Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president  —  PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO  —  (CBS News) Former Secretary of State Colin Powell broke with the Republican party during the 2008 election, to endorse then-candidate Barack Obama for president, calling Obama a “transformational figure.”

Oct. 24: In Polls, Romney's Momentum Seems to Have Stopped  —  The term “momentum” is used very often in political coverage — but reporters and analysts seldom pause to consider what it means.  —  Let me tell you what I think it ought to mean: that a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

AP-GFK POLL: ROMNEY ERASES OBAMA LEAD AMONG WOMEN  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — What gender gap?  —  Less than two weeks out from Election Day, Republican Mitt Romney has erased President Barack Obama's 16-point advantage among women, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows.

Why Liberals are Misreading Mourdock  —  Let's get one thing straight from the start.  I am not defending Richard Mourdock's position on abortion, including his opposition to a rape exception.  So take that twitchy finger off the “send” button.  However, I do want to examine …

How Bill Clinton May Have Hurt the Obama Campaign  —  When the histories of the 2012 campaign are written, much will be made of Bill Clinton's re-emergence.  His convention speech may well have marked the finest moment of President Obama's re-election campaign, and his ads on the president's behalf were memorable.

How Mitt Romney would govern  —  Mitt Romney's transition team — dubbed the “Readiness Project” — has stepped up its activities as the nominee has surged in the polls, planning a series of modest but quick accomplishments should he win and bracing for the likelihood Romney would butt heads …

Mitt Romney for President  —  (Charles V. Tines / The Detroit News)  —  Americans will be making two choices when they cast their presidential ballots on Nov. 6.  They will be selecting the individual who will lead the nation over the next four years, a period that promises to be every bit as challenging as the past four.

My column: Why Romney hasn't surrendered Nevada  —  Mitt Romney campaigned in Nevada today for the second consecutive day.  The question is: Why?  —  Any reasonable analysis of the early voting numbers so far shows that the Democratic machine is crushing the Republicans' Rube Goldberg contraption.

E.J. Dionne Jr.  —  How the right wing lost in 2012  —  The right wing has lost the election of 2012.  —  The evidence for this is overwhelming, yet it is the year's best-kept secret.  Mitt Romney would not be throwing virtually all of his past positions overboard if he thought the nation …

ROMNEY TRANSITION PLANS: early Dem outreach; pragmatism over ideology — Obama, Bill Clinton to barnstorm together — POTUS sees grand bargain by summer  —  FIRST LOOK - Rolling Stone cover, “Obama and the Road Ahead: The Rolling Stone Interview,” by Douglas Brinkley: “We arrived at the Oval Office …

For Clinton as Top Diplomat, Tumultuous Closing Chapter  —  Hillary Clinton's final weeks as Secretary of State were supposed to be more of a victory lap.  But that quickly changed after the disastrous events in Benghazi.  WSJ's Monica Langley and Jerry Seib discuss the end of her tenure and future prospects.

Bam $ite unplugged  —  The Chinese government has blocked access to a Web site used as a conduit for donations to President Obama's re-election, The Post has learned.  —  The action comes following a report in Sunday's Post that the Obama.com site had been registered to Robert Roche …

Who Won the Debates?  49% Say Romney, 41% Obama  —  Most voters consider the three presidential debates at least somewhat important to how they will vote, and a plurality of those that watched thinks Mitt Romney was the overall debate winner.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds …

Stumping for Heinrich, Kerry says Senate control on the line  — NEWS - SPORTS - OPINION - PASATIEMPO - OBITUARIES - MAGAZINES - PHOTOS - ADVERTISING - CLASSIFIEDS - CONTACTS - SUBSCRIBE NOW!  —  U.S. Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic Party's 2004 presidential nominee …

Obama lead in Virginia up to 5 points  —  A new Public Policy Polling survey in Virginia, conducted on behalf of Health Care for America Now, finds Barack Obama expanding his lead in the aftermath of his debate victory Monday night.  He now has 51% to 46% for Mitt Romney, up from a 49/47 advantage last weekend.

Court allows testimony by Mitt Romney in Stemberg divorce case to be unsealed  —  CANTON — Mitt Romney's sworn testimony in a post-divorce lawsuit against Staples founder Tom Stemberg was unsealed on Thursday at Norfolk Probate and Family Court.  —  The suit was filed in 1990 by Stemberg's ex-wife …

Obama Goes To Krispy Kreme  —  Three dozen donuts.  Crucial nutrition after an overnight flight from Vegas to Tampa.  —  President Barack Obama delivers boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts to firefighters in Tampa, Florida, during an unannounced visit on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012.

Presidential Polls Counter Romney Surge Myth … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Elections 2012, Barack Obama , Mitt Romney, Barack Obama 2012 , Elections 2012, Video, 2012 Polls, Obama Polls, Romney Polls, Mitt Romney 2012, Pollster Analysis, Presidential Polls, Politics News

Projection: Republicans Will Hold the House  —  While there will be major shifts in the House delegations of many states on Election Day, and while more than a handful of incumbents appear likely to lose, the total change in each party's net total of House seats will probably not be large.