President Obama: ‘Fear and frustration’ drive voters  —  BOSTON — President Barack Obama on Saturday blamed Americans' “fear and frustration” for the fierce, negative, anything-goes midterm election cycle that threatens to upend his agenda.  —  “Part of the reason that our politics seems …

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 …

Playing All the Angles  —  As I sat above the Hoover Dam under the broiling sun, I was getting jittery.  —  There was Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona, speaking at the dedication of a bridge linking Arizona and Nevada 890 feet above the Colorado River.  —  As the politicians droned …

Barbara Billingsley of ‘Leave it to Beaver’ fame dies  —  (CNN) — Barbara Billingsley, who wore a classy pearl necklace and dispensed pearls of wisdom as America's quintessential mom on “Leave it to Beaver,” has died at age 94, a family spokeswoman said Saturday.

GOP cash threatens to swamp Dems  —  It doesn't pay to be a Democratic incumbent in 2010.  —  House and Senate Democrats — all the way up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — are being outraised by GOP rivals as the cash follows the momentum.

2 Top Candidates Skip G.O.P. Rally  —  ANAHEIM, Calif. — What if you held a voter turnout rally and the top candidates on the ballot didn't show up?  —  Michael Steele, the Republican National Committee chairman, and Sarah Palin, arguably the biggest draw in the Republican Party …

At Fiorina event, McCain doesn't hide disdain for Boxer — she's ‘bitterly partisan’ and ‘anti-defense’  —  Former Republican presidential contender John McCain reunited with his onetime advisor Carly Fiorina on the campaign trail Saturday in San Diego, offering a blistering indictment …

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.

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.

Rasmussen Predicts GOP Gain of 55 in House  —  Newport Beach, Calif.—Nationally-recognized pollster Scott Rasmussen last night predicted that Republicans would gain 55 seats in races for the U.S. House of Representatives November 2—much more than the 39 needed for a Republican majority in the House for the first time since 2006.