The Obama Brief  —  The President considers his judicial legacy. … “Of course I drink during the day—I'm way too tired to drink at night.”  —  BUY OR LICENSE »

Clyburn challenger: Gay couples are ‘gremlins’  —  Rep. James Clyburn's (D-S.C.) Republican challenger referred to same-sex couples as “gremlins” and “bullies” in a Facebook post urging supporters to oppose gay marriage at the polls this fall.  —  Anthony Culler, the GOP nominee for Clyburn's seat …

Stop Hillary!  —  Vote no to a Clinton dynasty  —  ow's that hopey, changey stuff working out for you?  " Sarah Palin asked American voters in a taunting 2010 speech.  The answer: Not so well.  We avoided a full-blown depression, but the job market remains deeply sick …

ISIS forces launch multiple attacks on Kurdish territory in Iraq, officials say  —  (CNN) — ISIS militants launched about 15 near-simultaneous attacks on Kurdish forces in northern Iraq on Monday in what Kurdish government officials and the Kurdish news agency Rudaw said was a fierce and renewed push for Kurdish-held territory.

Joni Ernst Is the GOP's Breakout Star.  The Democratic Machine Could Still Beat Her.  —  Bruce Braley is a flawed candidate, but his team's superior ground game might push him over the top.  —  DES MOINES, Iowa—Marilynn Wadden, a retired elementary school teacher, was smiling as she settled …

POLITICO poll: Alarm, anxiety as election looms  —  An overwhelming majority of voters in the most competitive 2014 elections say it feels as if events in the United States are “out of control” and expressed mounting alarm about terrorism, anxiety about Ebola and harsh skepticism …

Two Americas  —  In the course of pondering Ezra Klein's odd views on due process with respect to “Yes Means Yes” and rape allegations, I have come across the following popular notion, written by Tara Culp-Ressler of Think Progress and endorsed by Michelle Goldberg of The Nation.

President Obama Campaigns For Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown In Md.  —  UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (WJZ) — Less than three weeks to go until Marylanders hit the voting booths to cast their ballots.  One of the men who wants to be governor is getting a big show of support from the president.

The Worst Campaign Ad That Human Beings Actually Paid for This Year  —  A breathtakingly bad GOP ad in the one Senate race that's going great for Democrats.  —  Michigan's race for U.S. Senate is the sick man of the GOP's electoral map.  Halfway through the cycle, Republicans …

Amazon's Monopsony Is Not O.K.  —  Amazon.com, the giant online retailer, has too much power, and it uses that power in ways that hurt America.  —  O.K., I know that was kind of abrupt.  But I wanted to get the central point out there right away, because discussions of Amazon tend, all too often, to get lost in side issues.

Meghan McCain: The right is wrong  —  Meghan McCain, always outspoken, says she's got one big regret — calling Rep. Michele Bachmann a “poor man's Sarah Palin.”  —  “That's the one if I could take it back I would, because I just think it's so linear and so nasty,” McCain said in an interview with POLITICO.

Supreme Court's civil rights backlash: How a new case could set us back decades  —  Here's what the practical effects will be  —  In the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting, there was a brief moment when much of America was forced to look at an inconvenient truth about ourselves …

The Trouble with Early Voting  —  Early and absentee voting have their place, but they are becoming the rule not the exception.  —  The headline in the Florida's Sun-Sentinel newspaper this weekend says it all: “People Who Vote Before Election Could Decide Outcome of Governor's Race.”

Flip Benham Crashes Gay Weddings In North Carolina  —  With gay marriage now legal in North Carolina, it was only a matter of time before Flip Benham of Operation Save America started crashing wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples.  —  The North Carolina-based pastor …

GOP Senator Campaign's Sunflower Fields Are In Ukraine  —  Pat Roberts represents the Sunflower State (Kansas).  —  The image Republican Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts on every page of his website and on his press releases of a sunset on a sunflower field is of a field in Ukraine.

Ebola hysteria: An epic, epidemic overreaction  —  (CNN) — This is getting ridiculous.  —  While the threat of Ebola is very real in Africa, the paranoia it's generated in the United States is unreal.  —  You can count the number of documented cases in America on two hands — and still have fingers to spare.

Monica Lewinsky Speaks: 'It's My Mission To End Cyberbullying'  —  Monica Lewinsky has broken a decade-long silence to announce her campaign to end cyberbullying and today's toxic culture of internet shaming.  —  In her first ever public address, the former mistress of President Bill Clinton revealed …

Indiana Plans To Cut Tens Of Thousands Off Food Stamps  —  Indiana will cut tens of thousands of its poorest people off of the food stamps roles beginning next spring, the state announced.  Gov. Mike Pence (R) has decided to join seven other states in reinstating work requirements …

Obama: One very successful president?  —  Obama team resignations and firings … (CNN) — President Obama's poll numbers have hit a new low and he's under fire for everything from the rise of ISIS to the response to the Ebola threat.  So it may seem surprising to many readers …

Tennessee Political Campaign Compares Incumbent to Lane Kiffin  —  Gloria Johnson is an incumbent member of the Tennessee House of Representatives.  She's engaged in a reelection battle with Eddie Smith.  And with Alabama traveling to Knoxville, Smith just took off the gloves when it comes to East Tennessee political campaigns.