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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

First lady strikes softer tone on campaign trail  —  The White House might be engaged in an election year battle with the Chamber of Commerce, but first lady Michelle Obama struck a softer tone in her return to the campaign trail.  —  Obama was in Milwaukee on Wednesday …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Gay Sex vs. Straight Sex  —  Gay issues have been in the news a lot lately, from the debate over same-sex marriage in Congress to a sickening rash of gay-bashing here in New York City.  We see a lot of emotion out there, instead of information, and we wanted to provide some data-based context …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Gates warns over abrupt halt to 'Don't ask, don't tell'  —  Iraq veterans including Lt Dan Choi were among those discharged under the policy  —  US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned a court-ordered halt of a ban on openly gay military personnel could have “enormous consequences”.

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.

JPMorgan exits electronic mortgage tracking system  —  NEW YORK - JPMorgan Chase's CEO says the bank has stopped using the electronic mortgage tracking system used by major financial institutions.  —  Lawyers have argued in court proceedings that the system is unable to accurately prove ownership of mortgages.

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.