President Obama to Bob Woodward: ‘Mistake’ to Dress Down Paul Ryan to His Face in Budget Speech  —  President Obama told author Bob Woodward that he didn't know Rep. Paul Ryan was going to attend at a major speech he delivered last year on spending and debt, and says in retrospect that it was …

Within Hours, Mitt Romney Takes Back Everything He Said About Preexisting Conditions  —  On national TV on Sunday morning, with millions of people watching, Mitt Romney told David Gregory that there were parts of Obamacare he actually liked.  In fact, he said, one of the goals of his healthcare plan …

Obama leads by 5 in Ohio  —  PPP's first post-conventions poll in Ohio finds Barack Obama with a 5 point lead over Mitt Romney, 50-45.  This is the largest lead PPP has found for Obama in an Ohio poll since early May.  Last month Obama led 48-45.  —  Both candidates have seen their images improve …

Chicago's Teachers Just Went On Strike — Here's Everything You Need To Know About Why  —  During a press conference tonight the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced that it will be going on strike, its first action of the sort in 25 years.  —  Why are these 29,000 teachers and school workers …

FBI Arrests Trenton Mayor, Others in Corruption Probe  —  Details of the charges are expected to be released later Monday  —  Federal authorities arrested Trenton, N.J., Mayor Tony Mack and more than half a dozen other people early Monday in connection with an ongoing corruption probe, NBC 4 New York has learned.

Who Is Dumber, Joe Biden or Barack Obama?  —  Most people would immediately say “Joe Biden.”  But I am not at all sure that is correct.  There is much to be said on the subject, but for the moment let's just note that Obama has matched one of Biden's most famous moments of stupidity …

Insight: GM's Volt - The ugly math of low sales, high costs  —  (Reuters) - General Motors Co sold a record number of Chevrolet Volt sedans in August — but that probably isn't a good thing for the automaker's bottom line.  —  Nearly two years after the introduction of the path-breaking plug-in hybrid …

Voter ID law set for review by state Supreme Court  —  Pennsylvania will take its place as a battleground state on a different political front this week as supporters and opponents argue the validity of the state's new voter ID law before the state Supreme Court.  —  Oral arguments are scheduled for Thursday in Philadelphia.

Obstruct and Exploit  —  Does anyone remember the American Jobs Act?  A year ago President Obama proposed boosting the economy with a combination of tax cuts and spending increases, aimed in particular at sustaining state and local government employment.  Independent analysts reacted favorably.

Annals of Post-Truth Politics: Good for Norah O'Donnell  —  Relevant background point #1: Rep. Paul Ryan's fame has depended on his reputation as the man who knew the obscure details of federal budget policy, and who was brave and honest enough to tell the public the unvarnished truth about those details.

Sept. 9: Call It as You See It  —  I've been picking up some sentiment from analysts and journalists in my Twitter feed recently, who correctly note that polling around the party conventions can be volatile.  They suggest that we ought to wait for more data before concluding very much about the bounces …