Perhaps the Most Ridiculous Thing to Come Out of Washington Since George McClellan  —  The House Republicans' “Pledge to America” is out.  A thrill will run up the leg of a few Chris Matthews' types on the right.  As Dan noted on Twitter, the Contract with America was 869 words and this is 21 pages.

House Dems Also Punt On Upper-Income Bush Tax Cuts  —  The Senate's decision not to address the Bush tax cuts until after the election is the strongest indication yet that the game is over.  After a House Democratic caucus meeting this morning — but before the news broke on the Senate side …

Gov. Christie confronts heckler at California GOP candidate's political rally  —  LOS ANGELES — True to his tough-guy persona, Gov. Chris Christie mixed it up today with a political naysayer, who heckled California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman at a political rally.

Little-Known New York Attorney General Candidates Tied, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Gillibrand Up By Only 6 Points  —  Two little-known candidates for New York State Attorney General, Democratic State Sen. Eric Schneiderman and Republican Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan …

Man's home sold out from under him in foreclosure mistake  —  (Robert Duyos, Sun Sentinel / September 22, 2010)  —  When Jason Grodensky bought his modest Fort Lauderdale home last December, he paid cash.  But seven months later, he was surprised to learn that Bank of America had foreclosed on the house …

Two of Obama's closest advisers among those likely to leave in White House shuffle  —  In his nearly two years in office, President Obama has relied on a very small clique of advisers that serves as his most trusted sounding board on politics and policy.  —  Members of his staff describe Obama …

The election campaigners we can't see  —  All of Washington is in a frenzy, speculating about the outcome of the fall elections.  Yet the development that could most tip the scales is getting far too little public attention.  That hidden factor is the audacious stealth campaign being mounted …

For Many, Health Care Relief Begins Today  —  Sometimes lost in the partisan clamor about the new health care law is the profound relief it is expected to bring to hundreds of thousands of Americans who have been stricken first by disease and then by a Darwinian insurance system.

Sink leads Scott 47-40 in new Mason-Dixon poll  —  TALLAHASSEE - Democrat Alex Sink commands a seven-point lead over GOP candidate Rick Scott in the Florida governor's race, new poll results show.  —  Sink, Florida's chief financial officer, leads Scott, a multimillionaire businessman …

National Survey Highlights Dem Problems in Key Seats  —  Last week, I conducted a national survey for American Action Network.  The two key political environment questions show the significant opportunity Republicans have this year.  While the overall numbers on the President's approval rating …

A Claim of Pro-Islam Bias in Textbooks  —  HOUSTON — Some conservative members of the Texas Board of Education assert that the history books used in this state have a pro-Islamic bias, and they are upset about it.  —  Never shy about wading into the culture wars, they are planning …

Lying With Graphs, Republican Style  —  The Republican “Pledge to America” is out, and I'll give them some credit: there are more concrete policies in there than I've seen Republicans suggest in a long while.  Sure, they ideas are largely terrible, overly simplistic, or some combination of the two.

Grading ‘Waiting for Superman’  —  This article appeared in the October 11, 2010 edition of The Nation.  —  Recommended by  —  Here's what you see in Waiting for Superman, the new documentary that celebrates the charter school movement while blaming teachers unions for much of what ails …

The GOP's Fiscal Fraudulence  —  One tiny part of me hoped that after the GOP spending binge of the Bush years, and the alleged Tea Party commitment to turn the page on growing government, the Republicans, like the Tories in Britain, would run on a clear platform of massive spending cuts …

Amid Tension, China Blocks Vital Exports to Japan  —  HONG KONG — Sharply raising the stakes in a dispute over Japan's detention of a Chinese fishing trawler captain, the Chinese government has blocked exports to Japan of a crucial category of minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles.

Independents Oppose Party in Power ... Again  —  More Conservative, More Critical of National Conditions  —  For the third national election in a row, independent voters may be poised to vote out the party in power.  The Republican Party holds a significant edge in preferences …

Newly Declassified Documents Show Bush Administration Looked For Excuse To Start War In Iraq In Nov. 2001  —  The Bush administration has long maintained they had not decided to invade Iraq until the days before it actually began and that they did “everything” they could to “avoid war in Iraq.”

Sen. Brown blasts Harvard's Faust for continuing to ban ROTC  —  U.S. Sen. Scott Brown today blasted Harvard University's decision to keep in place its campus ROTC ban until Pentagon restrictions on gays are lifted, saying the school has its “priorities upside down” by favoring illegal-immigrant students …

Corrections  —  An article on Wednesday about the quarrels among President Obama's national security advisers described in a new book by Bob Woodward referred incompletely to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s reported assessment of Richard C. Holbrooke, the president's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Paul Ryan is a Man Who Takes His Responsibilities as a Public Official Seriously  —  My colleague Zaid Jilani has an excellent post dining Paul Ryan for massive hypocrisy on the subject of the budet reconciliation process, a procedural tactic that allows (some forms of) legislation …