Albany Governor Debate Verges on Farce  —  The moderators' questions were frequently ignored.  The candidates barely looked at one another.  One wore black gloves and spoke of himself repeatedly in the third person.  And Andrew M. Cuomo, the Democratic candidate and the race's front-runner, at times struggled to suppress laughter.

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 …

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 …

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.

Judge tentatively rejects 'don't ask, don't tell' stay request  —  The federal government had asked to delay enforcement of the ruling allowing gays to serve openly in the military.  A final decision is expected Tuesday.  —  A federal judge in Riverside who declared the military's “don't ask …

Gregg: Repeal not best tactic on healthcare law  —  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 …

National Debt Up $3 Trillion on Obama's Watch  —  New numbers posted today on the Treasury Department website show the National Debt has increased by more than $3 trillion since President Obama took office.  —  The National Debt stood at $10.626 trillion the day Mr. Obama was inaugurated.

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 taking a more straightforward approach: they're running ads in Nevada asking Latino voters simply not to vote.

Ick-arus Syndrome  —  Do poor ratings for ‘Parker Spitzer’ mean viewers have yet to forgive the former governor?  —  “Struggling cable news net CNN has fallen to another 10-year low in terms of ratings,” MediaBuyerPlanner reported last week. … This isn't the way it was supposed to happen.

Barack Obama cuts radio ad for Barbara Boxer  —  President Barack Obama urges Californians to “get out and vote for Barbara Boxer” in a new radio ad being aired across the state by the Democratic senator's campaign.  —  “Barbara Boxer is fighting every single day for jobs …

That Sinking Feeling  —  Barack Obama seems to think he's done a pretty terrific job as president, but maybe he hasn't trumpeted his accomplishments effectively enough.  —  He told The Times's Peter Baker, in an interview for the Sunday magazine, “Given how much stuff was coming at us …

Helpless Liberals Watch as Obama Switches from Messiah to Demon  —  BEGIN TRANSCRIPT  —  RUSH: I don't care where you look today, folks.  Everywhere in the State-Controlled Media, this election is being reported as a Democrat disaster.  Anywhere from 55 to 70, maybe 80 seats in the House …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A Brief Update on 116 House Races  —  As promised, here is a quick update on that May list of 99 open seats or vulnerable Democrats.  As you can see, quite a few have been added; we're now up to 116.  However, this list includes some races that appeared as potentially competitive earlier and now aren't …

Rich professors doth protest too much  —  President Barack Obama plans to raise taxes on “the rich,” and he defines rich as those making more than $250,000 a year.  Two professors at prestigious universities have started brush fires on the Web during the past couple of weeks by taking issue and offering themselves as examples.

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:

Ruling on Health Law Is Due by End of Year  —  RICHMOND, Va. — A federal judge said Monday that he would rule by the end of the year on the constitutionality of the new health care law, as lawyers for the Obama administration and the Commonwealth of Virginia debated whether the entire 2,700-page act …

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 …