Boot the Blue Dogs  —  IN 2008, Barack Obama's presidential campaign seemed to rewrite all the rules in electoral politics and herald a new progressive era in America.  Democrats assembled a huge Congressional majority and, in the euphoria that followed the historic election, were poised to enact sweeping change.

Jerry Brown's lead doubles in a month; little change in Senate race  —  Meg Whitman's handling of housekeeper scandal and record-breaking spending have cost her support among women, Latinos and independents.  Barbara Boxer maintains an 8-point lead over Carly Fiorina.

Lefty academics convene in Berkeley to try to make sense of the Tea Party movement.  —  BERKELEY, Calif.—On the night before we are scheduled to address this conference, the Tea Party experts are treated to a meal at the Faculty Club.  It sounds fancy, and it is, with the feel and décor of a Sundance ski lodge.

What Happened to Change We Can Believe In?  —  PRESIDENT Obama, the Rodney Dangerfield of 2010, gets no respect for averting another Great Depression, for saving 3.3 million jobs with stimulus spending, or for salvaging GM and Chrysler from the junkyard.  And none of these good deeds …

Crist, Meek try to paint Rubio as too extreme in Sunday Senate debate  —  Kendrick Meek and Charlie Crist joined forces Sunday to try paint their opponent and the Florida Senate race front-runner, Marco Rubio, as too extreme for voters.  —  Appearing on CNN's “State of the Union” …

Putting a Price on Professors  —  A battle in Texas over whether academic value can be measured in dollars and cents.  —  Carol Johnson took the podium of a lecture hall one recent morning to walk 79 students enrolled in an introductory biology course through diffusion, osmosis and the phospholipid bilayer of cell membranes.

Now Isn't the Time to Cut the Deficit  —  THE clamor to cut the budget deficit is deafening.  Blue Dog Democrats, Tea Party Republicans and doomsday economists are calling for immediate action.  And the demands for austerity coming from abroad are even louder.

In Losing the Midterms, There May Be Winning  —  WASHINGTON — Let there be no mistake: President Obama wants the Democrats to win next week's midterm elections.  His voice has gone hoarse telling every audience that from Delaware to Oregon.  But let's also acknowledge this …

Homophobia-phobia and Carl Paladino  —  The Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco celebrated gay pride by featuring men in leather, posing as the disciples of Jesus at the Last Supper with whips, chains and sex toys on a Michelangelo-like table.  Gay men bumped and ground each other on floats...as others simulated oral sex.

Palin: Americans fear Obama policies  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) refuted President Obama Saturday, saying that Americans are afraid of Democratic policies coming out of Washington.  —  Speaking at a campaign rally in Orlando, Fla., the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee argued …