NEWSWEEK Poll: Obama Approval Rating Jumps, Democrats Close ‘Enthusiasm Gap’  —  As the president's numbers climb sharply, results suggest that Democrats may be succeeding in firing up their base.  —  Obama feels the love at a Seattle rally for Sen. Patty Murray.

‘Airplane!’ director cuts ad poking fun at Boxer for 'ma'am' exchange  —  David Zucker directed the “Call Me Senator” spot for Right Change, a 527 and 501(c)4 organization.  —  A well-known Hollywood producer and director has cut an ad against Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) …

CBO Confirms: ObamaCare Discourages Work  —  Congressional Budget Office director Doug Elmendorf said Friday that ObamaCare includes work disincentives likely to shrink the amount of labor used in the economy.  —  In a speech on ObamaCare's economic impact outside the health care sector …

Barack and Michelle's Mumbai darshan plans  —  US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle will be extremely busy in Mumbai, upon landing on November 6 for a two day India visit.  As the world's most powerful man and his wife zip around the city visiting the 26/11 memorial on Marine Drive …

LMV official: Pledge of Allegiance demand ‘phony patriotism’  —  The crowd breaks into the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of Wednesday night's candidates forum with 8th Congressional District candidates Joe Walsh, Melissa Bean and Bill Scheurer at Grayslake Central High School.  —  BOB CHWEDYK

Man Fired for Wearing Bush Sweatshirt at Obama Rally ***UPDATED  —  (USC) — Don't try wearing a Bush hat or sweatshirt at an Obama rally.  —  Duane Hammond says it's what got him fired.  Hammond is a union stagehand who was part of the crew that built the platform for the Obama event on campus.

Professional Petitioners Aid Ballot Initiatives  —  CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — At 5-foot-4, with a pot belly and graying beard, Charlie Chavez does not look particularly scary.  —  But on a recent autumn day, striding toward a woman in a supermarket parking lot, clipboard in hand, he might as well have been a zombie.

The Iraq Archive: The Strands of a War  —  A huge trove of secret field reports from the battlegrounds of Iraq sheds new light on the war, including such fraught subjects as civilian deaths, detainee abuse and the involvement of Iran.  —  The secret archive is the second such cache obtained …

NPR's firing of Juan Williams wrong, but not excuse to take away funding from public radio  —  Juan Williams is right; NPR was way off base firing him for having expressed himself on a TV show.  But some are going too far in Williams' name; they vindictively want to totally de-fund …

Big Problem for Banks: Due Process  —  Earlier this week, Bank of America, the nation's largest consumer bank, reported its third-quarter earnings.  It was a very good quarter; putting aside an accounting charge — a very large, $10.4 billion accounting charge, admittedly — the bank reported $3.1 billion in profits.

Adam Gadahn, Al Qaeda's American mouthpiece, urges wannabe terrorists to go it alone  —  WASHINGTON - Al Qaeda's American mouthpiece Saturday urged wannabe terrorists in a new video to act alone instead of trying to join cells attempting 9/11-type spectacular strikes.

Harry Reid mans up for Lilly Ledbetter  —  Most readers know that Lilly Ledbetter is the woman whose courageous battle has led to progress, though not enough progress, for women receiving equal pay for equal work.  Recently, Ledbetter stood side by side with one of her greatest supporters …

Biden to campaign for Rep. Grayson  —  Vice President Biden will campaign for controversial Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) next week in Florida.  —  Biden will attend an event on Monday for the first-term Democratic lawmaker, who's made waves during his term in Congress by taking outspoken liberal stances on issues.

Rep. Peter DeFazio Investigating Impeachment For Chief Justice John Roberts  —  What's Your Reaction: … With Democrats increasingly outraged over the Supreme Court's Citizen United decision that allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections — a change conservatives have been more successful …

Support For Veterans Shows Sharp Partisan Divide  —  According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America Action Fund, Republicans in Congress have dramatically failed to support our troops after they come home.  IAVA's 2010 Veteran Report Card …

Broadband Matters  —  Jay Ackroyd convinced me I should make explicit something that's only implicit in yesterday's post on the vast consumer surplus associated with digital media, namely that the case for some form of subsidization of fast internet access is very strong.

Pawlenty needles Obama upon campaign stop in Minnesota  —  Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) needled President Obama upon his planned campaign stop in the state on Saturday.  —  Pawlenty, a potential Republican candidate to challenge Obama in 2012, leveled criticisms against the president …

What's the Big Idea?  —  I started this blog shortly after George Bush was reelected, and though many people assume that it was the presence of Republicans in power that was the primary motivation, that isn't the whole story.  That was part of the motivation, no doubt, but there were two other factors that were more important.

Ridiculous: Wasserman-Schultz protested outside Allen West's HQ  —  Everyone remembers how Allen West was associated with a biker group named the “Outlaw Gang” but is not really a member.  However, Klein used an encounter West had with the group to demean him.

Bill's Frustration  —  A report surfaced today that Bill Clinton is frustrated as heck that the Dems can't manage to get a coherent or persuasive message together for the midterms.  And he's even doing what he can to get together good talking points for candidates and stump in all the right places …

Will the GOP Compromise After the Election?  Well, Why Should They?  —  You can tell the Democrats are in trouble in November because the “Will a GOP Majority Compromise” stories are starting to dribble out.  Here's one from The Hill that puts Mike Pence on record as saying not just “No” …