Pressure Builds on Obama to Shake Up Inner Circle  —  Some high-level Democrats are calling for President Barack Obama to remake his inner circle or even fire top advisers in response to what many party strategists expect to be a decisive defeat on Tuesday.  —  Tensions have come to the surface …

Record Midterm Enthusiasm as Voters Head to Polls  —  Republican enthusiasm exceeds that for either party in prior midterm election years  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' enthusiasm about voting exceeds the recent midterm election high set four years ago, with 50% of Americans and 53% …

U.S. is not greatest country ever  —  When foreign car companies started opening factories in the United States, back in the 1980s, it seemed like an act of obeisance.  The plants didn't make economic sense — Americans had to be paid so much more — but this was a tactful bit of tribute to Empire Central.

5 Reasons Democrats Could Beat the Polls and Hold the House  —  It was hard to pinpoint exactly when in the night things started to go wrong.  But at some point, a trash can was knocked over in John Boehner's office in the Rayburn House Office Building.  A half-hour later on the other side of town …

Midterms 2010: Americans aren't stupid - but they are angry with Barack Obama  —  Today's mid-term elections will highlight the divide between Barack Obama's big government and disaffected voters, says Toby Harnden.  —  It has been easy this year to present the American mid-term elections …

Companies may have to make amends after midterm elections  —  Republicans have a message for the businesses that worked closely with the Obama administration over the past two years on key controversial issues: We won't forget.  —  Take the case of Wal-Mart, the behemoth big-box retailer that liberals have long loved to hate.

Crazed Democrats in Virginia attack opponents, throw signs  —  If you thought negative campaign ads were a problem in this election, perhaps you haven't spent enough time in Virginia's 5th district.  This video depicts two men unleashing a string of racial epithets at members of Americans for Prosperity, who took the video.

Deficit Commission Plots to Overhaul Social Security Behind Voters' Backs  —  That is what the NYT reported today, although it used somewhat different language.  It told readers that:  —  “The group, which has a Dec. 1 deadline for recommending how to reduce the annual deficits swelling the federal debt …

'John Boehner: Stop Using My Dad's Name as a Punchline, You Asshat.'  —  Republican House minority leader John Boehner has been using a dumb—trust me, really dumb—line involving Johnny Cash in some recent speeches.  Cash's daughter Roseanne doesn't think much of that.  And she let Boehner know, by calling him “asshat.”

The Second Marriage  —  The heavens rejoiced.  Two years ago as Democrats cruised to power, Washingtonians felt a jolt of electricity in the air.  News organizations published picture books celebrating the dawning of a new age.  I distinctly remember seeing angels and cherubs drunk at the bar …

Focus Hocus Pocus  —  If there's one piece of conventional pundit wisdom that annoys me most, it's the constant refrain that Obama was wrong to pursue health care, that he should have focused on the economy instead.  —  For the question people saying this never answer is, what would that focus have consisted of?

Remember 2008...  When all those nauseating, over-produced faux-musical Obama ads came out?  Well, someone noticed a few discrepancies between what those slick ads promised and what actually happened in the intervening few years and pointed them out in this highly amusing video parody:

What will a GOP win mean for health-care reform?  —  The question is not whether Republicans want to repeal the health-care overhaul.  They do.  “We offer a plan to repeal and replace the government takeover of health care,” reads the 2010 Republican Agenda.  —  The question is whether they'll succeed.

Coons Camp Expresses Turnout Worries  —  Most polls have predicted that the closely watched Delaware Senate race between Democrat Chris Coons and Republican tea-party favorite Christine O'Donnell was going to be anything but close.  One poll last week had Mr. Coons up by 10 points …

Rushdie on Jon Stewart  —  In my previous post about Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam I quoted Salman Rushdie's surprise that Jon Stewart had given a starring role at his “Rally for Sanity” to a crooner who had previously opined that Rushdie deserved to die for deciding of his own free will to abandon Islam and criticise its texts.

Keith Olbermann Suspends ‘Worst Persons’ Segment Until Further Notice  —  Longtime fans of Countdown may have been disappointed to learn tonight that one of the franchise segments, “Worst Persons,” is no longer - at least for the time being.  Why?  Well as host Keith Olbermann explains in the segment below …

O'Donnell receives most coverage of 2010 candidates  —  Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell didn't get too much national media coverage before upsetting the Republican establishment and winning the Delaware primary in September.  But since then, O'Donnell's been all over the news …

Early Reports Point To High Voter Turnout In Urban Areas  —  What's Your Reaction: … WASHINGTON — Early anecdotal reports of turnout at polling places indicates higher than expected activity in urban areas, which could bode well for Democrats and undercut the narrative about an enthusiasm gap among progressives.

Official Election Predictions Post  —  When all the votes are counted, I think there'll be 232 House Republicans.  They'll be joined by 49 Senate Republicans, which is going to set off an interesting frenzy of efforts to entice Senators Nelson, Lieberman, Landrieu, and Pryor to switch parties …

Collusion: Harrah's Bosses Put Squeeze on Employees to Vote Reid  —  Internal emails obtained from Harrah's in Las Vegas show the casino company's executives scrambling to push company employees to early vote in an all-out effort to help the Harry Reid campaign.

The end of the ‘do-something’ Congress  —  Republicans will probably win the House today.  They might win the Senate, too.  But either way, the brief moment in which Democrats not only controlled Congress, but held enough seats to do big things, is over.  And it'll end in defeat.  —  Actually, scratchthat.

The Real Prize in Tuesday's Elections  —  The GOP is hoping to redistrict dozens of Dems out of their congressional seats—and if things go their way in the Rust Belt, they just might pull it off.  —  Post Comment  —  Forget the Senate and House.  That's short-term thinking.

Voting  —  Concerning my trip to the polls this morning, a few observations (remember how WFB would begin a column that way?):  —  1) I guess that, if I live to 112, I will always have the same memory, when waiting to cast my ballot.  It is of the first time I voted.  I was a freshman in college.

Third Way aims for front and center  —  The long-simmering battle between moderates and liberals for the soul of the Democratic Party is about to explode.  —  That presents a golden opportunity for Third Way, a five-year-old think tank that remains largely unknown outside the Beltway.

Bill Maher Stands By Mohammed Remarks: 'I Don't Need To Apologize For Being A Proud Westerner'  —  Bill Maher showed up on CNN to talk about comments he made on Real Time regarding the ‘alarming’ number of ‘baby Mohammeds’ in England.  Maher told Wolf Blitzer that he felt no need to …

Math Rage  —  A number of my recent blog posts have involved pointing out adding-up constraints: you can't have some people spending less than their income unless others spend more than their income, all the world's currencies can't devalue against each other, etc..

There's No Such Thing as a Realignment  —  The worst thing that happens after most US elections is that people begin to debate whether or not the election in question is/was a “realignment” election.  —  So when I saw that Stan Collender had a post titled Beware of Those Who Call This Election a Realigment" I was excited.

Why Obama Is No Roosevelt  —  Roosevelt: ‘Your government has unmistakable confidence in your ability to hear the worst without flinching and losing heart.’ Obama: We don't 'always think clearly when we're scared.'  —  Whatever the outcome of today's election, this much is clear …

Barbour Claims Labor Unions Are Outspending The GOP Despite That Top Outside Spenders Support Republicans  —  The Citizens United decision opened the floodgates for outside groups to unleash a record amount of spending this season, amounting to “more than every other midterm cycle since 1990 combined.”

Cornyn: GOP would ‘welcome’ party switch by Joe Lieberman  —  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Senate Republicans would “welcome” any Democrats who wish to switch parties and caucus with the GOP.  —  Cornyn, the head of Senate Republicans' campaign efforts, floated the possibility …