Pa. Democrat admits helping Tea Party candidate  —  A Pennsylvania Democratic House candidate on Tuesday admitted to helping a third candidate get on the ballot in the hopes he would siphon votes away from his Republican opponent.  —  Bryan Lentz, the Democratic nominee running for the seat …

Clarence Thomas's Wife Asks Anita Hill for Apology  —  WASHINGTON — Nearly 20 years after Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Justice Thomas's wife has called Ms. Hill, seeking an apology.

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 …

Making Ignorance Chic  —  Casanova's rule for seduction was to tell a beautiful woman she was intelligent and an intelligent woman she was beautiful.  —  The false choice between intellectualism and sexuality in women has persisted through the ages.  There was no more poignant victim of it than Marilyn Monroe.

Sold-Out Crowd Gives Former President Bush Three Standing Ovations During Speech  —  Former President George W. Bush pulled back the curtain of the Oval Office and gave East Texans a picture of what his job was like during the high and low points.  —  With trademark humor and conviction …

Soros Donates $1 Million to Media Matters  —  Media Matters, the liberal activist group that wages a rhetorical war against Fox News Channel and others in the conservative press, will announce on Wednesday the receipt of a $1 million donation from the philanthropist George Soros.

Rachel Maddow at Most Shameless: Claims GOP Congressman ‘Received Advance Notice’ of Oklahoma City Bombing  —  “Lean Forward,” MSNBC's new slogan suggests.  The better to stick a shiv in your opponent's back.  —  Ethics-averse Rachel Maddow did exactly that on her MSNBC show last night.

Virginia 4th-grade textbook criticized over claims on black Confederate soldiers  —  A textbook distributed to Virginia fourth-graders says that thousands of African Americans fought for the South during the Civil War — a claim rejected by most historians but often made by groups seeking …

Pelosi's Favorable Rating as Speaker Drops to 29%, a New Low  —  Nearly 6 in 10 independents now view her unfavorably  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's favorable rating is down seven percentage points since May to 29%, a new low for her since assuming the top congressional post.

Christine O'Donnell Stuns Audience With 1st Amendment Gaffe  —  Just when you thought Christine O'Donnell, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Delaware, could do nothing further to top herself, she does.  —  At a Tuesday morning debate with her Democratic rival Chris Coons …

Poll: Joe Sestak overtakes Pat Toomey  —  New U.S. Senate poll shows Democrat with three-point lead.  —  WASHINGTON — Joe Sestak has pulled ahead of Pat Toomey after trailing for months in their closely watched Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race, an independent poll confirms.

You Knew They'd Hit The Wrong Markey Eventually  —  UPDATE #2: Rep. Ed Markey (the Democrat from Massachusetts — the male Markey) chimes in with his own quote: … UPDATE: We've created this handy-dandy tool that allows you to quickly figure out which Markey you are trying to discuss …

Is Obama Skipping Temple Over Headgear?  —  From Russell Goldman and Jake Tapper:  —  On an upcoming trip to India, President Obama will skip visiting one of the country's most sacred shrines out of fear that wearing the requisite headgear might make him appear Muslim, according to reports from the United States and India.

Just Knock It Off  —  Some of Israel's worst critics are fond of saying that Israel behaves like America's spoiled child.  I've always found that analogy excessive.  Say what you want about Israel's obstinacy at times, it remains the only country in the United Nations that another U.N. member …

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.

Ex-Congressman Linked to Chandra Levy Writing Book  —  In a law office in an upscale section of Los Angeles, an unfinished yet potentially explosive book manuscript by a controversial figure, former U.S. Rep. Gary Condit, sits in a safe.  —  “I've read it.

As G.O.P. Seeks Spending Cuts, Details Are Scarce  —  WASHINGTON — In Indiana, Representative Mike Pence, the No. 3 House Republican, complains about “runaway federal spending on steroids.”  —  In Alaska, the Republican candidate for the Senate, Joe Miller, talks about “out of control spending.”

Dark money: Super PACs fueled by $97.5 million that can't be traced to donors  —  Of the $189 million spent so far by Super PACs, non-profits and labor unions to influence the 2010 mid-term elections, $97.5 million has come from groups that do not disclose any donors, an analysis …

Republicans Kind of Suck ... Which Is Why They Will Win Huge in November  —  Because in the Democratic land of epic, mega, ultra, apocalyptic levels of sucking, those who kinda suck are king.  —  This election season has been hard on pundits.  The Democrats are going to get massacred in November …

CORKER: GOP WON'T REPEAL OBAMACARE  —  Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) recently told a group of high-dollar GOP donors that Senate Republicans would not move to fully repeal President Obama's health care law next year, according to multiple sources who attended the event.