Move to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Stalls in Senate  —  WASHINGTON — With Congress increasingly paralyzed by the partisan fury of the midterm elections, the Senate on Tuesday voted against taking up a major military bill that includes a provision allowing the repeal of the “don't ask, don't tell policy” regarding gay soldiers.

Summers Expected to Leave White House After Election  —  White House officials expect Lawrence Summers to leave his job as the president's National Economic Council director after November's congressional elections, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Christine O'Donnell down 15 points in new poll  —  In Delaware, the tea is lukewarm.  —  A new Fox News poll, conducted Sept. 18 and released Tuesday, shows Democratic Senate nominee Chris Coons leading Republican Christine O'Donnell by 15 points, 54 to 39 percent.

Reid calls Gillibrand the ‘hottest’ member at fundraiser  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had an unusual form of praise for New York's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, this morning at the fundraiser Mayor Bloomberg hosted for him at his townhouse - referring to her as “the hottest member” …

Federal Reserve won't help, won't explain why  —  As expected, the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee met today, and decided against doing anything further to stimulate the economy.  But it's worth reading their news release explaining — or, more accurately, not explaining — why.

Election 2010: Alaska Senate  —  Alaska Senate: Miller (R) Holds Double-Digit Lead Over McAdams (D), Murkowski  —  Republican Joe Miller attracts 42% of the vote in the first Rasmussen Reports poll of the Alaska Senate race since GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski announced her write-in campaign to try to keep her job.

Fund-raiser: Jackson behind $6M Senate-seat scheme  —  Feds had questions about Senate-seat deal and flights for a Jackson acquaintance  —  Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. directed a major political fund-raiser to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in return …

Republican lawmaker: Reagan would face ‘tough time’ in today's GOP  —  President Ronald Reagan, a Republican icon, might not be welcome in today's GOP, Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) suggested Tuesday.  —  Inglis, a Palmetto State Republican who was defeated earlier this year in a conservative primary challenge …

Close Race in West Virginia  —  PPP's first look at the West Virginia Senate contest finds a very tight race with John Raese up 46-43 on Joe Manchin, a result within the poll's margin of error.  —  The contest provides a fascinating choice for voters in the state who love their Democratic Governor …

GOP and deficit: Death by 1000 cuts  —  If the federal government collected a dime for every time someone said, “All we have to do to balance the budget is cut spending,” we wouldn't have a deficit problem.  Far from true deficit hawks, these “deficit peacocks” all fail to acknowledge …

Clinton Warns Liberals  — trending topics - CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE - COLLEGE RANKINGS - GET AMERICA BACK TO WORK - FASHION WEEK - CHRISTINE O'DONNELL  —  The former president meant to talk up his philanthropy on Monday night—but first he had a message for disaffected Democrats planning …

WI-Sen/WI-Gov: Dems hurting with six weeks to go  —  Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos.  U.S. Senate.  9/18-9/19.  Likely Voters.  MoE 3.8% (6/27 results)  —  Ron Johnson (R) 52 (43)  —  Sen. Russ Feingold (D) 41 (45)  —  An enormous enthusiasm gap, coupled with a Republican nominee fresh …

Pointing Fingers  —  Douthat argues that liberals add fuel to the culture wars: … I agree with Ross that the attempt to link O'Donnell's belief that masturbation is morally wrong to “socialism” is truly a long stretch.  But it is not a stretch to connect it to the illiberal theoconservative social project …

Can I ‘call him an a—hole?’  Andrew Cuomo in tizzy after GOP foe Carl Paladino questions his manhood  —  ALBANY - Stung by Carl Paladino's below-the-belt attacks, an angry Andrew Cuomo summoned his war council on Monday to figure out how to fight back against his slash-and-burn GOP rival.

McCain Ignores Testimony Before His Committee, Claims Military Doesn't ‘Seek Out’ Orientation  —  This afternoon, immediately after the Senate failed to invoke cloture on a defense authorization measure which included an amendment to gradually repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell …

Why Generic Ballots May Underestimate Democrats  —  In the last couple of posts on our House forecasts, I've noted that the generic congressional ballot tends to show worse results for Democrats than other indicators like polls of individual House races.  The generic ballot, as of last week …