Tea-Party Movement Gathers Strength  —  The tea party has emerged as a potent force in American politics and a center of gravity within the Republican Party, with a large majority of Republicans showing an affinity for the movement that has repeatedly bucked the GOP leadership this year …

Dukakis shared his strategy for midterm elections at the White House  —  WASHINGTON — Former Massachusetts Governor Michael S. Dukakis, the failed 1988 presidential nominee, recently visited the White House and delivered his strategy for the midterm elections: pound key precincts across …

Democrats, Obama differ over whether to lock in Bush's tax cuts  —  Senate Democrats are peeling away from President Obama over permanent extension of the middle-class tax cuts, saying that locking in low rates for the vast majority of taxpayers is an unaffordable luxury.

Christine O'Donnell didn't go to Claremont Graduate University either  —  Greg Sargent at the Washington Post's Plum Line has a story today that says Christine O'Donnell, Republican Senate candidate in Delaware, embellished her online resume to say she'd studied at Oxford University …

Being Glenn Beck  —  Glenn Beck was sprawled out on his office couch a couple of weeks ago, taking — as self-helpers like to say ­— an inventory.  “I think what the country is going through right now is, in a way, what I went through with my alcoholism,” he told me.  “You can either live or die.

‘Credible But Not Specific’: Threat of New Terrorist Attack  —  Officials in Europe, US on High Alert for Commando-Style Raids After Capture of Suspected German Terrorist  —  US and European officials said Tuesday they have detected a plot to carry out a major, coordinated series …

Poll: Dogfight in Ohio Governor's Race  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland is statistically tied with Republican challenger John Kasich among likely voters …

Dems embrace immigration fight  —  Polls show that voters favor Republicans' hard-line approach to immigration, and there's virtually no chance that any immigration bill will pass before Congress adjourns for the fall campaign.  —  Yet two days before the Senate heads home, Sen. Robert Menendez …

Poll: Obama, Dems Poised to Lose Grayson House Seat  —  Republican Dan Webster jumps to a 7-point lead  —  In one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the nation, Republican Daniel Webster now holds a 7-point lead over Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson in Central Florida's 8th Congressional District …

Distrust in U.S. Media Edges Up to Record High  —  Perceptions of liberal bias still far outnumber perceptions of conservative bias  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the fourth straight year, the majority of Americans say they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.

Parents: Bullying drove Cy-Fair 8th-grader to suicide  —  They claim school district took no action  —  Asher Brown's worn-out tennis shoes still sit in the living room of his Cypress-area home while his student progress report — filled with straight A's — rests on the coffee table.

Is Barack Obama My Keeper?  —  []Some commentators are criticizing President Obama's response to a supporter at a campaign event who asked him why he is a Christian: … I have no interest in questioning Obama's religious faith, which I believe to be sincere.

Progressives: Obama remarks are ‘condescending’  —  Activist: ‘The least he could do is acknowledge that progressives have legitimate concerns’  —  President Barack Obama's lecture to his supporters to snap out of their lethargy is getting a frosty reception from some on the left side of the Democratic coalition.

Poll: Battle for Congress tightens between parties  —  Ethics panel GOP accuses Dems of stalling on trials  —  Despite what the NBC/WSJ pollsters say is natural tightening, however, the overall dynamics heading into the election remain the same: Nearly six in 10 think the country is headed …

New 6abc/Franklin & Marshall poll  —  A new 6abc/Franklin and Marshall College Poll just released this morning, which offers the way voters are leaning in Pennsylvania.  —  The governor's race has tightened up.  Among registered adults, Republican Tom Corbett leads Democrat Dan Onorato …

Even if Bin Laden Had Been on the Gaza-Bound Flotilla, Israel's Actions Would Have Been Illegal, Says UN-Appointed Judge  —  The U.N. Human Rights Council is considering a report by the three-member commission that investigated the so-called “flotilla incident” - Israel's interception at sea …

Blaming the voters  —  Tweet  —  On Oct. 24, 1996, Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole got up at a campaign rally and promptly lost it: “I wonder sometimes what people are thinking about, or if people are thinking at all,” he shouted.  “Wake up, America!”

Assistant attorney general blogs against gay student body president  —  (CNN) — For nearly six months, Andrew Shirvell, an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, has waged an internet campaign against college student Chris Armstrong, the openly gay student assembly president at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Bill to End Tax Provision on U.S. Jobs Is Blocked  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday rejected efforts by Democratic leaders to advance a bill to end a tax provision that supporters of the measure said encourages American companies to ship jobs overseas.

Hevesi Is Expected to Plead Guilty in Pension Case  —  ALBANY — Alan G. Hevesi, the former state comptroller, is poised to plead guilty to a felony corruption charge after a lengthy investigation into his office's rewarding of pension investment business to firms that provided financial benefits …

'We've got our party back,' says Lord Kinnock  —  Lord Kinnock accused the coalition of creating unjustified ‘panic’ over cuts  —  Lord Kinnock has hailed Ed Miliband's “magnificent” first speech as Labour leader, telling activists: “We've got our party back.”

Bloomberg to address House GOP  —  New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is scheduled to address House Republicans on Thursday, according to an invitation obtained by The Hill.  —  The mayor, a Republican-turned-Independent who is considered a presidential contender, will speak …