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 …

‘Obama Has Turned Out to Be an Utter Disaster’  —  Karl Rove was one of President George W. Bush's closest advisers.  SPIEGEL spoke with the political analyst about the widespread anger against Barack Obama and the prospects of Tea Party success in the coming midterm elections.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

U.S. Military Moves to Accept Gay Recruits  —  The United States military, for the first time, is allowing its recruiters to accept openly gay and lesbian applicants.  —  The historic move follows a series of decisions by a federal judge in California, Virginia A. Phillips …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Revealed: Joe Miller hired security company whose owner is local commander and supplier of extreme Alaska militia, led by AIP-member Norm Olson  —  Investigating Joe Miller turns out to be a lot of fun.  The skeletons in his closet ALMOST match those of Sarah Palin.

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.

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 …

Rise of the bitter clingers  —  Many of my more enlightened friends like to ask me: How could someone as intellectually gifted, delightfully urbane, profoundly moral and breathlessly handsome not want to spit at these stupid Tea Party candidates with their stupid positions and their stupid stupidity?

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.”

Wall Street Bailout Returns 8.2% Profit Beating Treasury Bonds  —  The U.S. government's bailout of financial firms through the Troubled Asset Relief Program provided taxpayers with higher returns than they could have made buying 30-year Treasury bonds — enough money to fund the Securities …

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 …

Dems Cut Members Adrift  —  The Democratic Congressional Committee is spending millions of dollars in key districts around the country on late independent expenditures, demonstrating the districts Democrats believe can be saved from a national wave — and the members the party believes …