Clarence Thomas's Wife Asks Anita Hill for Apology  —  WASHINGTON - Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, left a message last weekend on the voicemail of Anita Hill, who accused her husband of sexual harassment during his confirmation hearings, a spokeswoman for Ms. Thomas confirmed on Tuesday.

Historic Illiteracy: Idiot Sarah Palin “Party Like It's 1773” After The Election!  —  OMG, will this blithering idiot ever shut up?! … I mean, 1773?!  WOW.  Glad I wasn't the only one who caught this latest Palin gaffe:  —  And finally, channeling the Insane Clown Posse:

Military to accept openly gay recruits  —  WASHINGTON — Openly gay recruits can now join the military as a result of a federal court ruling striking down the “don't ask, don't tell” law, but they are being warned that they can still be discharged if the ruling is overturned.

O'Donnell questions separation of church, state  —  WILMINGTON, Del. — Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware on Tuesday questioned whether the U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state, appearing to disagree or not know that the First Amendment bars the government from establishing religion.

Democrats bank on early voting to bridge enthusiasm gap  —  LAS VEGAS - Walter Grimsley woke up Saturday morning and remembered he had an errand to run.  He had to go vote.  —  The government retiree's phone had been ringing every few hours with reminder calls from Democratic volunteers.

Poll Watchers Claim Harassment And Intimidation At Houston, Texas Voting Places  —  Mediaite's Tommy Christopher reports voter intimidation in Harris County, Texas (Houston) by volunteer poll watchers trained by King Street Patriots, a local non-partisan group who started the True The Vote campaign.

Barney Frank gives $200K to his campaign  —  Longtime Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank has given his re-election campaign $200,000 as he faces his toughest race in years.  —  A campaign finance report filed Tuesday showed that Frank, the chairman of the powerful House Financial Services committee, lent himself the money Tuesday.

Secretive Republican Donors Are Planning Ahead  —  A secretive network of Republican donors is heading to the Palm Springs area for a long weekend in January, but it will not be to relax after a hard-fought election — it will be to plan for the next one.  —  Koch Industries …

Taliban's Elite, Aided by NATO, Join Talks for Afghan Peace  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Talks to end the war in Afghanistan involve extensive, face-to-face discussions with Taliban commanders from the highest levels of the group's leadership, who are secretly leaving their sanctuaries in Pakistan …

China Is Said to Halt Exports to U.S. of Some Key Minerals  —  HONG KONG — China, which has been blocking shipments of crucial minerals to Japan for the last month, has now quietly halted shipments of some of those same materials to the United States and Europe, three industry officials said on Tuesday.

Afternoon Fix: Dem poll shows Conway 49, Paul 47; Republicans hit Reid for Ritz-y lifestyle; McMahon has spent more than $40 million  —  Make sure to sign up to get “Afternoon Fix” in your e-mail inbox every day by 5 (ish) p.m.!  —  EARLIER ON THE FIX  —  Fix Daily Poll: What is the nastiest race of 2010?

Meet Jimmy McMillan, Founder and ‘CEO’ of the Rent Is 2 Damn High Party  —  Did you watch the debate between candidates for Governor of New York?  Did you see the man with, uh, unique facial hair?  Who wore gloves the whole time?  That's Jimmy McMillan, candidate for the Rent Is 2 Damn High Party.

They Want Him For A New Recruit  —  I just spent an hour and 45 minutes at the military-recruitment station in Times Square, where former Lt. Dan Choi attempted to enlist in the Marines.  Honorably discharged from the Army under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Choi told me he'd always dreamed of being a Marine …

Sparks Fly Between Nikki Haley, Vincent Sheheen in S.C. Governor's Debate  —  ABC News' Devin Dwyer reports: In their first televised debate, South Carolina gubernatorial candidates Nikki Haley and Vincent Sheheen battled Tuesday over who would restore integrity to state government and revive …

GOP in Lead in Final Lap  —  A vigorous post-Labor Day Democratic offensive has failed to diminish the resurgent Republicans' lead among likely voters, leaving the GOP poised for major gains in congressional elections two weeks away, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Univision shuts down 'Don't Vote' ad  —  The Spanish-language network Univision has refused to air an ad from a GOP-led Hispanic group telling Hispanic voters to sit out the race between Sharron Angle and Harry Reid.  —  “Univision will not be running any spots from Latinos for Reform related to voting …

Virginia Beach Republican Committee Chair Forwards Racist Email  —  David Bartholomew, Chair of the Virginia Beach Republican Committee, has been forwarding around a “joke” via email.  The only problem, other than the fact that it's not particularly funny, is that it's blatantly racist.  Check it out.

Sarah Palin's Tweet: A Typo or Something Worse?  —  Earlier this morning, Sarah Palin tweeted: … And ... within an hour, this had become a news story.  Palin confused Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey with John Raese (or Pennsylvania with West Virginia).

Obama to appear on ‘The Daily Show’  —  President is set to tape appearance on Oct. 27  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is taking his campaign message to “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart.  —  White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer says Obama is taping an appearance on Oct. 27, just days before the Nov. 2 elections.

Remarks by the President at a DSCC Dinner in Rockville, Maryland  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, everybody.  Thank you so much.  It is wonderful to see all of you.  Rajeev and Seema and your wonderful children, thank you for your extraordinary hospitality — and bringing your mom, who I love.