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Reid My Lips: Last Night Was a Disaster — The Senate majority leader should've stayed home. — Why Harry Reid agreed to have a debate with Sharron Angle is a bit of a mystery to me. If your campaign is based on portraying your opponent as loony, then why give that opponent a chance to look reasonable?
Discussion:
American Power, Comments from Left Field, Guardian and Swampland
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Reid lost the debate to Angle — Let's get the easy part out of the way first: — Sharron Angle won The Big Debate. — Angle won because she looked relatively credible, appearing not to be the Wicked Witch of the West (Christine O'Donnell is the good witch of the Tea Party) and scoring many more rhetorical points.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog, Washington Monthly, Sister Toldjah, Hot Air, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Atlantic Online, Weasel Zippers, The Politico, GayPatriot, Gateway Pundit, Left Coast Rebel, Gawker, Wake up America, Commentary, Power Line, Outside the Beltway and Las Vegas Review-Journal


Why I'm Rooting for Sharron Angle — It's easy for a libertarian to wish for all-around Republican victories in the midterms. What's more delicate is supporting political aberrations like Angle, Paladino, and O'Donnell. By Tunku Varadarajan. — As the midterm elections approach …
Discussion:
Hit & Run, alicublog, The Agitator and Balloon Juice

The New Normal — I didn't see last night's debate between Harry Reid …
Discussion:
The Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Outside the Beltway, CNN, Washington Wire and The Page

‘Man Up?’ What if Harry Reid Told Sharron Angle to ‘Act Like a Lady?’
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Angle lands ‘low blow,’ says Reid
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Wire, Mediaite, Sweetness & Light and Indecision Forever

Analyzing the Angle-Reid debate
Discussion:
Club for Growth, The Daily Caller, The Page and National Review


Treasury Defends HAMP Again - I Can't Stop Laughing — I see nothing. (photo: sirtwitchalot2000 on Flickr) — So Ezra stepped out and pretty sharply criticized HAMP. To him I say welcome. But because he has a Beltway audience, the Treasury Department got right angry and dialed him up and pleaded their case.
Discussion:
Ezra Klein and Eschaton
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Raese's Wife Loses W.Va. Voter Status — In an escalating residency controversy between West Virginia's Senate contenders, the wife of Republican businessman John Raese is being purged from the state's voter rolls because she is also registered to vote in Florida.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
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Poll: Joe Manchin ahead by 10 points
Discussion:
RedState, Don Surber, TPMDC, Daily Kos and National Review

The Mortgage Morass — American officials used to lecture other countries about their economic failings and tell them that they needed to emulate the U.S. model. The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, in particular, led to a lot of self-satisfied moralizing.
Discussion:
Benzinga.com, Hullabaloo, Rumproast, Opinionator, naked capitalism, Firedoglake, Obsidian Wings, JustOneMinute, Yglesias, Zandar Versus The Stupid, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, AMERICAblog News, Shakesville, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Corrente, Connecting.the.Dots, Prairie Weather, Scripting News and Washington Post
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Mortgage Mess May Cost Big Banks Billions
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News, Felix Salmon and Mother Jones


Feds oppose Calif. Prop 19 to legalize marijuana — SAN FRANCISCO — Attorney General Eric Holder says the federal government will enforce its marijuana laws in California even if voters next month make the state the first in the nation to legalize the drug.
Discussion:
Hit & Run, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, Indecision Forever, The Hill, The Daily Caller and New York Magazine

Poll: GOP has edge in most competitive Democratic seats — Republicans maintain an edge over Democrats in some of the most highly contested congressional districts, a new poll found Friday. — GOP candidates have a four-point edge among likely voters in the 53 most competitive congressional districts held …
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit and Libertarian Republican
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NPR Poll Offers Sliver Of Hope For Democrats
Discussion:
Public Opinion Strategies, The Note, MyDD and National Review

Do the polls back up the attacks on the Chamber of Commerce? — From one “Beltway inside-game commentator” to another: No, the attacks on the Chamber of Commerce aren't helping Democrats in the election. A MoveOn.org poll showing that voters respond negatively when asked …
Discussion:
The Washington Independent, Hullabaloo and The Plum Line
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Obama's half brother in Kenya says he married teen — NAIROBI, Kenya - President Barack Obama's polygamist half brother in Kenya has married a woman who is more than 30 years younger than him. — The 19-year-old's mother told The Associated Press on Friday she is furious …
Discussion:
HillBuzz, Atlas Shrugs, iOwnTheWorld.com, Gateway Pundit and Gawker

Wilders not guilty on all counts - Update — The public prosecution department on Friday afternoon stated that Geert Wilders is not guilty of discriminating against Muslims. Earlier on Friday it announced he should also be found not guilty of inciting hatred.
Discussion:
Pajamas Media, Jihad Watch, National Review, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Atlas Shrugs and Weasel Zippers


California Democrats cling to leads: Reuters/Ipsos — (Reuters) - Democratic candidates are clinging to narrow leads over their Republican rivals in two key California races with less than three weeks to go until November 2 elections, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Friday.
Discussion:
CarlyForCA.com, Washington Wire, GayPatriot, Hot Air, SFGate, TPMDC and National Review


Republican ‘Contender’ Dons Duckie Pajamas, Parties With Scantily Clad Women — Who among us hasn't donned duckie pajamas for a night out with scantily clad women, then run for Congress? — Well, in the event that you haven't, consider the case of NRCC's latest big “contender,” …
Discussion:
AMERICAblog News

Tides Foundation CEO To Fox News Advertisers: Drop Glenn Beck Or Have Blood On Your Hands — WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? — In an extraordinary move to nip the inflammatory commentary coming from Glenn Beck, the founder and CEO of the Tides Foundation (a frequent Beck target) …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and SFGate

D.S.C.C. Has Record-Breaking Month — Democrats may be struggling against a political headwind and a new cadre of conservative groups, but the national party organizations appear to be having no trouble raising money. — The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will report later …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Ballot Box, The Impolitic, USA Today, Daily Kos, Hotline On Call and Ben Smith's Blog

Victory for Appalachians as a Determined EPA Recommends No More Mining at Biggest Proposed Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine — Statement from Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune — Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took courageous action today …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Huffington Post, Gateway Pundit, Grist and Speakeasy

Under the Law No Social Security COLA for 2011 — Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 58 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2011, the Social Security Administration announced today. — The Social Security Act provides …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Foundry, Opinion L.A., Politics Daily and Washington Post

The Pamela Geller Interview — It has been great to see my friend Pamela Geller from Atlas Shrugs starting to gain more national prominence. She's a got a new book out, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America, she's been the point person on the Ground Zero Mosque right …
Discussion:
YID With LID


Mitch Daniels open to VAT, oil tax hike — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels opened the door Thursday to supporting both a value added tax and a tariff on imported oil, bold proposals that could cause trouble for him with conservatives as he flirts with a long-shot bid for the presidency.
Discussion:
Brookings Institute, Hot Air, Big Government, Liberty Pundits Blog, National Review, The Page and The Hill

Monetary Policy Objectives and Tools in a Low-Inflation Environment — The topic of this conference—the formulation and conduct of monetary policy in a low-inflation environment—is timely indeed. From the late 1960s until a decade or so ago, bringing inflation under control was viewed …


From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze — DENMARK, Me. — The house that set off the national furor over faulty foreclosures is blue-gray and weathered. The porch is piled with furniture and knickknacks awaiting the next yard sale. In the driveway is a busted pickup truck.
Discussion:
PaperTrail Blog, Developments, Emptywheel and The Big Picture


Michelle Obama and Illinois Election Law — Did Michelle Obama violate Illinois election law? — The question arose after the first lady, who voted early at her Chicago precinct Thursday, responded to voters who voiced support for her husband. It's unlawful in the state to have a …