How Change Happens  —  Forty years ago, corporate America was bloated, sluggish and losing ground to competitors in Japan and beyond.  But then something astonishing happened.  Financiers, private equity firms and bare-knuckled corporate executives initiated a series of reforms and transformations.

Poll: Obama, Romney in dead heat on economy  —  After months of aggressive campaigning on jobs and the economy, President Obama and Mitt Romney, his likely Republican challenger, are locked in a dead heat over who could fix the problem foremost on voters' minds, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Swinging at Bain, Obama Ignores What Private Equity Is  —  Bain Capital has been used as a political weapon against Mitt Romney since 1994, but now his opponents might be rethinking ads about attacking him for his time at the private-equity firm as the ads are being criticized by some Democrats as well as Republicans.

Anatomy of an Ad: ‘Basketball’  —  The most recent ad from Crossroads GPS, the super PAC founded by Karl Rove, strives to hit a delicate balance: how to craft the perfect line of attack against a president who remains well liked even by people who are considering voting against him.  —  Scripted Scenes