Cain leads nationally  —  Yesterday PPP released numbers showing Herman Cain leading Mitt Romney 30-22 in Iowa and our monthly look at the national picture finds the exact same numbers.  Cain is up 30-22 on Romney with Newt Gingrich sneaking past Rick Perry for 3rd place at 15% to Perry's 14% …

My Advice to the Occupy Wall Street Protesters  —  Hit bankers where it hurts  —  I've been down to “Occupy Wall Street” twice now, and I love it.  The protests building at Liberty Square and spreading over Lower Manhattan are a great thing, the logical answer to the Tea Party and a long-overdue middle finger to the financial elite.

A Modest Proposal: Call Obstruction What It Is  —  Here is the headline in the online home page of the NYT, about Obama's “pass this jobs bill, pass it now” proposal.  Note the word “fails”:  —  The subhead and the rest of the article make clear that more Senators voted for the bill than against it — 50 to 49.

N.H.'s Bill Gardner to Nevada: Drop dead  —  Bill Gardner just flipped the Republicans the bird.  Again.  —  In a three-page statement released Wednesday afternoon, the New Hampshire secretary of state reiterated his independence and said he'll move the primary up as far as necessary …

Conceding One to the Critics  —  As readers of this site have no doubt noticed, I'm not one who is greatly troubled by hostile criticism.  —  On the other hand, sometimes the critics make a valid point.  When they do, I'm not too obstinate to concede.  —  For years, I've shared …

DOJ: Feds Can Tell Church Who Its Ministers Will Be  —  In yet another stunning attack on freedom of religion, President Barack Obama's Justice Department asked the Supreme Court last week to give the federal government the power to tell a church who its ministers will be.

Wall Street Journal circulation scam claims senior Murdoch executive  —  Andrew Langhoff resigns as European publishing chief after exposure of secret channels of cash to help boost sales figures  —  One of Rupert Murdoch's most senior European executives has resigned following Guardian inquiries …

Biden Warns of More Rapes and Murders If Jobs Bill Is Not Passed  —  In Flint, Michigan, Vice President Joe Biden suggested that more rapes and murders could occur if President Barack Obama's jobs bill is not passed.  —  “In 2008, when Flint had 265 sworn officers on their police force …

All the Single Ladies  —  IN 2001, WHEN I was 28, I broke up with my boyfriend.  Allan and I had been together for three years, and there was no good reason to end things.  He was (and remains) an exceptional person, intelligent, good-looking, loyal, kind.

To the Barricades  —  Gail Collins: David, I was sorry to see you didn't have a little bit of sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street protesters.  —  David Brooks: The only survey I've seen on who these people are was conducted by New York magazine.  Three percent are mainstream liberals of the Barack Obama variety.

Charles Schumer: ‘Impossible’ for Democrats to lose Senate in 2012  —  (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)  —  A top Democrat said it's “almost impossible” Republicans will take over the Senate majority in 2012.  —  Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), his party's former campaign chairman …

Perry Botches U.S. Revolution Century  —  Texas Governor Rick Perry energetically bounded into the Beta Theta Pi fraternity on Dartmouth College's campus after Tuesday night's debate, but when he was asked a question about states' rights, he slipped up on the dates for when the American Revolution was fought.

Holmes County: Two more arrests in Amish attacks  —  Eli M. Miller, 32, and Daniel S. Mullet, 37, surrendered in connection with the recent attack on a fellow Amish man, a 74-year-old who had his beard cut during the incident.  Both are charged with aggravated burglary and kidnapping.

Treasury Sanctions Five Individuals Tied to Iranian Plot to Assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the designation of five individuals, including four senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force …

Herman Cain consultant: 9-9-9 wouldn't be accepted  —  Herman Cain expressed confidence at Tuesday's debate that his much-touted “9-9-9” plan to revamp the tax code would pass Congress, but the paid campaign consultant who scored the plan for Cain said the idea was more of a theory …

MR. ROSE: OK.  —  REP. PAUL: — they burst.  And when they do, you have to have corrections.  And that's what we're dealing with.  And we can do this by building coalitions —  MR. ROSE: Thank you.  —  REP. PAUL: — and not sacrificing any principles.  —  MR. ROSE: Julianna.