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.

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.

NPR Poll Offers Sliver Of Hope For Democrats  —  With only 18 days left until Election Day, an NPR survey of likely voters in battleground districts found that while the overall field still tilts to the GOP, Democrats are closing the gap in some places.  —  The good news for Democrats …

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 …

Poll: Joe Manchin ahead by 10 points  —  Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin has opened up a double-digit lead over Republican John Raese in the West Virginia Senate special election, according to a new independent poll set for release Friday morning.  —  The Marshall University poll shows Manchin taking 48 percent …

Tea Party Set to Win Enough Races for Wide Influence  —  Enough Tea Party-supported candidates are running strongly in competitive and Republican-leaning Congressional races that the movement stands a good chance of establishing a sizable caucus to push its agenda in the House and the Senate, according to a New York Times analysis.

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.

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.

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 …

Hey, Secret Big Political Donor, Don't Forget The 35% Gift Tax  —  In the run-up to next month's elections, a big and controversial development has been the ability of tycoons to make unlimited political donations without any public disclosure whatsoever.  This is done by giving the money to certain 501 …

How Romney made a bestseller  —  Mitt Romney boosted sales of his book this spring by asking institutions to buy thousands of copies in exchange for his speeches, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.  —  Romney's book tour ran from early March to late May of this year …

Obama, Biden heap praise on Coons and each other at Del. rally  —  President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Friday appeared at their first joint campaign rally this year on behalf Delaware nominee Chris Coons (D), lauding him and one another after two years in office.

Carly Fiorina's troubling telecom past  —  Before she became the controversial CEO of HP, Senate candidate Carly Fiorina was a star at Lucent.  What does her time at the telecom disaster say about her?  —  Carly Fiorina while at Lucent  —  In the spring of 1999, Lucent Technology's star …

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 …

Ethics office losing staff director  —  Leo Wise, the staff director of the House Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), is leaving to join the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.  —  Wise served as the first staff director of the OCE, which was created in 2008 to help burnish the House's tarnished ethics process.

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 …

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.

Christine O'Donnell Tells GOPers: 'I've Got Sean Hannity In My Back Pocket'  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  WASHINGTON — Christine O'Donnell may not be a witch, but she knows how to use scare tactics to raise money, top Republican strategists and officials here tell me.

EXCLUSIVE: Illinois Elections Officials Caught Lying About Military Ballots  —  This is a national disgrace.  The Illinois State Board of Elections has been lying about the status of military absentee ballots and a lazy Department of Justice has allowed itself to be duped.