The Making Of Romney's Storm Relief Event  —  A scramble to depoliticize a political campaign, and $5,000 in supplies from Wal-Mart.  “Just grab something.”  —  Image by Brian Snyder / Reuters  —  DAYTON, Ohio — The last-minute decision by Romney high command Monday to suspend politics …

Storm provides Obama with a commander-in-chief moment  —  For a day at least, Hurricane Sandy appears to have done for President Obama what he has not been able to do for himself.  —  In a campaign notable mostly for its negativity, the historic storm provided Obama with a commander-in-chief moment a week before Election Day.

Big Storm Opportunism  —  Did you know Hurricane Sandy favors higher marginal tax rates?  —  Our former editor Robert Bartley once quipped (fondly) about the writer Jude Wanniski that he thought a capital-gains tax cut could intercept a Soviet SS-20 missile in mid-flight.

Messina: Obama has ‘dominant’ position in race  —  President Obama has a “dominant position” in the 2012 race, according to a new campaign video.  —  In the nearly five-minute video, campaign manager Jim Messina boasts that the campaign has registered millions of voters and opened …

Lingering questions about Benghazi  —  The attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi has become a political football in the presidential campaign, with all the grandstanding and misinformation that entails.  But Fox News has raised some questions about the attack that deserve a clearer answer from the Obama administration.

Race Narrows as Campaign Enters Its Final Week  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio — President Obama and Mitt Romney enter the closing week of the campaign in an exceedingly narrow race, according to the latest poll by The New York Times and CBS News, with more voters now viewing Mr. Romney as a stronger leader …

Poll: Romney closes gap on Obama in Michigan  —  Mitt Romney is within striking distance of Barack Obama in Michigan in the final days before the election, buoyed by more who are convinced the Republican is a viable alternative to the president, with the ability to turn around the economy.

Gingrich: Senator told me networks may have White House emails commanding counterterrorism group to stand down on Benghazi rescue  —  On Tuesday night's “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” on the Fox News Channel, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that major news networks might …

New Romney ad: Did Obama's rescue of GM create more jobs in China?  —  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has broadened his attack on President Barack Obama's auto industry restructuring, implying that General Motors used the aid to hire more workers in China than in the U.S.

FACEBOOK CENSORS NAVY SEALS TO PROTECT OBAMA ON BENGHAZI-GATE  —  Over the weekend, Facebook took down a message by the Special Operations Speaks PAC (SOS) which highlighted the fact that Obama denied backup to the forces being overrun in Benghazi.  —  The message was contained in a meme …

Possible Bubbles of Spacetime Curvature in the South Pacific  —  In 1928, the late Francis Wayland Thurston published a scandalous manuscript in purport of warning the world of a global conspiracy of occultists.  Among the documents he gathered to support his thesis was the personal account …

Obama leads by 5 in Wisconsin and Iowa  —  New Public Policy Polling surveys in Wisconsin and Iowa, conducted on behalf of Health Care for America Now, find Barack Obama leading by 5 points in each state.  In Iowa the spread is 50/45, representing a 3 point increase in Obama's advantage compared to a week ago.

FROM OHIO: GROUND GAME REPORT  —  For the past two days, Ali Akbar and I have been talking to Americans for Prosperity about their grassroots organizing effort here in Ohio.  We visited their Columbus office Monday night, talked today to AFP's Ohio state policy director, Seth Morgan …

Romney's lax regulation may have fueled meningitis outbreak  —  A meningitis epidemic that has killed 25 is linked to a Mass. company Romney's administration failed to regulate  —  The fatal meningitis epidemic sweeping the United States can now be traced to the failure of then-Gov. Mitt Romney …

What's Behind the State-National Poll Divergence?  —  The Hurricane Sandy-related lull in tracking polls gives us a good opportunity to look at one of the more interesting aspects of polling to develop this month: the divergence between national and state polls.

1 week, 2 versions of reality  —  As if Hurricane Sandy weren't doing enough to muddle the presidential race a week before the election, the two campaigns now seem to be embracing two sharply different versions of political reality.  —  The Mitt Romney narrative: The electoral map is expanding and we are on the march.

Election Poll Results: House, Senate, President and Measure 5  —  The race for the U.S. Senate seat in North Dakota remains very tight, but there has been some movement in this race since our last poll.  Dick Heidt is here with the numbers on this race and a few others.

Americans Still Give Obama Better Odds to Win Election  —  54% of Americans think Obama will win; 34% predict Romney  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — A majority of Americans continue to believe that Democratic President Barack Obama will win re-election Tuesday over Republican challenger Mitt Romney, by 54% to 34%.

The Morning After: First storm-related anti-Obama attack ad appears  —  A friend of ours in northern Virginia received this flier delivered to her apartment's front door this morning:  —  The ad, attacking President Obama, declared, “WE'VE SEEN STORMS IN VIRGINIA, BUT NONE LIKE THIS...”

The Hill's 2012 Top Lobbyists  —  2012 hasn't been the best year for K Street, but it's too soon to call it a bust.  —  A divided government and the demands of campaigning have kept Congress in low gear, depressing revenue at lobby shops and leaving trade associations and grassroots groups in planning mode.