Democrats Retrench as GOP Pulls Away  —  Democratic strategists acknowledged they are abandoning a dozen House seats the party now holds, as they try to salvage their majority in the chamber by shoring up candidates with better chances.  —  With Republicans expanding their advertising …

You've Gotta See This Ad  —  Jack Conway's trailing Rand Paul down in Kentucky.  But he's not out of it yet.  And there are some signs he's starting to turn the corner.  (The current TPM Poll Average is Paul 46.9%, Conway 41.7%.)  But this ad ... man, this ad.  Whew.

Fired up?  Not so much  —  If President Barack Obama needed any more reminders that it's not 2008, he got another one Thursday night in a town hall with young voters.  —  Back when he was a candidate, Obama inspired legions of young people who responded to his message of hope …

The Boehnerization of Barack Obama  —  Why has stimulus become a dirty word?  Many reasons, I guess: an inadequate plan combined with a wildly overoptimistic forecast was more or less guaranteed to create the impression of a failed program.  But it's also true that the president himself …

Why Liberals Don't Get the Tea Party Movement  —  Our universities haven't taught much political history for decades.  No wonder so many progressives have disdain for the principles that animated the Federalist debates.  —  Highly educated people say the darndest things, these days particularly about the tea party movement.

GOP longshot outraises Pelosi  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Republican challenger raised more than $1.1 million over the past three months, more than three times as much as Pelosi did.  —  John Dennis, the Ron Paul-backed GOP nominee running against the Speaker in her liberal San Francisco …

Stephen Colbert may play religion for laughs, but his thoughtful Catholicism still shows through  —  When comedian Stephen Colbert brought his act to Capitol Hill last month and stole the spotlight with his satirical shtick, no one was more surprised than lawmakers.

Merkel says German multicultural society has failed  —  Angela Merkel said Germany had “kidded itself” multiculturalism was working  —  Attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have “utterly failed”, Chancellor Angela Merkel says.  —  In a speech in Potsdam, she said the so-called …

Fort Hood soldier ordered to delete video of rampage  —  FORT HOOD, Texas — A US soldier who captured a deadly 2009 rampage at Fort Hood with his cell phone camera testified Friday that he was ordered to erase the video by his commanders.  —  The video could have provided key evidence …

Sorry Folks, The Put-Back Apocalypse Ain't Gonna Happen  —  You should probably be a buyer of Bank of America right now.  —  I never thought I'd find myself typing those words.  I've been a huge critic of Bank of America for years.  I'm bearish on the financial supermarket model.

Bill Maher Uses Brett Favre's Penis Sexting To Bash Sarah Palin and White Men  —  Bill Maher on Friday used Brett Favre's penis sexting incident to bash Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Christine O'Donnell, and white men.  —  During the “New Rules” segment of HBO's “Real Time” …

Threats against liberal Democrats keep bubbling up — and it's not just the ‘nutcases’  —  It turns out that the right-wing crazy who was threatening Patty Murray supporters with a cleaver in Spokane on Thursday is a man with a history of mental illness:

U.S. Will Enforce Marijuana Laws, State Vote Aside  —  LOS ANGELES — The Department of Justice says it intends to prosecute marijuana laws in California aggressively even if state voters approve an initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot to legalize the drug.  —  The announcement by Eric H. Holder Jr. …

In debate, Crist says Rubio ‘turned his back’ on his Hispanic family  —  Gov. Charlie Crist (I) hit Republican Marco Rubio's stance on immigration during a contentious debate exchange Friday in the state's three-way race for Senate.  —  Crist referenced an article in the Hispanic newspaper La Gaceta …