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 …

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.

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.

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell: Michael Steele is dancing for his GOP ‘master’ UPDATED  —  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:

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 …

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 …

Clinton laughs off VP rumors  —  (CNN) - Hours after White House press secretary Robert Gibbs poured cold water on the notion Hillary Clinton may take the VP slot ahead of the 2012 election, the secretary of state followed suit.  —  “I don't believe what I read,” Clinton said laughing during …

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 …

A diplomatic imbroglio: Ambassadors denied entry to White House party  —  From Elise Labott, CNN State Department Producer  —  Washington (CNN) — The White House has another party protocol problem on its hands after as many as 30 diplomats were stopped at the White House gate and not allowed …

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 …

Romney Deathwatch, Continued  —  Politico has a good piece today on a subject I've been banging on for a while — the mortal blowinflicted upon Mitt Romney's presidential hopes by the health care debate.  In 2008, a system consisting of a regulated individual markets, an individual mandate …

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.”

Portman Holds 19-Point Lead In Ohio Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Angry, Pessimistic Voters Back Republican  —  Republican Rob Portman remains far ahead of Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, 55 - 36 percent among likely voters, in Ohio's U.S. Senate race according to a Quinnipiac University …

The .ly domain space to be considered unsafe  —  I would like to warn current and future owners of .ly domains of a concerning incident regarding the deletion of one of our prime domains ‘vb.ly’ by NIC.ly (the domain registry and controlling body for the Libyan domain space '.ly').  —  In short:

White House may have blocked oil spill figures  —  White House officials may have blocked the release of a more accurate and dramatic estimate of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, perhaps hindering public confidence in the Obama administration's cleanup efforts, according to an Oil Spill Commission staff report released Wednesday.

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.”

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 …

Video: Hare calls deficit, debt a “myth”  —  Kind of like the Constitution, huh?  —  The last we heard from Rep. Phil Hare (D-IL), he impressed voters nationwide by assuring us that he didn't care about the Constitution when creating law in Congress.  Now he wants to let us know that the national debt is nothing but a “myth.”

Obama To Get Out of Dodge After the Election  —  More evidence Obama knows there will be a Democrat bloodbath at the polls: he has changed his schedule and is flying away for 12 whole days, just two days after election, and is going to the other side of the world.

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 …

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 …

‘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.

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.

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:

NRCC: Michigan Democrat “Supports Pulling the Plug on Grandma”  —  CQ's Tricia Miller reports on the latest dust-up in the bitter race to replace Bart Stupak: … The McDowell campaign responds that McDowell didn't mean the government should make end of life decisions …

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.

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.

Congress Can't Repeal Economics  —  It's raining!  I don't like it!  Why hasn't Congress passed the Good Weather Act and the Everybody Happy Act?  —  Sound dumb?  —  Why is it any dumber than a law called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which promised to cover more for less money?