Occupy Wall Street: ‘Pepper-spray’ officer named in Bush protest claim  —  Anthony Bologna, NYPD officer named in pepper-spray incident, is accused of civil rights violations at the time of the 2004 Republican national convention protests  —  A senior New York police officer accused …

MSNBC Is Close to Falling to Third Place in Cable News Ratings  —  How badly has MSNBC been hurt by the loss of Keith Olbermann?  Enough, apparently, to be on the verge of falling back into third place among the cable news networks.  —  The ratings results for the month of September show that CNN …

Huntsman: ‘We are going to focus singularly on New Hampshire’  —  Washington (CNN) - Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman on Tuesday confirmed what has become an open secret in Republican circles: that his campaign is pinning its hopes on a strong showing in the crucial early primary state of New Hampshire.

Five Things Conservative Voters Would Hate About Chris Christie  —  Did you hear the news?  Chris Christie is going to save the Republicans from Rick Perry, who was supposed to save them from Mitt Romney but turned out to be a completely inept debater and a traitor on issues like illegal immigration …

Huntsman Spot in Oct. 18 Debate Endangered  —  Jon Huntsman, the former governor of Utah, has been in every presidential debate since he threw his hat in the ring last June.  —  Now, that may change.  —  CNN, which is hosting a debate in Las Vegas on Oct. 18, has set criteria for participation …

Obama advisors raised warning flags before Solyndra bankruptcy  —  Treasury chief Timothy F. Geithner and others were worried that the selection process for federal loan guarantees fell short and raised the risk that funds could be going to the wrong firms.  —  Reporting from Washington …

Obama aide Axelrod acknowledges hurdles to president's reelection  —  GOFFSTOWN , N.H.- With a still-foundering economy and Americans increasingly fed up with the government, President Obama's top campaign strategist today acknowledged the difficulties the incumbent president will face.

The Lost Decade?  —  If you want a big swig of despair, listen to the people who know something about the global economy.  Roger Altman, a former deputy Treasury secretary, is arguing that America and Europe are on the verge of a disastrous double-dip recession.

The Republicans Can Win, but They Can't Lead  —  ORLANDO — Jon Huntsman, poor dear, truly is a lost soul.  He came here this weekend, for the Florida presidential debate and the ensuing straw poll, running what appeared to be a complicated simulacrum of a national presidential campaign.

POTUS testy in BET interview  —  Making the cross face: Obama sits down with Emmett Miller  —  President Obama, slipping in the polls among black supporters and under fire from black Democratic leaders for policies they say fail to address black poverty and unemployment …

Bible-thumping heckler identified as David Serrano calls President Obama ‘the Antichrist’  —  A bizarre Bible-thumping heckler called President Obama “the Antichrist” as the Secret Service dragged him out of a presidential fund-raiser Monday.  —  The bearded young man …

Class Warfare - Yuck!  —  Let me get this on the record.  —  My dad was a waiter.  My mom was a secretary.  Neither attended college.  I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and Lowell, Massachusetts.  I attended public schools.  My parents - in their best year - earned $31,000 combined.

Blue-State Math Is Boon to Obama, Target for GOP  —  Amid those dark political clouds overhead right now, President Barack Obama can console himself with this silver lining: The electoral map remains stacked in favor of him and his Democrats.  —  In a close presidential election …

CNN Poll: Majority say neither party's policies good for country  —  Washington (CNN) - A new national survey suggests there are no winners in the public's eye when it comes to the constant wrangling between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.  —  A CNN/ORC International Poll released …

Saudi woman to be lashed for defying driving ban  —  Saudi women will soon be allowed to vote but driving remains a banned activity  —  A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for breaking the country's ban on female drivers.  —  The woman, identified only as Shema, was found guilty of driving in Jeddah in July.

Decision on health-care law means Supreme Court will likely determine constitutionality next summer  —  The constitutionality of the 2010 health-care law will likely be determined by the Supreme Court this term, meaning the decision could come next summer in the thick of the 2012 presidential campaign.

Palin ‘on the Verge’ of a Decision About Presidential Run  —  Sarah Palin has been quiet recently.  Surprisingly quiet.  —  Ms. Palin, a one-time Alaska governor, is reportedly just days away from deciding whether to run for president.  —  In the meantime, her Twitter feed and Facebook page have gone silent for the last 10 days.

Super Committee's Cuts Anything But Automatic … WASHINGTON — The 12-member super committee created to slash the federal deficit is powered by the threat that if it doesn't come up with $1.2 trillion in savings, automatic, across-the-board cuts will be instituted to reach that same goal, with half of those cuts hitting the Pentagon.

Stimulus Tales  —  Dean Baker is upset with David Brooks — not for the first time.  Let me just put in a word here.  —  The story of Keynesian economists and the Obama stimulus, as anyone who's been reading me knows, runs as follows: When information about the planned stimulus began emerging …

Barack Obama Just Can't Please Everyone  —  In response to this post, in which I noted that President Obama gave an impassioned pro-Israel speech (impassioned is actually Robert Satloff's description), I received many letters from many people, Jews and non-Jews, who believe, against all evidence, that President Obama hates Jews.

Health Insurance Premium Update  —  Today, we received two updates on health insurance premiums.  The Kaiser Family Foundation's annual survey on health insurance looked back at the premiums insurers charged businesses and families in 2011, while the Office of Personnel Management looked ahead …