Obama: 'I'd appreciate a little break'  —  It's often remarked that President Obama has enjoyed a number of getaways, vacations, and mini-vacations during his 20 months in office.  But at a Democratic fundraiser Thursday night, the president said, “I'd appreciate a little break.”

Chambliss fires staffer over posting of anti-gay slur  —  Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) fired a staffer for having posted a threatening slur against gays on a blog.  —  Chambliss said that, following an investigation by the Senate Sergeant at Arms, he'd decided to fire the staffer …

Democrats will hold the House and Senate  —  For Democrats, it's Rove time: rally the base and save Congress  —  Maybe I'm wrong.  —  In fact, maybe I'm really, really wrong, which is the reaction I hear when I dare even to broach this notion to commentators and political strategists in both parties.

Whitman's husband says ‘it is possible’ handwriting on letter is his [Updated]  —  Dr. Griff Harsh, Meg Whitman's husband, just released a statement saying that it may be his handwriting on a 2003 letter that raised the possibility that their housekeeper was undocumented.

Assistant AG suspended over gay-bashing blog  —  Attorney General Mike Cox changed his stance Thursday, suspending Andrew Shirvell after the assistant attorney general attracted national attention for a controversial blog that ridicules and denounces a University of Michigan student leader …

Report gives stimulus package high marks  —  The massive economic stimulus package President Obama pushed through Congress last year is coming in on time and under budget - and with strikingly few claims of fraud or abuse - according to a White House report to be released Friday.

The Uncanny Accuracy of Polling Averages*, Part 2: What the Numbers Say  —  This is the second article in a three-part series in which I'm addressing a question from a reader whom I'm calling Skeptical Sam.  —  Sam wondered why our election forecasts seem so confident.

U.S. tense over Pakistan  —  Political upheaval in Pakistan and a sudden rupture in relations with the United States have heightened the Obama administration's concern about the stability of a crucial partner in its Afghanistan war strategy.  —  Pakistani authorities closed …

News Corp. gave $1 million to pro-GOP group  —  News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, a source close to the company told POLITICO.

Senate votes to turn down volume on TV commercials  —  WASHINGTON - Legislation to turn down the volume on those loud TV commercials that send couch potatoes diving for their remote controls looks like it'll soon become law.  —  The Senate unanimously passed a bill late Wednesday …

Feds Sue Fox News Over Reporter Catherine Herridge's Charges Of Discrimination, Retaliation  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are suing the Fox News Network for allegedly retaliating against a reporter after she complained about unequal pay and job conditions based on her gender and age.

The Meltdown Accelerates — at the Very Top  —  Here are some things Barack Obama said this evening to Democratic donors (I quote from Mark Knoller's Twitter feed):  —  “Now's not the time to quit...it took time to free the slaves...ultimately we'll make progress.”  —  “I need you to be fired up.”

TARP Bailout to Cost Less Than Once Anticipated  —  WASHINGTON — Even as voters rage and candidates put up ads against government bailouts, the reviled mother of them all — the $700 billion lifeline to banks, insurance and auto companies — will expire after Sunday at a fraction of that cost …

2012 hopefuls are not showing the Tea Party candidates the money  —  Senate GOP candidates backed by the Tea Party movement have received much less financial support than more established candidates from their party's leading contenders for the White House.  —  The GOP figures jockeying …

Insurer Cuts Health Plans as New Law Takes Hold  —  The Principal Financial Group announced on Thursday that it planned to stop selling health insurance, another sign of upheaval emerging among insurers as the new federal health law starts to take effect.  —  The company, based in Iowa …

Why is Obama sending troops to Afghanistan?  —  From the beginning, the call to arms was highly uncertain.  On Dec. 1, 2009, commander in chief Barack Obama orders 30,000 more Americans into battle in Afghanistan.  But in the very next sentence, he announces that an American withdrawal will begin after 18 months.

The Twister of 2010  —  America's political landscape will never be the same.  —  On a recent trip to Omaha, Neb., I found a note prominently displayed in my hotel room warning of the possibility of “extreme weather” including “tornadic activity.”  The clunky euphemism was no doubt meant …

G.O.P. Stays on Upswing in Senate Forecast  —  Republican chances of taking over the Senate have improved again in this week's forecast.  They are now 22 percent — up from 18 percent last week and 15 percent two weeks ago.  Republican chances are now approaching the point where they stood prior …

The Austerity Caucus  —  If I had as much money as Meg Whitman, I'd probably have a more exuberant house.  Hers is perfectly nice.  But at a time when other Silicon Valley moguls were installing underground squash courts, arcade-size game rooms and other gewgaws, she stuck with a New England-style colonial.

Obama In Full-On Fiery Campaign Mode In Speech To Under-40 Crowd  —  President Barack Obama spoke to Generation 44, a group of under-40 supporters, tonight in Washington.  CSPAN televised the proceedings, which proved that Obama still has his fierce supporters - and still has a fierce way with words, when he summons it.

Paladino: Uh, what smear??  —  Tweet  —  ALBANY — Carl Paladino beat a hasty retreat last night and insisted he never intended to smear gubernatorial rival Andrew Cuomo with allegations of infidelity.  —  The Tea Party-backed Republican told his hometown paper that his remarks had been misunderstood.

The demographics of 2010  —  Some nice demographic polling out from Gallup today.  Over the past seven months, middle-age voters have been pretty stable in their preferences between Democrats and Republicans.  It's the young and the old who've diverged, with the young swinging toward …

“You Elected Me To Do What Was Right”  —  Obama's speech to Gen44 tonight knocked my socks off.  It's streaming on CSPAN here.  If you've forgotten why many of you worked your ass off for this guy, and felt hope for the first time in many years, watch it.  He deserves criticism when necessary …