Confusion was the word of the day on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” this morning when the panel questioned why so many women have been drawn to the Tea Party movement.  —  Co-host Mika Brzezinski, The New York Times' Sam Tanenhaus, CBS's Lesley Stahl, columnist Mike Barnicle, and Newsweek's Jon Meacham …

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.

Political theater but no fireworks in NY gubernatorial debate  —  (CNN) - New York's gubernatorial debate lived up to its expectation that it would be political theater as Republican candidate Carl Paladino faced Democrat Andrew Cuomo for the first time in a debate in a race making headlines for its nasty tone.

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.

Gregg: Repeal not best tactic on health reform  —  A top Senate Republican suggested Monday night that the party's prevailing strategies to curtail the new healthcare law might not be good ideas.  —  Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee …

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 …

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 …

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 …

U.S. Pushes to Ease Technical Obstacles to Wiretapping  —  WASHINGTON — Law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, citing lapses in compliance with surveillance orders, are pushing to overhaul a federal law that requires phone and broadband carriers to ensure that their networks can be wiretapped, federal officials say.

Citing health care law, Boeing pares employee plan  —  WASHINGTON - Aerospace giant Boeing is joining the list of companies that say the new health care law could have a potential downside for their workers.  —  In a letter mailed to employees late last week, the company cited the overhaul …

Kasich Holds Off Strickland In Ohio Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Independent Voters Back Republican Almost 2-1  —  Republican John Kasich remains in command of the Ohio governor's race with a 51 - 41 percent likely voter lead over Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland …

Cooperation vs. Confrontation: Do Nice Guys Finish First?  —  Obama Seen as More Cooperative Than Other Political Players  —  If nice guys finished first, Barack Obama might be riding high.  —  So suggests the latest ABC News/Yahoo! News poll, in which Obama far outpoints other players …

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) …

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.

THE MOST ‘FRIENDED’ CANDIDATES  —  It may be sad, but it's probably true: The future of elections might come down to who has the most Facebook friends.  —  There's a new site up that tracks the Facebook friends of this year's candidates.  We've combed the numbers for the most “friended” politicos around:

From Obama, the Tax Cut Nobody Heard Of  —  HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — What if a president cut Americans' income taxes by $116 billion and nobody noticed?  —  It is not a rhetorical question.  At Pig Pickin' and Politickin', a barbecue-fed rally organized here last week by a Republican women's club …

Just Coming Right Out & Saying It  —  There are a lot of subterranean efforts afoot around the country right now to suppress the vote of various racial minorities.  But a group styling itself Latinos for Reform is taken a more straightforward approach: their running ads in Nevada asking Latino voters simply not to vote.

It's Official: Obama Has Now Borrowed $3 Trillion  —  It's official: The Obama administration has now borrowed $3 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.  —  It took from 1776, when the United States became an independent country, until 1990, the year after the Berlin Wall fell signaling victory …

In Kansas, Climate Skeptics Embrace Cleaner Energy  —  SALINA, Kan. — Residents of this deeply conservative city do not put much stock in scientific predictions of climate change.  —  “Don't mention global warming,” warned Nancy Jackson, chairwoman of the Climate and Energy Project …

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 …

Democrats' Grip on the South Continues to Slip  —  JONESBORO, Ark. — The Southern white Democrat, long on the endangered list, is at risk of being pushed one step closer to extinction.  —  From Virginia to Florida and South Carolina to Texas, nearly two dozen Democratic seats are susceptible …

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 …