Keith Olbermann contributed to three Democrats  —  MSNBC host Keith Olbermann made campaign contributions to two Arizona members of Congress and failed Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway ahead of Tuesday's election — a potential violation of NBC ethics policies.

Rasmussen Polls Were Biased and Inaccurate; Quinnipiac, SurveyUSA Performed Strongly  —  Every election cycle has its winners and losers: not just the among the candidates, but also the pollsters.  —  On Tuesday, polls conducted by the firm Rasmussen Reports — which released more than 100 surveys …

Sen. Patty Murray wins fourth term  —  Democrat Patty Murray has won a fourth term to the U.S. Senate.  Her Republican challenger, Dino Rossi, conceded the race Thursday evening after new vote totals showed Murray widening her lead.  —  Sen. Patty Murray has won a fourth term …

October Employment Report: 151,000 Jobs, 9.6% Unemployment Rate  —  From the BLS: … Both August and September payroll employment were revised up.  —  Click on graph for larger image.  —  This graph shows the unemployment rate vs. recessions.  The unemployment rate has been stuck at 9.6% for three straight months.

Tea Party Flexes Muscle with Republicans  —  WASHINGTON — The incoming leadership of the new House Republican majority hardly had a chance to relish its dismantling of the Democrats before the Tea Party came calling in the form of Representative Michele Bachmann.

Republicans try to keep it simple  —  1. Incoming House Speaker John A. Boehner (Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) seem to have quickly adopted a strategy for their swelled congressional ranks: Keep it simple.  —  Both Boehner, in an interview with Fox News Channel …

ABC News Exclusive: Nancy Pelosi Seriously Considers Staying as Democratic Leader  —  In the Wake of Tuesday's Shellacking, the Current Speaker May Remain in Congress and in Leadership  —  In the wake of Tuesday's shellacking, outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-CA …

Obama: “Leadership Isn't Just Legislation”  —  Tells Steve Kroft About His Administration's Failure In His First 1-on1 Interview Since The Midterm Elections  —  (CBS) President Obama tells “60 Minutes” correspondent Steve Kroft that one of the reasons the electorate has become disenchanted …

A return to the norm  —  For all the turmoil, the spectacle, the churning - for all the old bulls slain and fuzzy-cheeked freshmen born - the great Republican wave of 2010 is simply a return to the norm.  The tide had gone out; the tide came back.  A center-right country restores …

The Focus Hocus-Pocus  —  Democrats, declared Evan Bayh in an Op-Ed article on Wednesday in The Times, “overreached by focusing on health care rather than job creation during a severe recession.”  Many others have been saying the same thing: the notion that the Obama administration erred …

Conservative Recount Alert!  — Etheridge Asks for Recount  —  Dear Supporters, Election night, after the ten counties in my district had reported their votes, I led Bob Etheridge by 2,100 votes.  (That number is crucial because under North Carolina law Congressman Etheridge is not entitled …

How QE works  —  Gawker's John Cook asks me a question about how the Fed's quantitative easing is supposed to work: … John has a few of the details wrong, but at heart he's absolutely right.  The way that QE works is that the Fed will publish a schedule of how many Treasury bonds it intends to buy and when.

Sarah Palin Complains About Invasion Of Her Privacy On First Episode Of Her Reality Show (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — The first episode of Sarah Palin's new show, “Sarah Palin's Alaska,” has been placed online and it starts with what is now a familiar lament …

Can The GOP Really Wait Until Next Year To Shut Down The Government?  —  Those who think the Republicans in the House and Senate have several months to get organized are seriously misreading the political tea leaves.  —  Even though the smaller Senate GOP minority and House Republican majority …

The Empire Strikes Back  —  The GOP picks up six Senate seats.  Let the recriminations begin!  —  Incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet has been called the winner of Colorado's Senate race, which puts the Republican gain at six seats, assuming Sen. Patty Murray of Washington holds on to her lead over Republican Dino Rossi.

Rep. Van Hollen done as chairman of DCCC  —  Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) said he's finished at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) after two terms as its chairman.  —  Van Hollen said he wasn't interested in serving another two years as the leader of House Democrats' campaign efforts …

No, Obama's not taking 34 Navy ships to India with him  —  I'm relieved to say that we didn't bite on this one, notwithstanding Drudge's touting of it today.  I did, though, link in Headlines the stories about his trip allegedly costing $200 million(!!!) per day and his team booking every room in a five-star hotel in Mumbai.

GOP: Gay Old Party?  More gays voted Republican than in 2008  —  If you want more data that gay men and lesbians are pretty much just like everyone else — worried about the economy, freaked out about the direction of the country and perhaps ticked at the slow pace of change with regard …