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 …

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 …

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 …

Forget The Economy — Romney Campaigns On God, NASCAR, And Conservative Values  —  Welcome to the culture war?  “The subject has been the economy, is the economy, and will be the economy,” says Fehrnstrom.  —  Image by Brian Snyder / Reuters  —  BOSTON, Mass. — After a weekend …

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 …

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.

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 …

Cops: Woman pointed gun at Rep. Trey Gowdy  —  A woman was arrested Sunday evening for threatening freshman Rep. Trey Gowdy with a gun, according to police.  —  The South Carolina Republican was in the parking lot of his church in Spartanburg waiting for his daughter when Gloria Yvonne Brackett pointed …

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 …

Romney Campaign Memo: Don't Panic  —  As Obama enjoys a hefty post-convention bump, Romney's pollster insists “the basic structure of the race has not changed significantly.”  —  Image by Brian Snyder / Reuters  —  BOSTON, Mass. — As new polls show President Obama opening up a wider lead coming …

The Ryan Sinkhole  —  Unlike the Republican platform, which has mostly been ignored outside of the abortion issue, the Paul Ryan budget is the core document of the 2012 campaign.  It is the most explicit expression of the Republican agenda, endorsed by the party's presidential candidate …

Brad Pitt: Why my mother is wrong about Barack Obama and gay marriage  —  Brad Pitt says gay marriage is ‘inevitable’ as he reaffirms his support for Barack Obama after his mother backed Mitt Romney.  —  Brad Pitt's mother, Jane, threw her support behind Mitt Romney earlier this year …

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.

9 states where the race will be won  —  The presidential race has narrowed to a core of nine states, a collection of margin-of-error battlegrounds spread across nearly every region.  —  From New Hampshire in the Northeast to Nevada in the Rocky Mountain West, there is little disagreement between …