Chaos at the State Dept?  —  I spoke with a well-placed journalist last night whose sources describe the situation at the State Department in one word: “Chaos.”  The working assumption is that several American embassies may have been penetrated, or are vulnerable to attack …

Rick Santorum Says “Smart People Will Never Be On Our Side”  —  Santorum tells values voters to be wary of the media elite.  —  Image by Jason Reed / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON, DC — Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum attacked the media and “smart people” for not being on the side …

ANTI-ISLAM FILMMAKER DONATED MILLION DOLLARS TO OBAMA CAMPAIGN  —  Blame the movie.  —  Blame the movie.  —  Blame the movie.  —  Even though “the movie” was on YouTube for months prior to the collective indignation of thousands of Middle Eastern Islamists all coming together …

Alleged ‘Innocence of Muslims’ filmmaker taken in for interview  —  Just after midnight Saturday morning, authorities descended on the Cerritos home of the man believed to be the filmmaker behind the anti-Muslim movie that has sparked protests and rioting in the Muslim world.

Poll: Obama widens lead in Pennsylvania  —  President Obama, already ahead in Pennsylvania, received a small bump from the Democratic National Convention and now leads Mitt Romney in the state by 11 points, according to the Inquirer Pennsylvania Poll.  —  But with eight weeks left …

Ryan: New Fed policy a “bailout” of failed Obama policies  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the Federal Reserve's latest policy shift amounts to a “bailout” of the economy under President Obama.  —  Speaking at a campaign event in Oldsmar, Florida, Mitt Romney's vice presidential candidate lambasted …

Don't Say “Desperate”  —  Muslim unrest has created a challenge for Obama and the nation—and a different kind of crisis for the Romney campaign.  —  One day this spring, over lunch in Chicago, David Axelrod offered up a concise summary of Team Obama's prevailing view about the race ahead against Mitt Romney.

House Republicans Plan Two Month Vacation, Leaving Key Bills Awaiting Action  —  House Republican Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) announced Friday that after next week, the House will stand in recess until November 13.  His plan for a nearly two month vacation will undoubtedly allow more time for campaigning …

White House Report Details Effects of Automatic Budget Cuts  —  WASHINGTON — Army operations and maintenance would lose nearly $7 billion next year, and the Navy more than $4 billion under a looming series of automatic cuts in federal spending.  Educational achievement and special education programs would be shaved by $2.3 billion.

In CNN interview, Eastwood stands by RNC speech  —  (CNN) - Actor Clint Eastwood says he does not care about the reaction to his stand up routine at the Republican convention, which drew more attention on the night Mitt Romney accepted the presidential nomination.

Is President Obama ‘Skipping’ Intelligence Briefings?  —  Conservative critics of President Obama are accusing him of “skipping” daily intelligence briefings throughout his first term and in the days leading up to this week's deadly attacks on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Libya.

Can the Chicago Teachers' Strike Fix Democratic Education Reform?  —  In 1960, when Albert Shanker and other members of New York City's teachers union sought collective bargaining rights, they set a strike date for Monday November 7, the day prior to the presidential election between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon.