Education of a President  —  On a busy afternoon in the West Wing late last month, President Barack Obama seemed relaxed and unhurried as he sat down in a newly reupholstered brown leather chair in the Oval Office.  He had just returned from the East Room, where he signed the Small Business Jobs Act …

Exclusive: Chamber Receives At Least $885,000 From Over 80 Foreign Companies In Disclosed Donations Alone  —  Last week, ThinkProgress published an exclusive story about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's foreign fundraising operation.  We noted the Chamber raises money from foreign-owned businesses for its 501 …

THE HILL POLL: Republicans are up in 8 of 10 open House districts  —  Republicans are winning eight out of 10 competitive open House seats surveyed in a groundbreaking new poll by The Hill.  —  Taken on top of 11 GOP leads out of 12 freshman Democratic districts polled last week …

The Christine O'Donnell fascination, examined  —  Tonight's Delaware Senate debate between marketing consultant Christine O'Donnell (R) and New Castle County Executive Chris Coons (D) will be carried live on CNN and co-moderated by the network's lead anchor Wolf Blitzer.

GOP governor hopeful Carl Paladino cashed in on Buffalo gay clubs Cobalt, Buddies II  —  Carl Paladino says kids shouldn't be “brainwashed” into thinking it's okay to be gay or be taken to a “disgusting” gay pride parade.  —  But he had no problem when his son, William, ran Cobalt …

Michelle Rhee to announce resignation as D.C. schools chancellor on Wednesday  —  D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee will announce Wednesday that she is resigning at the end of this month, bringing an abrupt end to a tenure that drew national acclaim but that also became a central issue …

The enormous mortgage-bond scandal  —  You thought the foreclosure mess was bad?  You're right about that.  But it gets so much worse once you start adding in a whole bunch of parallel messes in the world of mortgage bonds.  For instance, as Tracy Alloway says, mortgage-bond documentation generally …

Raese, missile defense, and ‘lasers in the sky’  —  From NBC's Shawna Thomas and Carrie Dann  —  INWOOD W.V.— West Virginia Republican candidate John Raese on Tuesday outlined his focus on national defense by calling for an extensive laser-based missile defense system.  —  A very extensive one.

‘Spirit of Political Disclosure’?  White House Press Sec once part of group that refused to disclose donors  —  The White House plans to continue attacking groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other conservative organizations for not disclosing the names of donors behind political ads.

Anti-Obama billboard raises eyebrows  —  Caricatures are racist and homophobic, local Dems say  —  A Grand Junction billboard depicting President Barack Obama as a terrorist, a gangster, a Mexican bandit and a gay man is getting national attention.  —  The billboard, erected along …

Sink continues to lead  —  Alex Sink continues to lead the Florida Governor's race by a 46-41 margin over Rick Scott.  —  The big story in this race is the independents.  In most states across the country Republicans are dominating with them but the intense unpopularity of Scott is making this contest an exception to that rule.

GOP Congressional Candidate Walberg Suggests Using Impeachment To Get Obama's Birth Certificate  —  As ThinkProgress previously noted, Tim Walberg — a former GOP congressman and current Republican nominee for the House of Representatives from Michigan's seventh congressional district …

Dem's hippie ad: ‘Does not support Pelosi...voted with GOP 65% of the time’  —  As Democrats in conservative districts scramble to distance themselves from the national Democratic leadership, Georgia Rep. Jim Marshall outdoes the rest with what's a cultural attack ad aimed at contrasting him with Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Obama's related to Palin  —  NEW YORK - President Barack Obama has family ties to none other than Sarah Palin, according to the genealogists at Ancestry.com, a discovery the family history site made when looking for connections between political foes.  —  And that's not all …

POLL: Majority of voters say they want a viable third party in American politics  —  A majority of likely voters think a viable third party would be good for American politics, according to a new poll of likely voters in 10 key open House districts.  —  Those voters are split, however …

Rand Paul's college letters: Asked whether gov't should combat discrimination, worshipped Ayn Rand  —  I've obtained several letters and Op eds that Rand Paul wrote to his school newspaper in the early 1980s, and they provide a glimpse into Paul's budding libertarian mind as he grappled with his early hostility towards government.

Exclusive: Court Document Details Congressman's Past Spousal Abuse  —  Ohio Democrat Congressman Charlie Wilson was first elected to Congress in the Democrat wave year of 2006.  Prior to that, he had been a long-time member of the Ohio state legislature, first elected to the Ohio House in 1996 and the Ohio Senate in 2004.

Majorities in U.S. View Gov't as Too Intrusive and Powerful  —  Independents largely side with Republicans in denouncing big government  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Record- or near-record-high percentages of Americans are critical of the size and scope of government, as measured by four Gallup trend questions updated in September.

Wage cuts hurt, but they may be the only way to get Americans back to work  —  Last week, General Motors and the United Auto Workers announced agreement on a new two-tier wage structure that would allow the automaker to produce its next-generation subcompact car in Michigan rather than in South Korea.

Dudley Says He “Was a Minority”; Black Lawmaker Disagrees  —  When Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Dudley addressed the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs' monthly “Coffee & Issues” breakfast on Sept. 24, he reprised a comment he'd made at an earlier interview with the Urban League of Portland.

Linda Norgrove: Navy Seal faces disciplinary action  —  Guardian learns commando hurled explosive device during rescue as he had not seen UK aid worker taking cover nearby  —  Startling details of the daring rescue mission that ended in the death of the British aid worker Linda Norgrove …

MAINE: Nazi symbols spray-painted on Jewish Republican candidate's signs  —  Media Blackout!  —  From Eric Dondero:  —  Symbols of the National Socialist Party (NAZIs) such as the ones in the photo to the left, were recently spray-painted on signs of a Jewish Republican candidate for Maine State Senate.

Key senator: Senate ‘poised’ to act on China currency bill  —  The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee said Wednesday that the upper chamber is “poised” to legislation meant to hammer China for its currency policies.  —  The House overwhelmingly passed legislation late last month …