Hurricane Sandy: 5 political questions  —  The presidential campaigns are publicly hitting pause on East Coast electioneering as Hurricane Sandy spirals toward Atlantic beaches, but privately political professionals are starting to assess important questions about how it might affect next week's elections up and down the ballot.

Obama's independent problem  —  President Obama has a problem with independents.  And it's not a small problem.  —  In the last three releases of the tracking poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, Obama has trailed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney among independent voters by between 16 and 20 percentage points.

A Desperate, Deceptive Gambit for Romney in Ohio  —  How desperate is Mitt Romney to win Ohio?  Before you answer, pay attention to what he and his campaign have been saying about the auto industry in the last few days.  —  As you may have heard, Romney on Thursday scared the bejeezus …

Medicaid on the Ballot  —  There's a lot we don't know about what Mitt Romney would do if he won.  He refuses to say which tax loopholes he would close to make up for $5 trillion in tax cuts; his economic “plan” is an empty shell.  —  But one thing is clear: If he wins, Medicaid …

Mitt Romney In GOP Debate: Shut Down Federal Disaster Agency, Send Responsibility To The States … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Elections 2012, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Video, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Politics News, Fema, Frankenstorm 2012, Hurricane Sandy 2012, Hurricane Sandy Fema …

The Obama Curse strikes again: Detroit Tigers lose the world series  —  Not only did the Detroit Tigers lose the world series, they lost spectacularly, with the Giants winning in a solid four game streak.  I predicted this outcome a few days ago, not because I know anything about baseball …

Romney Campaign Brushes Off “538” Projections  —  Nate Silver's newest reader: Stu Stevens.  —  Source: charlierose.com  —  CELINA, Ohio — As Mitt Romney's campaign works to exude confidence in the home stretch, one wonky, liberal, self-made New York Times election forecaster has emerged as a particularly tricky obstacle.

Bill Clinton sneaks in before storm to boost Murphy  —  Waterbury — On the eve of a hurricane-induced break in the political season, Bill Clinton gave Democrats a 30-minute pep talk Sunday, framing U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy's race for U.S. Senate as an election of national interest.

Twitter Users Who Threatened Romney's Life Remain Active  —  More than a dozen Twitter accounts that were used as a medium to publically threaten Republican candidate Mitt Romney's life after the second presidential debate remain active, nearly two weeks later.

al Qaqaa and Benghazi: That Was Then, and This Is Now  —  I wrote yesterday about the media effort to help the Obama administration cover up the Benghazi scandal.  That scandal includes at least three elements: 1) the administration's failure to provide adequate security for our personnel there …

Andrew Sullivan: Mitt Romney ‘Like an Alien That Ripped Off His Mask’ at Debates  —  The Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan blasted Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a “brand new candidate” following this month's presidential debates, saying on the “This Week” roundtable that Romney …

Battleground Tracking Poll: Obama retakes lead  —  MARION, Ohio — With eight days to go until the election, President Barack Obama has recaptured a narrow national lead over Mitt Romney, riding increased support from women and an edge in early voting.  —  A new POLITICO/George Washington …

Is Obama's relentless use of the espionage act keeping whistle blowers silent?  —  In light of Americans who are demanding answers from the Obama administration on why four Americans were denied help for military assistance when the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi was under attack …