for governor, according to the latest InsiderAdvantage/WSB-TV poll.  —  The survey of 632 registered voters who said they are likely …