Democrats gain in poll but GOP still leads as midterm elections near  —  Less than a month before the midterm elections, the political landscape remains strongly tilted toward Republicans, although Democrats have made modest improvements with voters since their late-summer low point, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

It Has Come To This: O'Donnell Family Straightens Out Father's Bozo The Clown Career  —  Christine O'Donnell's campaign is facing yet another set of questions about her background, and this time it's on a really weird line of discussion — whether her father was Philadelphia's local Bozo the Clown.

The first place for key political news and analysis from the NBC News Political Unit  —  First thoughts: Mind the (money) gap  —  GOP-leaning outside groups are blowing away their Democratic counterparts... Why did Dem groups disarm?... A potential downside to GOP outside groups essentially replacing …

Fox News Polls: GOP Poised to Gain or Hold Senate Seats in Key States  —  Democrats have a mountain to climb in West Virginia.  —  The latest Fox News battleground state surveys of five key states shows Republicans in good position to gain two seats and hold two seats left open by GOP retirements.

With Tagline, MSNBC Embraces a Political Identity  —  MSNBC, once the also-ran but now the No. 2 cable news channel, has a new tagline that embraces its progressive political identity.  —  The tagline, “Lean Forward,” will be publicly announced Tuesday, opening a planned …

On the right, hateful words are fired like bullets  —  I still ride a bike.  I do 12 miles, several days a week, and as I do so I listen to music — the Pandora service on my iPhone.  I have created a station that plays folk rock.  Lately, it has repeatedly played the Neil Young song “Ohio” …

Missouri Tea Partiers, Joe The Plumber Join Movement Against ‘Radical’ Anti-Puppy Mill Legislation  —  Dog bites man or man bites dog?  —  A conservative group in Missouri is picking up the backing of the Tea Party and Joe The Plumber in its quest to stop the Humane Society …

Who's Got West Wing Juice?  Look to Flickr  —  Pete Rouse has a lot of work to do if he wants to match the influence that Rahm Emanuel had as President Obama's chief of staff.  —  That's the conclusion from a highly unscientific survey of the White House Flicker feed …

U.S. Military Orders Less Dependence on Fossil Fuels  —  With insurgents increasingly attacking the American fuel supply convoys that lumber across the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan, the military is pushing aggressively to develop, test and deploy renewable energy to decrease its need to transport fossil fuels.

GOP Rep. Cao ‘Hurt’ After Obama Endorses Dem, Warns of Opponent's Ethics History  —  Republican Rep. Joseph Cao — in an act of either selfless concern or political expediency — says he “must” warn President Obama that the Democratic candidate he's endorsed in the race has a history of ethical problems.

Frank's Own Battle Erodes Help for Fellow Democrats  —  It's the kind of political year in which even Rep. Barney Frank is being forced to break a sweat.  —  The Massachusetts Democrat, one of Congress's most well-known members, usually wins re-election by steamrolling his opponents.

Glenn Beck: Can abortion be a kindness?  —  Audio Available:  —  GLENN: The first thing I want to play for you, though, however, is an interview from an environmentalist who is on the BBC yesterday and she's talking about the compassionate thing today.  She believes the compassionate that abortion is compassionate.

Centrist Democrats may reign in House  —  If Democrats retain a slim hold on the House next year, a handful of the party's most conservative members could find themselves in the catbird seat, wielding wide influence over the Democratic agenda.  —  In that scenario, the finicky Blue Dog Coalition …

Exclusive: Foreign-Funded ‘U.S.’ Chamber Of Commerce Running Partisan Attack Ads  —  The largest attack campaign against Democrats this fall is being waged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a trade association organized as a 501(c)(6) that can raise and spend unlimited funds without ever disclosing any of its donors.

Fifth NATO tanker attacked in six days since Pakistan sealed border post  —  A small bomb damaged an oil tanker carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan as it waited at Pakistan's closed Torkham border crossing Tuesday.  No casualties were reported.  —  The attack underscored …

Mondale to Obama: Ditch the ‘idiot boards’  —  Former Vice President Walter Mondale suggested in an interview today President Obama stop relying on “idiot boards” — teleprompters, that is — to deliver his message to the American people.  —  “He uses these idiot boards to read speeches in television …

Hacker infiltration ends D.C. online voting trial  —  Last week, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics opened a new Internet-based voting system for a weeklong test period, inviting computer experts from all corners to prod its vulnerabilities in the spirit of “give it your best shot.”

Kagan Leaves a Mark on Her First Day  —  There's been a lot of hyped-up consternation about whether Elena Kagan was ready to be a justice.  Among the nine, she is the only justice who hadn't first been an appeals court judge, and so the chatter among critics is that she would struggle because her learning curve was steep.

The Bill Gates Income Tax  —  If Washington's most famous billionaires are really worried about their state's finances, they'd write personal checks to the government and leave everyone else alone.  —  Framed on a wall in my office is a personal letter to me from Bill Gates the elder.

National Review Writers Defend County Whose Subscription-Only Firefighters Watched Home Burn Down  —  As ThinkProgress reported earlier this morning, South Fulton firefighters from Obion, Tennessee, last week stood by and watched as a family's home burned down because their services …

How to Keep Your Seat 101: Don't mention that you're a Democrat  —  With voters in an anti-incumbent mood and a national headwind against their party, some freshman Democrats are touting themselves as unaffiliated outsiders — and it may help them win reelection.

Rail Service Expansion Imperiled at State Level  —  Republicans running for governor in a handful of states could block, or significantly delay, one of President Obama's signature initiatives: his plan to expand the passenger rail system and to develop the nation's first bullet-train service.

Midwest Democrats rip Senate foes  —  Three Midwestern Democrats launched biting ads against GOP Senate candidates Tuesday, targeting the Republicans with variations on this message: My opponent is an unethical insider who just can't be trusted.  —  Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth …