Top Items:
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
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 …
Discussion:
The Daily Dish, National Review, Daily Kos and Indecision Forever
RELATED:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Strains to Get Liberals Back Into Fold Ahead of Vote — WASHINGTON — With four weeks until Congressional elections that will shape the remainder of his term, President Obama is increasingly focused on generating enthusiasm within the base that helped put him in the White House two years ago …
Discussion:
The Politico, Shakesville, AmSpecBlog, Oliver Willis, Commentary, p m carpenter's commentary, Parker Spitzer, Prairie Weather and NRSC
Alan Fram / Associated Press:
AP-GfK Poll: Working-class whites shun Dems — WASHINGTON (AP) - Desperate for jobs and cool toward President Barack Obama, working-class whites are flocking to Republicans, turning a group long wary of Democrats into an even bigger impediment to the party's drive to keep control of Congress.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, PERRspectives, Hot Air and Sweetness & Light
David Carr / New York Times:
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.
Shane D'Aprile / The Hill:
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.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Daily Kos, TPMDC, Ballot Box, ColoradoPols.com, Hot Air, Hotline On Call, National Review and Prairie Weather
RELATED:
Bob Cusack / The Hill:
POLL: Distaste for healthcare law crosses party lines, 1 in 4 Dems want repeal — Healthcare reform is hurting the reelection chances of freshman Democrats in the House, according to The Hill/ANGA poll. — A majority of voters in key battleground districts favor repeal of the legislative overhaul Congress passed this year.
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Liberty Pundits Blog, Weasel Zippers, iOwnTheWorld.com and JammieWearingFool
Matthew Continetti / Weekly Standard:
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.
Mark Hemingway / Beltway Confidential:
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:
Discussion:
NewsBusters.org, The Daily Caller, The Right Scoop, National Review, Riehl World View and Liberty Pundits Blog
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Michael Shear / The Caucus:
Democrats Seize on Minimum Wage as a Campaign Issue
Democrats Seize on Minimum Wage as a Campaign Issue
Discussion:
Politics Daily and Stop The ACLU
Alex Seitz-Wald / Think Progress:
Steele Can't Name Minimum Wage, Refuses To Say Whether GOP …
Steele Can't Name Minimum Wage, Refuses To Say Whether GOP …
Discussion:
TPMDC, The Huffington Post, RHRealityCheck.org and Raw Story
The University of Delaware:
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 …
Discussion:
The Politico, Ballot Box, Little Green Footballs, CNN, Daily Kos, National Review, Weigel and TPMDC
Benjamin Weiser / New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared, National Review, Althouse and The BLT
Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
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.
Discussion:
The Fix, The Politico, Politics Daily, Gawker, New York Magazine, The Note, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, The Caucus, Mock, Paper, Scissors, The Hill and CNN
RELATED:
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
Clinton laughs off VP rumors
Clinton laughs off VP rumors
Discussion:
The Politico, The Hill, The Confluence, Taegan Goddard's …, Clusterstock, Vox Popoli, Raw Story, The Reaction, New York Magazine, Mediaite and Ben Smith's Blog
Noah Kazis / Streetsblog New York City:
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.
Discussion:
TalkLeft
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Matt Bai / New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, The Reid Report, Wonkette, Prairie Weather and The Other McCain
Anill / Think Progress:
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.”
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Las Vegas News …, Wonk Room and Ben Smith's Blog
Brian Palmer / Slate:
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 …
Discussion:
The Atlantic Online, Outside the Beltway and newsfeed.time.com
Peter Wallsten / Wall Street Journal:
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 …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Hit & Run, Weasel Zippers, The Caucus, The Spot, Sweetness & Light, American Power and Betsy's Page
The Huffington Post:
‘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.
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Ben Smith's Blog, POLISING, The Daily Beast and The New Republic
CNN:
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 …
Discussion:
Runnin' Scared
Washington Post:
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 …
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
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 …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias and National Review
Publisher / Philadelphia Jewish Voice:
Specter Endorses Sestak — Endorsement key to Jews and moderates in Pennsylvania — 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.
Discussion:
The Hill, Pennsylvania Ave., msnbc.com and National Review
John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
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 …
Helene Stapinski / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
Gothamist
Paul Krugman:
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 …
Discussion:
Project Syndicate, Economist's View and TalkLeft
Ben Smith / The Politico:
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 …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches, The Note and Politics Daily
Political Punch:
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.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Scared Monkeys, The Hinterland Gazette, The League of Ordinary … and RADAMISTO
Tim Graham / NewsBusters.org:
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:
Discussion:
The Radio Equalizer
Peterhamby / CNN:
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.”
Discussion:
The Politico, Wonkette, Shakesville and GOP 12
Matt Yglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
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.
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Ezra Klein, Guardian and No More Mister Nice Blog
Nick Gillespie / Hit & Run:
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 …
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, Hot Air, The Agitator, LewRockwell.com Blog, National Review, alicublog and Liberty Pundits Blog
Jonathan H. Adler / The Volokh Conspiracy:
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?
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice and JustOneMinute
Samantha Cameron / Telegraph:
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 …
Discussion:
Guardian and Iain Dale's Diary
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
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 …
Discussion:
The Plum Line