Hmmm ...  It hasn't gotten much attention outside of the Boston suburbs and truly hardcore political junkies.  But there was a congressional election today.  The topline is that the Democrat, Nikki Tsongas, wife of the late Massachusetts senator and presidential candidate Paul Tsongas, won.

Pressing Mr. Mukasey  —  Michael Mukasey, President Bush's nominee to be attorney general, is being promoted as a compromise candidate.  When he appears before the Senate today for a confirmation hearing, he should not be waved through.  Senators should press him on how he intends to turn around …

Many GOP Donors Yet to Open Wallets  —  More than a third of the top fundraisers who helped elect George W. Bush president remain on the sidelines in 2008, contributing to a gaping financial disparity between the GOP candidates and their Democratic counterparts.

Support Wanes in House for Genocide Vote  —  Worried about antagonizing Turkish leaders, House members from both parties have begun to withdraw their support from a resolution supported by the Democratic leadership that would condemn as genocide the mass killings of Armenians nearly a century ago.

Sarah Maria Santorum's tears inspire song  —  This is the story of a defeated senator, his crying daughter, a Nashville songwriter and Martina McBride, the country music star.  —  It begins in Pittsburgh on election night 2006.  Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), losing to Democrat Robert P. Casey Jr …

Voters unhappy with Bush and Congress  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deepening unhappiness with President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress soured the mood of Americans and sent Bush's approval rating to another record low this month, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Mugged by Unreality  —  MANHATTAN — So perhaps Jon Elliott wasn't exactly cool as a cucumber when he took to the airwaves early Tuesday to announce fellow Air America host Randi Rhodes had lost several teeth in an cold-blooded assault while walking her dog on the streets of New York City.

Specter: No Retroactive Immunity for Telecoms  —  As the ACLU worries that Senate Democrats in the intelligence committee will give retroactive immunity to telephone companies for collaborating with the administration's warrantless surveillance program, the two senior members of the judiciary committee …

Africans are less intelligent than Westerners, says DNA pioneer  —  Fury at James Watson's theory: "All our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really"  —  One of the world's most eminent scientists was embroiled …

Democratic Pandering to the Middle Class  —  Explaining a simple proposal to help people squirrel away gold for their golden years, Hillary Clinton said that a person "should not require a Ph.D. to save for retirement."  But can even Ph.D.s understand liberalism's arithmetic and logic?

Timing of gifts stirs 'earmark' debate  —  WASHINGTON — Days after a Senate committee approved $1 million for a Woodstock concert museum, the project's Republican billionaire backer and his family contributed $29,200 to help the Democrats who requested the money, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer.

U.S. Consumer Price Index Rises 0.3% in September; Core Up 0.2%  —  Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Prices paid by U.S. consumers rose more than forecast in September as food and energy costs climbed, while core measures showed inflation remains contained.  —  The .3 percent increase followed …

Iowa caucuses: GOP shuffle 'keeps us first'  —  Iowa party's move protects caucuses' relevance, officials say; Democrats maintain later date (for now)  —  Iowa Republicans have scheduled the party's presidential caucuses for Jan. 3, arguing the date would preserve the state's coveted leadoff status …