O'Donnell Calls Coons a Marxist During Debate  —  Democratic candidate Chris Coons, left, and Republican candidate Christine O'Donnell wait for the start of a televised Delaware Senate debate at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del.  —  Christine O'Donnell, the Republican Delaware Senate candidate …

For Reid, No Shaking Tea Party Challenger  —  LAS VEGAS — Senator Harry Reid of Nevada first thought he could scrape his way to re-election by invoking his power as majority leader and reminding voters what that means for his home state.  When that didn't seem to work …

WH's Jarrett: Dead Gay Bully Victim  —  Made ‘Lifestyle Choice’  —  The last time I heard anyone use the obnoxious phrase “lifestyle choice” to describe a gay person's sexual orientation was during the Bill Clinton presidency when the gays were accused of wanting “special rights.”

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 …

Military ballots may not count in Illinois  —  CHICAGO (WLS) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the state of Illinois missed the deadline for mailing absentee ballots to members of the military and other overseas American voters as part of a new federal overseas voting law.

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 …

Rabbi Breaks With Paladino Over Apology  —  Well, that didn't last long.  —  The alliance between the Republican Carl P. Paladino and an Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn has fallen apart, with the rabbi denouncing Mr. Paladino on Wednesday for his apology over remarks he had made about homosexuality on Sunday.

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 …

Rove, Chamber ads widely debunked as false or misleading  —  Here's something important that's getting lost in the firefight over the money funding the ads by the U.S. Chamber and Karl Rove's groups: Many of the ads themselves have been debunked by independent fact checkers as false, grossly misleading, or marred with distortions.

“Perhaps”  —  I really don't get the complete lack of concern  —  for property rights. … If Citi doesn't own the mortgage then the woman doesn't owe them any money.  If Citi doesn't own the mortgage then it isn't the case that “perhaps” they shouldn't foreclose on her, it's the case that they have no legal right to foreclosure.

Pew: cellphone bias may be bigger than in '08  —  In a new analysis sure to add to the uncertainty about the upcoming election, the Pew Research Center reports that a large number of pre-election polls might be biased.  —  Polls that don't interview people on cellphones …

Public Employees and Elections: A Conflict of Interest?  —  None of my family and friends is allowed to appear on Wheel of Fortune.  Same goes for my kids' teachers or the guys who rotate my tires.  If there's not a real conflict of interest, there is, at least, the appearance of one.

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.

The wrong bogeyman  —  Here's a sidebar to the debate tonight between Chris Coons and Christine ODonnell (see the post below for a discussion of that debate).  One of the first things Coons said was that he has a proven record as a job creator by virtue, in part, of his ability as a County Executive …

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.

Ex-mayor says Miller disciplined over ethics  —  ‘LESS THAN HONEST’: He was politicking on borough time and computers, says ex-official.  —  Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller used borough computers in Fairbanks for partisan political purposes in 2008 when he organized the failed effort …

Chuck Norris 8 Steps To Rebuild America's Economy (Part 2)  —  Editors' note: this is part two of Chuck Norris' column.  For Part 1, click here.  —  When Barack Obama was elected president, he made claims that he would “go through our federal budget — page by page, line by line — eliminating those programs we don't need.”

NPR staff told to stay away from Colbert, Stewart rallies if not covering them  —  From: [NPR chief executive] Vivian Schiller  —  Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 8:58 AM  —  Subject: FW: NPR Journalists and political activity  —  Please see Ellen Weiss' note to her staff below …

Female Candidate Finds a Tough Audience: Women  —  HARTFORD — Every time Dolores Meehan turns on her television, there she is: Linda E. McMahon, attacking her opponent, in yet another political advertisement.  —  “She's bothering people,” said Ms. Meehan, a retired telephone company worker from Norwalk.

Gates Warns of Abruptly Ending 'Don't Ask'  —  White House considers appeal of ruling on gays in military, leaving Pentagon policy in limbo  —  As the Obama administration considers appealing a judge's order to stop the law prohibiting gays from serving openly in the military …

Matthews: Chilean Miners Would Be Dead if They Followed Tea Party's ‘Every Man for Himself’ Philosophy  —  Leave it to Chris Matthews to shoe-horn in a crass political point against the Tea Party, even in the midst of a heartwarming story like the rescue of the Chilean miners.

Boehner a rubber stamp for Pelosi?  —  It's an attack ad that writes itself: The House Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner (Ohio), votes with liberal Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a majority of the time.  —  The statistic seems impossible to believe, given the ferocity …

Tea Party movement: Billionaire Koch brothers who helped it grow  —  Industrialists who own private company with annual revenues of £62bn have channelled millions of dollars to rightwing causes  —  It likes to present itself as a grassroots insurgency made up of hundreds of local groups intent on toppling the Washington elite.