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.

Why Christine O'Donnell's New Ad Might Work  —  It begins with the candidate, to camera, announcing to voters that she, Christine O'Donnell, is not a witch.  One's temptation at this point would be to stop right here and begin to laugh like a hyena at a comedy show featuring the Dave Chappelle of hyenas.

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” …

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.

Latinos and the 2010 Elections: Strong Support for Democrats; Weak Voter Motivation  —  In a year when support for Democratic candidates has eroded, the party's standing among one key voting group-Latinos-appears as strong as ever.  Two-thirds (65%) of Latino registered voters say they plan …

Sen. Murkowski Asks Alaska Stations Not to Air Tea Party Ads  —  JUNEAU, Alaska — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski's campaign is warning Alaska broadcasters not to air ads by a national tea party group that the campaign says are “littered with lies and intentional mischaracterizations” about her and her write-in campaign.

The Soft Side  —  By now everyone has an image of Rahm Emanuel.  He's the profanity-spewing political street-fighter.  He's the guy who once sent a dead fish to a political opponent.  This past week, “Saturday Night Live” spoofed him as an abrasive pit bull.

Ways of Looking at Bank Profits  —  Annie Lowrey reports on yesterday's conference on financial regulation implementation: … I think some of this interest in financial sector profitability is a bit misguided, but since people want to lay down markers in this regard I think it's worth trying …

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 of the United States …

After Firefighters Watched Home Burn, Obion County Expands Subscription-Only Fire Service To More Towns  —  As ThinkProgress reported yesterday, South Fulton Fire Department firefighters from Obion, Tennessee, last week stood by and watched as a family's home burned down because their services …

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 …

Howard Kurtz Joins The Daily Beast  — trending topics - INNOVATORS SUMMIT - GET AMERICA BACK TO WORK - ELECTION ORACLE - FACEBOOK MOVIE - FASHION WEEK  —  Media and investigative reporter Howard Kurtz joins The Daily Beast as Washington Bureau Chief.  —  The Daily Beast turns two tomorrow …

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.

Republican Mouths vs. Insurance Industry Money  —  Noam Levey has a wonderfully revealing piece in the LA Times today about the health insurance industry's hopes and dreams for a Republican Congress next year.  The insurers, it turns out, like the new healthcare reform rules that force everyone …

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.

Hoffman drops out (update)  —  Statement tells voters to back Doheny; no elaboration given  —  SARANAC LAKE - Doug Hoffman has dropped out of the race to represent New York's 23rd Congressional District.  —  Hoffman's name will still appear on the ballot on the Conservative line; however …

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.

Times Square bomb plotter sentenced to life in prison  —  New York (CNN) — A judge in Manhattan sentenced Faisal Shahzad to life in prison for the botched Times Square car bombing as the 31-year-old Pakistani-American defiantly warned in court to “brace yourself, the war with Muslims has just begun.”

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.

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.

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.

Every color but camo  —  Tweet  —  My daughter is looking through college-recruitment materials, and pretty much all of them go on at great length about “diversity.”  To judge from the brochures — not only the text but also the relentless photos of ethnically diverse students in various settings …

Year of the missing candidate  —  With a month left until the midterm elections, there is something noticeably absent from some key statewide races: the candidates.  —  They're ducking public events, refusing to publicize the ones they do hold and skipping debates and national TV interviews altogether …