Top Items:

The Conway Rorschach — I'm fascinated by the divide among Democrats in reaction to Jack Conway's fusillade over the weekend against Rand Paul. I first saw the ‘Aqua Buddha’ ad late Saturday afternoon in an email blast from Conway campaign. And my jaw dropped.
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The Nastiest Debate Of 2010 In 2:44 (VIDEO) — Last night's Kentucky Senate debate was one of the most brutal of the year, hands down. Though the forum included talk of the health care bill, illegal immigration, the economy and energy legislation, most of the talk was about Republican nominee Rand Paul's days in college.
Discussion:
Guardian, Mediaite, The Plum Line, Rough Sketch, Firedoglake, MyDD, The Atlantic Online and msnbc.com


Why The Fuss About Jack Conway? — I'm a little taken aback by how taken aback some people are over Jack Conway's hit on Rand Paul: — This ad has the virtue—not that common in politics—of being accurate. It also has the virtue of raising actual policy issues about the consequences of Paul's position on tax reform.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute and The New Republic

KY-Sen: What's wrong with the ad?
Discussion:
The New Republic, The Note, The Reality-Based Community, Washington Monthly and Talking Points Memo

Claire McCaskill: Jack Conway ad ‘very dangerous’
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Caucus, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, National Review, Wake up America, Moe Lane, RedState and Associated Press

Angle to Hispanic children: “Some of you look a little more Asian to me” — As more of the video surfaces from GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle's meeting last week with Rancho High School's Hispanic kids, the more bizarre it gets. Elsewhere on this blog, I have posted the video of her claiming …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Washington Monthly, RHRealityCheck.org, The Note, Salon, Crooks and Liars, The Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, ABCNEWS, The Washington Independent, USA Today, New York Magazine, Colorlines, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Washington Post and msnbc.com
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ABC News Exclusive: Tea Party Candidate in Nevada Senate May Tip the Scales in Reid's Favor — ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports: — Scott Ashjian calls himself the “Tea Party of Nevada” candidate for U.S. Senate, but he tells ABC News that he would be “at peace” knowing he helped re-elect Harry Reid …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, CBS News, The Politico, Raw Story, YID With LID and TPMDC

Palin fires up Tea Partiers to launch bus tour
Discussion:
The Politico, Weasel Zippers, CNN and Anchorage Daily News


Sharron Angle: My ads aren't referring to Mexico, except when they clearly are
Discussion:
Zandar Versus The Stupid, TPMDC, The Reaction and msnbc.com


Joe Miller: “If East Germany could, we could.” — I went to the Joe Miller town hall this afternoon at Central Middle School. It was an interesting session, about 175 people, and I was impressed with how courteous, for the most part, the audience was with several questions from people who were clearly not Miller supporters.
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Alaska Politics Blog
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Little Green Footballs, New York Magazine, Salon and The BRAD BLOG


Joe Miller On Securing The Border: ‘If East Germany Could, We Could’ (VIDEO)
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos, Harry's Place and KTUU-TV

Joe Miller responds on job questions
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blog, The Politico, TPMDC, POLISING and Daily Kos


Guy gets revenge on ex-girlfriend on CSPAN2 — When the audience gathered for a Book TV discussion of Jonah Goldberg's new book, “Proud to be Right,” they got more than your average CSPAN fare. — It turns out panelists Todd Seavey and Helen Rittelmeyer, both contributors to Goldberg's collection …
Discussion:
Politics Daily, Salon, Wonkette, FishbowlDC, Mediaite, Hot Air, The Other McCain, Swampland, The New Republic and TPM LiveWire

URGENT: VFW DISSOLVES PAC BOARD! — This, from last week, is just now making it to my in-box. THIS IS WHAT WAS NEEDED ALL ALONG- Download Memo to council - new ballot Oct 10 … This, after the Ladies Auxilery withdrew all funding support for the PAC (which, I'm told, is a good chunk of it) …
Discussion:
Big Peace, Gateway Pundit, Beltway Confidential and Weigel
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VFW NATIONAL COMMANDER MOVES FOR DISSOLUTION OF POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
Discussion:
The Politico

GOP Holds Solid Leads in Voter Preferences for Another Week — Gallup trends from prior midterm years suggest shifts are still possible — PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup's tracking of the generic ballot for Congress finds Republicans leading Democrats by 5 percentage points among registered voters …
Discussion:
The Hill, Top of the Ticket, The Other McCain, Viking Pundit, JammieWearingFool and Wake up America

Obama to Appear on “Mythbusters” — For a president under siege, maybe this could help. — In an episode of “Mythbusters” on the Discovery Channel to be shown on Dec. 8, President Obama will help determine whether the Greek scientist Archimedes really set fire to an invading Roman fleet using …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The New Republic, HillBuzz, Wonkette, Mediaite, Hot Air, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Dot Earth, The Powers That Be, iOwnTheWorld.com and Althouse
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He's Doing What?! Barack Obama To Appear On Discovery Channel's ‘Mythbusters’
Discussion:
PopEater

Obama: 15 Senate seats ‘up for grabs’ — President Obama implored supporters on Monday for donations to help Democrats in the 15 Senate seats he said were “up for grabs” on Nov. 2. — The president painted a picture of an expansive map of competitive Senate races in a fundraising e-mail …
Discussion:
The Politico, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, Washington Wire, Gateway Pundit, Washington Post and JammieWearingFool
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Judge Skeptical of Govt. Arguments — If a Monday afternoon federal court hearing in Riverside, Calif., was any indication, a recent judicial ruling barring any enforcement of the “don't ask, don't tell” policy will remain in effect unless a higher court intervenes.
Discussion:
skippy the bush kangaroo, Pam's House Blend and Towleroad News #gay


Meet Joe Miller's Thugs: Drop Zone Security — If you went to bed early tonight, you may have missed one of the most wonderful gifts that the Teabaggers have ever given to the Democrats: Alaskan GOP Senate candidate, Joe Miller. — If you wanna catch up on Joe's recent antics …
Discussion:
TPMDC, Little Green Footballs, Progressive Alaska and Talking Points Memo


Dennis Menaced? — Is Kucinich in trouble? — THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained the results of a private poll conducted last night in Ohio-10, the Cleveland-area district held for seven terms by Democrat Dennis Kucinich. Kucinich has been widely viewed as safe—even though he fell short …
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, HillBuzz, Ben Smith's Blog, Real Clear Politics and Gateway Pundit


Former surgeon general calls for marijuana legalization — (CNN) — Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders told CNN Sunday she supports legalizing marijuana. — The trend-setting state of California is voting next month on a ballot initiative to legalize pot, also known as Proposition 19.
Discussion:
Neptunus Lex, skippy the bush kangaroo and Liberty Pundits Blog

In Climate Denial, Again — Former Vice President Dick Cheney has to be smiling. With one exception, none of the Republicans running for the Senate — including the 20 or so with a serious chance of winning — accept the scientific consensus that humans are largely responsible for global warming.


How Obama sabotaged Middle East peace talks — For 15 years and more, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas conducted peace talks with Israel in the absence of a freeze on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Now, it appears as likely as not that his newborn negotiations …
Discussion:
AmSpecBlog and Commentary


The Ludicrous Lies of Robert Spencer — If you've read anything by Robert Spencer, you already know that he will blatantly lie when cornered. — Today he responds to my piece for the Guardian, with a ridiculous article that calls Pamela Geller a defamed freedom fighter.
Discussion:
Jihad Watch, Atlas Shrugs, Guardian, The Atlantic Online and Dennis the Peasant

Epitaph For An Administration … Surely this can serve as a generic statement: … Stimulus, bank rescue, China, foreclosure; it applies all along. At each point there were arguments for not acting; but the cumulative effect has been drift, and a looming catastrophe in the midterms.
Discussion:
Dennis the Peasant

Many Chamber ads attacking House Dems contain debunked falsehoods, distortions — UPDATE, 1:57 p.m.: The Chamber has responded to all these fact checks with a detailed rebuttal, which you can read right here. — ORIGINAL POST: — Last week I noted that the ads that have been bankrolled …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Monthly, iOwnTheWorld.com, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

The Wars That America Forgot About — IN what promises to be the most contentious midterm election since 1994, there is no shortage of passion about big issues facing the country: the place and nature of the federal government in America's future; public debt; jobs; health care …
Discussion:
RedState, Daniel W. Drezner and Mother Jones

John McCain: Sarah Palin Similar To Ronald Reagan — McCain Gives an Exclusive Interview to 'Nightline's' Terry Moran on Sen. Barbara Boxer, the Obama Administration and Sarah Palin — Sen. John McCain is not afraid to use fighting words. — After lashing out at Sen. Barbara Boxer …