Bob Woodward book details Obama battles with advisers over exit plan for Afghan war  —  President Obama urgently looked for a way out of the war in Afghanistan last year, repeatedly pressing his top military advisers for an exit plan that they never gave him, according to secret meeting notes …

Paladino Trails Cuomo By 6 Points In New York Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Small Tea Party Movement Backs Republican 4-1  —  Republican Carl Paladino, aided by a 4 -1 margin among Tea Partiers, trails New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic candidate for Governor …

Woman CEO sought for Summers job  —  Larry Summers isn't leaving the White House until the end of the year but President Barack Obama's team already knows the ideal candidate to replace him on the National Economic Council - a woman CEO.  —  The pick doesn't have to fit that bill precisely …

Andrew Breitbart Caught in Gay Scandal!  —  On September 19th, Andrew Breitbart and Glenn Beck headlined the Right Nation 2010 event in Hoffman Estates, IL.  Outside, protesters from Organizing for America, Obama's sheep-herding initiative, gathered to scream at attendees - and spit on Breitbart.

Murkowski punished over defiance; Burr to get top energy slot  —  Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.) is expected to take over as senior Republican on the Senate Energy panel after Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) lost the position Tuesday.  —  Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) was behind the switch.

Ohio Democrat Chair Fires ‘F-Word’ At Tea Party  —  Chris Redfern Makes Emotional Speech Before Steel Workers  —  CLARINGTON, Ohio — In the midst of a heated general election cycle, Ohio's Democratic Party chairman is admitting he used some “colorful language” during a political event in Monroe County Monday night.

Angle: I made $236,000 off Rush Limbaugh, and Hannity was profitable, too  —  Remember those comments Sharron Angle made about how FOX interviews were different because she could use the network to raise money.  She wasn't kidding.  —  Here's some audio of Angle at a house party this month, bragging about how profitable FOX can be:

Lawsuits Accuse Megachurch Leader of Sexual Misconduct  —  ATLANTA — Two young men in Georgia said Tuesday that the pastor of a 33,000-person Baptist megachurch, Bishop Eddie L. Long, had repeatedly coerced them into having sex with him.  —  In two lawsuits filed in DeKalb County …

Stuxnet malware is ‘weapon’ out to destroy ... Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant?  —  Cyber security experts say they have identified the world's first known cyber super weapon designed specifically to destroy a real-world target - a factory, a refinery, or just maybe a nuclear power plant.

ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE ADS OF THE CYCLE.... In a year filled with odd statewide candidates, I still have a hard time figuring out what California's Carly Fiorina is thinking.  —  The Republican Senate nominee is best known for her tenure as HP's chief executive, during which the company lost …

Barack Obama seeks divine intervention on health care reform  —  With nothing else working, President Barack Obama is asking religious leaders to help him sell the public on health care reform.  —  POLITICO listened in to an Oval Office conference call Tuesday, where Obama …

Larry and Harvard  —  A reader asks the following about Larry Summers: … Different universities have different policies regarding faculty leave for policy jobs, and different degrees of enforcement.  Harvard allows two years of leave, and it has the reputation of enforcing the rule rather strictly.

THE DRIVE TO BREAK FROM FORCED NEUTRALITY.... Peter Goodman, who's been a rising star at the New York Times, covering the economy and business news, agreed this week to leave the paper and sign on with the Huffington Post.  Goodman's move, a coup for the online outlet, is a reminder …

Obama: “Mexicans” Were Here “Long Before America Was Even An Idea”  —  “Long before America was even an idea, this land of plenty was home to many peoples.  The British and French, the Dutch and Spanish, to Mexicans, to countless Indian tribes.  We all shared the same land.”

Did Somebody Say “Fringe”?  —  Not so long ago, Rand Paul—son of Ron, “modern-day revolutionary,” and practicing ophthalmologist—would have been written off as a harmless political extremist.  For believing that the Federal Reserve should be gutted.  Or that the Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional.

Bill Clinton: Russian immigrants and settlers obstacles to Mideast peace  —  Russian immigrants to Israel have emerged as a central obstacle to achieving a Middle East peace deal, according to former President Bill Clinton.  He voiced fears that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) …

Chris Christie ‘not ready’ for 2012 run  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who's captured the imagination of conservatives enthralled by his fiscal maneuvers to cut spending, said on Wednesday that any talk of him seeking the Republican presidential nomination is premature because he's “not ready.”

Who You Gonna Believe?  —  I went through my mail today, and got the usual batch of letters declaring that I'm wrong about everything, and that we should do the opposite of anything I say.  Hey, it's a free country.  —  But I found myself wondering, as I often do, about the determination …

O'Donnell vows no more national media appearances  —  Delaware GOP Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell said Tuesday night that she would not make any more national media appearances between now and Election Day.  —  In an interview on Fox News's “Hannity” show, O'Donnell, who canceled spots on CBS's …

Democrats lag badly in outside spending  —  Twice in the past week, House Democrats used closed-door meetings with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to deliver an urgent message: They're being crushed on the airwaves by outside groups, and they need her to do something about it.