Obama vs. Obama at debates  —  LAS VEGAS — President Barack Obama's most dangerous opponent in the trio of upcoming presidential debates isn't Mitt Romney.  —  It's himself.  —  The president has been working on blunting his barbs nearly as much as he's been trying to sharpen …

Battleground Poll: Race still tight  —  The presidential race is tight enough nationally that a strong performance in Wednesday's debate by Mitt Romney could put him in the lead.  —  A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll of likely voters shows President Barack Obama ahead 49 percent …

A New Course for the Middle East  —  Restore the three sinews of American influence: our economic strength, our military strength and the strength of our values.  —  Disturbing developments are sweeping across the greater Middle East.  In Syria, tens of thousands of innocent people have been slaughtered.

Victimized billionaires  —  Why do billionaires feel victimized by Obama?  Chrystia Freeland asks that question in the New Yorker this week, and comes back with answers we've all heard before: in short, it's not the policies, it's the rhetoric.  —  Of course, this doesn't stand up to scrutiny; it never did.

Brittany: “A face of one of the 47%”  —  Hello!  My name is Brittany and I live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.  I am 25 years old (but I will be 26 on October 3rd!).  I am a registered Democrat and I have been voting since I was 18.  I am one of the 47% of Americans who fall under Mitt Romney's definition …

The Paul Ryan Legend Dissipates  —  Before we discuss our tax plan, I would like to point out that my eyes are extremely blue.  —  Paul Ryan's selection as Mitt Romney's vice-presidential candidate is subjecting him to all manner of strange new indignities, such as questions about public policy …

The Real Referendum  —  Republicans came into this campaign believing that it would be a referendum on President Obama, and that still-high unemployment would hand them victory on a silver platter.  But given the usual caveats — a month can be a long time in politics, it's not over until …

The parallel universe where Mitt leads all polls  —  To talk with any working Republican political operative these days is to hear the same tale of woe: a grim accounting of the past few weeks, a dash of gallows humor and a measure of hope that President Obama is still beatable.

GOP's October surprise?  —  Source reveals “Jimmy Carter Strategy” to make Obama seem weak on defense in campaign's final month  —  According to a highly reliable source, as Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama prepare for the first presidential debate Wednesday night …

After Obama guidance, Lockheed won't issue layoff notices this year  —  Lockheed Martin said Monday it will not issue employee layoff notices this year, ending an election-year showdown with the Obama administration.  —  The company said it based its decision on new guidance issued Friday …

As college student, Eric Holder participated in ‘armed’ takeover of former Columbia University ROTC office  —  As a freshman at Columbia University in 1970, future Attorney General Eric Holder participated in a five-day occupation of an abandoned Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) …

Wheels coming off  —  Team O's Libya dissembling  —  With a little more than a month to go before a crucial national election, the wheels are coming off the Obama administration's national-security credentials.  —  The coordinated attacks on the US consulate in Benghazi …

Fast and Furious Scandal: New Details Emerge on How the U.S. Government Armed Mexican Drug Cartels  —  Pools Of Blood On The Streets Of Villas De Salvarcar After A Massacre In Which Operation Fast And Furious Guns Were Allegedly Used (Univision)  —  On January 30, 2010 …

Poll: Obama Tops 70 Percent Support Among Latinos  —  President Barack Obama's already-lofty level of support among Latino voters has reached a new high, according to the latest weekly tracking poll from Latino Decisions released Monday.  —  The poll shows Obama earning the support of 73 percent …

Warren Maintains Narrow Lead In Latest WBUR Senate Poll  —  Sen. Scott Brown and his Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren prepare for their first debate with moderator Jon Keller on Sept. 20 in Boston.  (AP)  —  BOSTON — The latest WBUR poll of 504 likely voters (PDFs - topline …

Payroll Tax Cut Unlikely to Survive Into Next Year  —  WASHINGTON — Regardless of who wins the presidential election in November or what compromises Congress strikes in the lame-duck session to keep the economy from automatic tax increases and spending cuts, 160 million American wage earners …

Women erased from Saudi IKEA catalog  —  Ikea's catalog is printed in 198 million copies and looks almost the same in 27 languages and in 38 countries.  With one big exception.  In the Saudi Arabian version of the catalog almost all women have been erased, Swedish newspaper Metro said.

Supreme Court Denies Appeal From Anti-Gay Marriage Group  —  National Organization for Marriage may be forced to disclose funders in Maine fight.  No action yet on Proposition 8, Defense of Marriage Act cases.  —  Image by Gary Cameron / Reuters  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. …

The ‘Live TV’ Suicide: Forgive Shep Smith, But Boycott Buzzfeed … Fox News , General Electric , Shep Smith , Buzzfeed , Car Chase , Journalism Ethics , Live Tv , Media Ethics , Shep Smith Car Chase , Tv Suicide , Media News  —  In my 23 years in journalism, I've never seen a self-proclaimed …

Legislator's Wife Injured in Home Explosion  —  An Idaho state representative's wife was injured Saturday after a room converted to a gun safe exploded at her home.  —  Amy Wood, wife of Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, was taken by air ambulance to an unspecified Utah hospital suffering from second-degree burns to her face and hands.

Another domino falls as Hollande pushes France into depression  —  If French President François Hollande thinks he can assuage the bond markets by dishing out tax-heavy austerity instead of genuine reform, he has been given very bad advice.  —  'Francois Hollande proposes nothing credible …

Subscribe to the HuffPost Hill newsletter!  —  Around the Web:  —  Dem poll: Allen West trailing by 9 in reelection bid  —  Allen West's internal poll says he leads Murphy, 52-41  —  New Allen West ad features Murphy's 2003 mug shot; Murphy camp raises ...  Rep. Allen West attacks opponent for bar fight, arrest

Allen Discusses Insider Attacks in ‘60 Minutes’ Interview  —  By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.  —  In an interview on the CBS program “60 Minutes” last night, the commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan said he takes his mission personally and is angered …

Debates Will Play to President's Strengths  —  President Barack Obama has an important advantage going into Wednesday night's presidential debate, and it's pretty easy to describe: His debating style happens to be almost perfectly suited for his mission in this debate.

How The Economy Collapsed (As a Political Issue)  —  Republicans and Democrats no longer have the same facts.  It's the perceptual bias, stupid.  —  Via: people-press.org  —  The big issue of the 2012 election — the American economy — has been settled.

Donald Trump's Libyan Hindsight  —  He made the case for Libya intervention, now he says he knew all along.  Prediction: He will not acknowledge the contradiction.  —  Andrew Kaczynski  —  a half hour ago  —  respond