Understanding and Misunderstanding the ‘Enthusiasm Gap’  —  I was an early adopter of the term “enthusiasm gap” in the context of this year's elections, having first applied it in August 2009 — a summer of town-hall protests and Tea Party rallies — to describe polling numbers for Democrats …

At Flagging Tribune, Tales of a Bankrupt Culture  —  In January 2008, soon after the venerable Tribune Company was sold for $8.2 billion, Randy Michaels, a new top executive, ran into several other senior colleagues at the InterContinental Hotel next to the Tribune Tower in Chicago.

POLL: GOP leads widely, Dems in danger but race for House tight  —  In a poll of 12 hotly contested races that could decide who controls the House in the 112th Congress, Republican challengers are beating freshman Democrats in 11 — and in the last one, the race is tied.

TWS Exclusive: Todd Palin Responds to Miller Flap  —  Yesterday, the anti-Palin blog Mudflats leaked an email that Todd Palin had sent to several people, in which he complained about something Alaska Republican senatorial candidate Joe Miller had (not) said about Sarah Palin's qualifications for the presidency.

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell: Michael Steele is dancing for his GOP ‘master’  —  I don't believe in reading racial tea leaves just for political gain, but what was Lawrence O'Donnell thinking?  Here's how he described RNC Chairman Michael Steele on his MSNBC program tonight:

Latest poll on Delaware Senate, House races shows Democrats with commanding leads despite Tea Party Republican Effort  —  CONTACT: Andrea Boyle, University of Delaware media relations, 302-831-1421, aboyle@udel.edu  —  Newark, DE - Newark, DE - Four weeks before Election Day 2010 …

A Clinton-Biden swap ‘on the table’?  Absolutely not, says Axelrod.  —  A tantalizing notion has gained steam around Washington in recent months: President Obama will toss Vice President Biden off the ticket in 2012 and replace him with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Judge Bars Major Witness From Civilian Terrorism Trial  —  Minutes before a major terrorism trial was about to begin, a federal judge barred prosecutors in Manhattan on Wednesday from using a key witness.  —  The government had acknowledged it learned about the witness from the defendant …

Chris Christie Expected to Kill ARC Transit Tunnel  —  Gov. Chris Christie is expected to kill the critical ARC transit tunnel project, reports say.  Photo: Star-Ledger.  —  The largest federal transit investment in American history is on its deathbed, reports Andrea Bernstein at Transportation Nation.

Voter Disgust Isn't Only About Issues  —  KEANSBURG, N.J. — If you tune in to any of this week's candidate debates around the country, or watch any of the ads that are beginning to dominate the airwaves, you will hear that next month's midterm elections are about all the things you probably thought …

Angle And Vitter Use The Same Photo Of ‘Illegal Aliens’ In Racially-Tinged Attack Ads  —  Last month, Nevada senatorial candidate Sharron Angle (R) released an ad that portrayed opponent Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) as being the “best friend an illegal alien ever had.”

Do Jews Really Control the Media? … Like This Story … - In 2008, Ross Douthat Said the GOP Needed To Change To Win.  What Does He Say Now?  - Finally, the Feds May Crack Down on Loathsome, Predatory Payday Lenders- The Beauty and Horror of the Shiloh Battlefield- The Weird Chinese City …

Democrats Look to Cultivate Pot Vote in 2012  —  Party Considers Legalization Efforts in Swing States Amid Signs California Measure Is Exciting Young, Liberal Voters  —  Democratic strategists are studying a California marijuana-legalization initiative to see if similar ballot measures could energize young …

‘Likely’ Voters: How Pollsters Define And Choose Them  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  We have seen the “likely voter” polling problem rear its head several times in recent weeks, but few examples have been as vivid as three national surveys released in the last 24 hours.

Taliban in high-level talks with Karzai government, sources say  —  Taliban representatives and the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai have begun secret, high-level talks over a negotiated end to the war, according to Afghan and Arab sources.  —  The talks follow inconclusive meetings …

DON'T FOLKS USUALLY LIKE ‘UNDERDOGS’?.... Over the summer, as Supreme Court confirmation hearings got underway for Elena Kagan, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) launched a lengthy broadside against former Justice Thurgood Marshall, Kagan's hero.  —  “[W]hen [Kagan] was working …

Specter Endorses Sestak  —  Pennsylvania Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey will be joining New York Senator Chuck Schumer in support of Rep. Joe Sestak who is running for Senate against Rep. Pat Toomey.  The Senators will appear with Sestak at a reception in downtown Philadelphia Monday, October 11, 2010.

Monetary Versus Fiscal  —  Karl Smith has his own version of the models people are using to think about this crisis.  I don't have much disagreement, except that I would group the various non-Keynesian models together as all various attempts to see this as a supply problem …

Tea parties stir evangelicals' fears  —  The rise of a new conservative grass roots fueled by a secular revulsion at government spending is stirring fears among leaders of the old conservative grass roots, the evangelical Christian right.  —  A reeling economy and the massive bank bailout …

Spaghetti Tacos: Silly Enough for Young Eaters  —  IT started as a gag: spaghetti tacos.  —  On an episode of the hit Nickelodeon series “iCarly,” the lead character's eccentric older brother, Spencer, makes dinner one night.  Glimpsed on screen, the dish consists of red-sauce-coated pasta stuffed into hard taco shells.

Limbaugh Calls President Obama a ‘Jackass’  —  ABC News' Steven Portnoy reports:  —  Derision of the president on his program is nothing new, but Rush Limbaugh's tone today may have struck the ears of regular listeners as particularly disdainful, taking his contempt of the president to a new level.

Palin: Abortion ‘essential’ issue in midterm elections  —  Houston, Texas (CNN) - Sarah Palin starkly framed the midterm elections on Tuesday as a choice between political candidates who favor a “culture of life” and those on the opposite side of the issue wanting to implement “a culture of death.”

Daily Kos: Ed Schultz Marred ‘One Nation’ Rally With ‘Fairy Tales and BS’ About God Bless the Troops  —  Not everyone at the Daily Kos was happy about the “One Nation” rally on Saturday.  The blogger “One Pissed Off Liberal” was upset with MSNBC host Ed Schultz for honoring the troops, and that God person:

Why Oh Why Can't We Have Better EconProf Bloggers?  —  Would you consider it sound for one academic to attack a paper written by another, calling it (among other things) “obviously erroneous” and “simply stupid,” based upon a third-party representation of what it says?

Top 100 most influential Right-wingers: 25-1  —  The final part of our list looking at who wields power on the Right of British politics.  —  Compiled by Iain Dale and Brian Brivati  —  Former Prime Minister  —  It took the election of a new Conservative Prime Minister to finally nail …

Biden Says He'll ‘Strangle’ Republicans  —  DAYTON, Minn. — Vice President Joe Biden has told Democrats at a Minnesota fundraiser that he'll “strangle” members of the GOP who complain about the federal budget.  —  According to a pool report from Tuesday's event in Dayton …

The Do-Lots 111th Congress  —  Greg Sargent reports a striking finding: … This is sort of nuts.  Among other things, this congress passes a comprehensive overhaul of student loans.  It also mandated calorie labeling on chain restaurant menus nationwide.

Let it Burn or Not?  Fulton Fire Department Follow-up: Updated with Mangu-Ward Video!  —  Here's a hot story - so hot, in fact, that when Reason's own Katherine Mangu-Ward blogged it on October 4, relatively few commenters could handle it - that supposedly demonstrates the uselessness …

Average Versus Typical  —  Michael Kinsley's Politico column debuted yesterday with an argument about why I'm wrong and the rigors of “intellectual honesty” demand so much more than accuracy.  And I agree with many of his points, there's more to life than accuracy.

THE GOP CAN COME UP SHORT, BUT STILL GET A MAJORITY.... It's still hard to say with confidence how many seats House Republicans will pick up in the midterms.  The GOP will need a net gain of 39 to win a majority for the next Congress, and while I still think the smart money says they'll clear that hurdle …