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 …

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 …

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 …

‘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.

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 …

Whitman and Brown's final debate a contentious one  —  The rivals for California governor continue their attacks on each other and stick to their talking points without offering details on how they would fix the troubled state.  —  Meg Whitman called Jerry Brown “the same old same old,” …

Truth Lies Here  —  How can Americans talk to one another—let alone engage in political debate—when the Web allows every side to invent its own facts?  —  THIS PAST AUGUST, the left-leaning San Francisco-based Web site AlterNet posted a remarkable scoop: members of a group calling itself …

Mexican investigator in Falcon Lake probe beheaded  —  The severed head of a Mexican police commander investigating the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen David Michael Hartley on Falcon Lake was delivered Tuesday to Mexican military in a suitcase, authorities said.

GOP Groups Launch Massive Ad Blitz  —  Alliance Spends $50 Million on Competitive House Races Where Democrats Have More Money Now  —  An alliance of Republican groups is launching a $50 million advertising blitz this week in a final push to help the GOP win a majority in the House …

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 …

Chile Rejoices as Miners Taste Freedom  —  President Sebastián Piñera of Chile embraced Florencio Ávalos, the first of the miners trapped in the San José Mine to come to the surface.  Mr. Piñera has staked his presidency on the rescue.  More Photos »

In South Dakota: Another Sarah Palin?  —  A New Republican Star Takes on a Tough Democratic Incumbent  —  If money is any indication, the hottest Republican House candidate in the country is Kristi Noem.  The 38-year-old rancher has raised more campaign cash than any Republican house challenger in the country.

Obama administration appeals gay marriage ruling  —  (Reuters) - The Obama administration decided on Tuesday to appeal a judge's rulings that prevented the U.S. government from banning same-sex marriages, a move that could undermine support among President Barack Obama's traditional liberal base ahead of a key election.

THE HILL POLL: A district-by-district analysis of results and interactive map  —  D: Roy Herron, 37% R: Stephen Fincher, 47%  —  Washington 3  —  D: Denny Heck, 40% R: Jaime Herrera, 42%  —  Arkansas 1  —  D: Chad Causey, 34% R: Rick Crawford, 46%  —  Wisconsin 7  —  Illinois 10

MAINE: Nazi symbols spray-painted on Jewish Republican candidate's signs  —  Media Blackout!  —  From Eric Dondero:  —  Symbols of the National Socialist Party (NAZIs) were recently spray-painted on signs of a Jewish Republican candidate for Maine State Senate.  Blogger Al Diamon DownEast.com explains:

Gore vs. the Supreme Court: The justices and the ‘CSI effect’  —  In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.

NO WAY TO RUN A GOVERNMENT, CONT'D.... When President Obama nominated Michael McCrum to be a U.S. Attorney in Western Texas, there was no reason to think there'd be much of a delay.  McCrum, a former assistant U.S. attorney, enjoyed the support of Texas' Democratic congressional delegation …

What to do about state pensions  —  Yesterday's post on state pension plans emphasized the problems with spinning the state fiscal crunch into a morality tale of greedy public employees and weak-kneed state legislators.  That's useful for Republicans who want to score some points against unions …

Mark Kirk Sends Poll Monitors To ‘Vulnerable,’ Largely African-American Neighborhoods  —  In a private phone conversation that was secretly recorded, Mark Kirk, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Illinois, told state Republican leaders last week about his plan to send “voter integrity” …

CLINTON HECKLED IN BLUE NEW YORK, SAYS HALF OF REPUBLICANS NEED PSYCHIATRIC HELP  —  MICKGOBLIN  —  He didnt do crap to balance the budget.  It was supply side economics kicking in back from Reagan and the computer industry.  Fine one thing he did to balance the budget?  He didnt do crap!

Obama's outsized ego  —  Obama's arrogance problem isn't a matter of psychology but of strategy.  —  “That's all right, all of you know who I am,” President Obama joked last week when the presidential seal fell off his podium during a speech in Pittsburgh.

Is there a doctor in the house?  Obamacare will worsen the physician shortage Congress helped create  —  There is a new disease spreading like a cancer in doctors' offices and hospitals throughout the U.S. I have named it Doctor Unavailability Syndrome (DUS).

Robo-signers: Mortgage experience not necessary  —  Banks hired hair stylists, teens to process foreclosure documents, workers' testimony shows  —  Related Quotes  —  NEW YORK (AP) — In an effort to rush through thousands of home foreclosures since 2007, financial institutions …