Massachusetts: ‘Bottom has fallen out’ of Coakley's polls; Dems prepare to explain defeat, protect Obama  —  Here in Massachusetts, as well as in Washington, a growing sense of gloom is setting in among Democrats about the fortunes of Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley.

OK, It's a Toss-Up  —  Earlier today I tweeted about how there wasn't enough evidence to describe the Massachusetts special election as a “toss-up”, as some other forecasters have done, based on the information available to us at that time.  —  Well, now there's some new evidence.

Coakley: “You can have religious freedom but you probably shouldn't work in the emergency room”  —  Last evening, while on Broadside with Jim Braude, I told Jim that Scott Brown was trying to prevent Nuns like the Sisters of Charity that taught me from performing medical procedures contrary to their religious beliefs.

Martha Coakley's Convictions  —  The role played by the U.S. Senate candidate in a notorious sex case raises questions about her judgment.  —  The story of the Amiraults of Massachusetts, and of the prosecution that had turned the lives of this thriving American family to dust, was well known to the world by the year 2001.

White House nears deal on health care  —  Gripped by a building sense that its window of opportunity could be closing, the White House on Thursday broke the last major logjam blocking enactment of far-reaching health-care legislation, cutting a deal with organized labor on how to tax high-cost insurance policies.

Suffolk U. poll: Brown up by 4  —  A Suffolk University poll released Thursday evening shows Republican Scott Brown four points ahead of Democrat Martha Coakley as he continues his improbable surge in the Massachusetts Senate special election.  —  The poll reports Brown is leading Coakley …

Mass. Senate poll shows shift toward GOP candidate  —  BOSTON — A new poll in the Massachusetts Senate race shows a shift in favor of the Republican Party and a potential disaster for President Barack Obama and his Democratic political agenda in Tuesday's special election.

Officials quickly stamp out talk of Boise State football team's appearance  —  The White House on Thursday quickly took away the possibility of Boise State University's football team joining the national champions Alabama at an honorary Rose Garden ceremony.