Why Obama Is in the Jaws of Political Death  —  Barack Obama is being politically crushed in a vise.  From above, by elite opinion about his competence.  From below, by mass anger and anxiety over unemployment.  And it is too late for him to do anything about this predicament until after November's elections.

The President's Nun: Obamacare Scranton Scandal Explodes  —  Can you say “October Surprise”?  —  A mushrooming political battle over ObamaCare involving the White House, two incumbent Pennsylvania congressmen, three Catholic hospitals and a nun has just exploded in, of all places, Scranton, Pennsylvania.

3 Share Nobel Economics Prize for Labor Analysis  —  The 2010 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science was awarded on Monday to Peter A. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen and Christopher A. Pissarides for their work on markets where buyers and sellers have difficulty finding each other …

“Progressive Hunter”  —  Jailhouse Confession: How the right-wing media and Glenn Beck's chalkboard drove Byron Williams to plot assassination … Byron Williams' alleged domestic terror plot began in Groveland, a tiny Gold Rush town nestled high in the Sierras, three hours east of San Francisco.

Soros: I Can't Stop a Republican ‘Avalanche’  —  George Soros, the billionaire financier who was an energetic Democratic donor in the last several election cycles but is sitting this one out, is not feeling optimistic about Democratic prospects.  —  “I made an exception getting involved in 2004 …

Hey, Small Spender  —  Here's the narrative you hear everywhere: President Obama has presided over a huge expansion of government, but unemployment has remained high.  And this proves that government spending can't create jobs.  —  Here's what you need to know: The whole story is a myth.

White Men With Guns—Reconstruction Redux  —  I saw it.  But I couldn't believe it.  —  There I was, in a fast food drive through, behind a man whose back window decal, in small white letters, sent me a message that sent a chill down my spine—just as he'd hoped it would, no doubt.  It said:

Paladino Laces Speech With Antigay Remarks  —  The Republican candidate for governor, Carl P. Paladino, told a gathering in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Sunday that children should not be “brainwashed” into thinking that homosexuality was acceptable, and criticized his opponent …

Manchin: If healthcare reform can't be fixed, ‘repeal the whole thing’  —  West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D), who is in a tough fight for a Senate seat, said Monday he'd support repealing the healthcare reform law if it can't be fixed.  —  Manchin, who's been falling behind in his race …

Column: An ugly word for an ugly economy  —  You may not know the term “hysteresis.”  It's the “lagging of an effect behind its cause,” and it's an ugly word that sounds like a foot fungus.  It's also an ugly thing to have happen to your economy.  And it may be what's happening to ours.

Democrats Are Conflicted Over Black Vote, Obama  —  ST. LOUIS—Democrats say it is critical that they turn out African American voters this November.  But for Robin Carnahan, the party's nominee for Senate in Missouri, that is proving to be a tricky proposition.

Congressional Staffers Gain From Trading in Stocks  —  WASHINGTON—Chris Miller nearly doubled his $3,500 stock investment in a renewable-energy firm in 2008.  It was a perfectly legal bet, but he's no ordinary investor.  —  Mr. Miller is the top energy-policy adviser to Nevada Democrat …

‘Hick’ Ad Actor: 'Don't Tase Me, Bro'  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports:  —  The Republican attack ad that sought out the “ ‘hicky’ blue collar look” for actors to play “real” West Virginians has placed a spotlight on a common practice the campaign advertising world - or, at least …

Republicans Maintain Strength Among Likely Voters  —  Race generally stable; independents remain key benefit for GOP  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans maintain a substantial advantage over Democrats among likely voters in Gallup's generic ballot for Congress — in both lower- and higher-turnout scenarios …

SEARCH AND DESTROY  —  Nick Denton's blog empire.  —  For years after starting Gawker Media, the online publishing network, in 2002, Nick Denton ran the company out of his apartment, in SoHo.  “He said, ‘If you run it out of your house, then no one expects anything,’ ” …

Election 2010: New Hampshire Senate  —  New Hampshire Senate: Ayotte (R) Holds Steady Lead Over Hodes (D)  —  Republican Kelly Ayotte for the third month in a row earns more than 50% of the vote against Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes in New Hampshire's U.S. Senate race.

Newt Gingrich: On the edge or over the line?  —  In August, Newt Gingrich compared backers of a mosque near ground zero to Nazis putting up signs at the Holocaust museum.  In September, there was his assertion that President Barack Obama is motivated by a “Kenyan anti-colonial” worldview.

Incumbents Polling Below 50 Percent Often Win Re-Election, Despite Conventional Wisdom  —  Read enough polling commentary, and you're sure to encounter arguments like this one: … That was from The Hotline's Josh Kraushaar.  Here is Real Clear Politics' Sean Trende making a version of the same claim.

Buck's refusal to prosecute 2005 rape case reverberates in U.S. Senate race  —  Critics: Weld DA's treatment of alleged victim ‘shows his general view of women’  —  When Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck refused to prosecute a rape case five years ago, he probably had no idea …