FLORIDA: "Alex Sink and Rick Scott admire each other's commitments to their families. And that's about it," the Miami Herald reports. "The leading candidates for governor spent most of Wednesday's hourlong, televised debate bashing their rivals platforms, experience and character in an effort to break the logjam that remains with less than two weeks to Election Day. Sink, the state's chief financial officer, was more aggressive, portraying Scott as untrustworthy and unprepared to lead the nation's fourth largest state. 'He should look at me,' she admonished when he was asked to say something positive about her."

PENNSYLVANIA: Roll Call wraps up last night’s Sestak vs. Toomey debate: “Senate candidates Pat Toomey (R) and Rep. Joe Sestak (D) sparred for the first time on a public stage Wednesday night, offering Pennsylvania voters a pointed debate on topics such as gun control, the economy and even former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. It was clear from the outset that the men don’t particularly like each other.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer: "The two men aiming to replace U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter clashed repeatedly in a debate last night, each accusing the other of lying about his 'extreme' positions as polls show the race narrowing to a dead heat with less than two weeks until Election Day. Toomey pegged Sestak as a member of the 'most liberal wing' of his political party, willing to spend the country into debt that it cannot handle." More: "It became clear early on how nationalized the contentious race has become when moderator George Stephanopoulos, of ABC News, noted that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Toomey Tuesday and asked if she was qualified to be president. Toomey didn't answer and did little to embrace Palin's support. 'I'm very grateful for the support I have from people all across the political spectrum,' Toomey said."

NBC’s Adam Verdugo, who reports from the debate site, writes: Both candidates tried to paint each other as fringe elements of their respective parties and out of touch with Pennsylvania voters. Sestak wanted to paint Toomey as someone who was beholden to special interests and someone who still kept ties to his former colleagues on Wall Street. Toomey’s tactics were similar in that he sought to paint Sestak as an out of touch liberal.

Toomey leads Sestak, 48%-46%, in a new Quinnipiac poll.

The New York Times on President Obama’s campaign appearance in Oregon last night: “President Obama began his four-day campaign swing on Wednesday to fortify a Democratic firewall on the West Coast, telling a crowded rally here to ‘defy the conventional wisdom just like you did in 2008,’ when Oregon overwhelmingly backed him for president.” More: “With two weeks to go until the midterm elections, Mr. Obama is trying desperately to shore up the Democratic base, appealing to voters in Oregon, Washington and California — traditionally blue states where Republicans have been running competitive campaigns.”

“White House senior adviser David Axelrod admitted Wednesday that the administration didn’t do enough to help explain Democrats’ legislative accomplishments to the public over the past two years,” Roll Call writes. “President Barack Obama ‘didn’t have time’ to focus on messaging as he tackled major issues that ‘came in rapid fire’ as soon as he got to office, Axelrod told Roll Call during a West Wing interview.”

Here we go… “The Senate’s top Republican says President Obama and a more Republican Congress could join to pass laws on trade and spending policy and make changes to the health care overhaul if the administration listens to voters on Election Day,” the AP writes. “‘I can’t believe he’s going to continue to ignore the wishes of the American people if his party has a very bad day Nov. 2,’ Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican leader, said yesterday. ‘If he pivots and wants to work with us, obviously I’d be happy to talk to him.’” White House spokesman Bill Burton: “After two years of partisan posturing and parliamentary roadblocks, it would be a welcome change if Senator McConnell were to embrace the politics of cooperation and problem-solving. … We’ll wait and see.”

Former President George W. Bush made a rare speech. Here are some lines from his address at the University of Texas-Tyler, per the Tyler Morning Telegraph: "I believe this country is engaged in an ideological struggle of a kind we have never seen before." … “Here's what you learn, you realize you're not it. You're a part of something bigger than yourself.” … “I miss being pampered; I miss Air Force 1; I miss being commander in chief of an awesome group of (people).”

He also talks about cleaning up after his dog Barney on walks now, something he tried to avoid for eight years. And he said he read 12 biographies of Abe Lincoln during his presidency.

From NBC's Mark Murray and Carrie Dann
While a handful Democratic candidates are refusing to support Nancy Pelosi as their leader should they retain control of the lower chamber, a top Republican candidate has now declined to unequivocally back Rep. John Boehner for the job if Republicans win the majority in the House.

In an editorial board meeting with the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., Republican candidate Kristi Noem declined to say that she'd specifically support Boehner for Speaker of the House because "I don’t know what my other options are.”

Noem is challenging Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin.

The exchange came when Noem criticized Herseth Sandlin for supporting Pelosi, who Noem says backs an "agenda that does not resonate here in South Dakota.”

“You have to look at who people address as their leaders, who they give power to," Noem said.

Asked who she would support if the House flips, Noem replied: “I don’t know who’s going to be running for Speaker. I know I won’t be voting for Nancy Pelosi.”

When an editorial board questioner followed up, asking specifically if she’d support Boehner, Noem replied:

“There could be several people running. Realistically, when you look at how the House could change, there could be several people. John Boehner could be one of them, but if there was another person that was running that represented South Dakota better and more with South Dakota’s industries, and interests, and values, I certainly would support them too.

“I can’t state specifically on John Boehner, because I don’t know what my other options are," she concluded.

You can watch the video here. (The exchange happens at about 50:49.)

From NBC's Shawna Thomas
RENO, Nev. -- On the last stop of a two-day Western state tour, Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the University of Nevada-Reno to rally support for Majority Leader Harry Reid’s reelection bid. Before Biden stepped up to the mic, Reid used most of his speech to attack Sharron Angle. His newest line of attack was likening her views on the separation of church and state with that of Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell.

“Now on the national news yesterday… Christine O’Donnell said there is no separation of church and state," Reid said. "Now I don’t know why that made such a big headline yesterday because Sharron Angle said something worse two months ago. She said… there’s no such thing in the constitution as the separation of church and state. Try the First Amendment. If my opponent wants to run as a Constitutional expert, she should at least know what’s in it or maybe she hasn’t read it.” Reid continued, “Nevada simply can’t afford this embarrassment.”

He also bashed his opponent’s avoidance of the media. “Every time," he said, "and it’s quite often, my opponent talks herself into a corner she goes back into this bunker. We don’t know where it’s located.”

Biden, sitting behind the senator stage right mumbled something. Reid relayed Biden’s quip to the audience, “The Vice President says it must be the one Cheney went to.”

Biden’s speech seemed to focus on the danger Tea Partiers like Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell present not only to the Republican Party, but to governing in general. “If, in fact, Harry’s opponent were unique, the only one running like her in America. You’d say, ‘OK, it doesn’t matter a whole lot. It doesn’t matter a whole lot,’” Biden said. “It matters a whole lot to Nevada, but it doesn’t matter a whole lot to America, because guess what, having one person with such extreme views isn’t a big deal. But folks, folks, they’re all over the place.”

In Biden’s opinion, the Tea Partiers would further drive apart the two parties. “The Republican Party is in disarray, and by the way that’s not good for Democrats. That’s not good period. It’s not good to see the Republican Party taken over by the Tea Party, and it hasn’t happened yet.” Biden continued, “Folks, if that happens every reasonable Republican, solid conservatives who disagree with us on the merits on things, they will be unable to work with us, because they’ll be fearful…if they do they will be primaried.”

And Biden chose to end on a familiar note from the 2008 campaign when he said, “Vote your hope. Don’t vote your fears. Make this a choice, not a referendum.”

As the national GOP tries to navigate the complicated dynamics of the three-way Alaska Senate race, a new poll shows a dead heat between the two Republicans in the contest.

The TIME/CNN survey of likely voters shows Republican Joe Miller and write-in hopeful Lisa Murkowski with 37 percent support apiece, with Democrat Sott McAdams trailing by double digits at 23 percent.

The poll comes as the National Republican Senatorial Committee is wading into the race, releasing its first ad in favor of Miller, who won the state's August 10 primary.

The NRSC ad slams congressional Democrats, saying that proponents of the health care bill and bank bailouts "want to tell us how to live."

"To stop them, we need Joe Miller," the narrator says.

But the ad does not mention Murkowski (or McAdams, for that matter) by name, focusing only on Miller's commitment to fight "big government" and "stand up for us."

She’s in the headlines again because of a voicemail almost two decades in the making, but the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has hardly been a shrinking violet for the past 19 years.

Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas – who made news last night for asking her husband’s onetime accuser, Anita Hill, to apologize for leveling charges of sexual harassment against then-nominee Clarence Thomas -- has taken an increasingly high-profile role as a political activist in recent years, including associations with elements of the Tea Party movement that has arisen this election cycle.

She started a conservative Web site last year and has recently appeared at events alongside conservative fixtures like Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, right-wing Web maven Andrew Breitbart, and former Bush adviser Karl Rove. (Tonight, Thomas is scheduled to participate in an online forum sponsored by the Family Research Council. The title: “The Taxman Cometh: Stopping the Obama Tax Hikes.”) (UPDATE: A spokesperson for Ginni Thomas now says that Thomas and FRC have both agreed that to keep the focus of the event on Obama and taxes, Thomas will not participate.)

In 2009, Thomas founded nonprofit group Liberty Central, a lobbying organization and Web site for conservatives that offers education materials, solicits donations, and “scores” congressional candidates by calculating those who have “the most respect for our five principles: limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, free enterprise, and national security,” per the site.

Under federal tax code, the group is classified as a 501(c)(4) organization that can accept unlimited donations and is not legally required to disclose its donors.

Her bio on the organization’s Web site notes that she is “a fan of Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Laura Ingraham and other talk radio hosts” and “is intrigued by Glenn Beck and listening carefully.” It does not mention that she is married to a Supreme Court justice.

A former Heritage Foundation legal analyst, Thomas faced questions about potential conflicts of interest in 2000, when Clarence Thomas was one of the five justices who ruled that George W. Bush had won the presidency of the United States. Ginni Thomas was working at the conservative think tank at the time, compiling resumes for potential appointees in a new Republican administration.

Thomas also formerly worked as a legal adviser at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has been a foil for Democrats during this election cycle who point out that powerful business coalition has spent millions to support primarily GOP candidates this year.

Supporters of Thomas and her organization note that other high profile members of the nation’s judiciary branch have politically active spouses. A frequent example: Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, is married to a 3rd circuit appeals court judge in Philadelphia. Per the Washington Post, Judge Marjorie Rendell recuses herself from cases in which one party has contributed to her husband’s political campaigns.

When Liberty Central was founded, Ginni Thomas also emphasized that the court’s “ethics office” had reviewed Thomas’s involvement in the group. (Tony Mauro, a longtime Supreme Court reporter for the National Law Journal, noted that the court does not have an “ethics office” per se, but that the matter had been referred to a little-known “legal office” that “advises on personnel and ethics matters.”)

Thomas has stood by her constitutional right to express her political views, wife of a justice or not.

“I did not give up my First Amendment rights when my husband became a justice of the Supreme Court,” she said earlier this year.

New NBC/WSJ poll forecasts a Category 4 hurricane (at least) for Dems on Nov. 2… But it also shows some improvement for Dems… Obama stumps in Oregon tonight for gubernatorial nominee John Kitzhaber… VCI update: -38… Our three Senate bellwethers for Election Night… The closing arguments on TV… Did you know the Bush/GOP Medicare prescription-drug law will cost more over the next 10 years than the stimulus, health-care law, and TARP combined?... And did you know taxpayers received a $25 billion return on TARP?... Let’s do the time warp, again (Clarence Thomas vs. Anita Hill)… Previewing the GOP leaders and committee chairs if Republicans win the House… And spotlighting NH-2.

From NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Category 4 (at least): The biggest news in our new NBC/WSJ poll is that there’s no news -- after a furious six weeks of attacks and counterattacks. Republicans continue to maintain their generic-ballot lead among likely voters (50%-43%); most registered voters (59%) think the country is headed in the wrong direction; and most (61%) believe the economy will get worse or stay the same in the next 12 months. This forecasts significant gains for the GOP two weeks from now. “Election Day is coming, the hurricane force has not diminished, and it is going to hit the Democrats head on,” NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D) said. “It’s hard to say that the Democrats are facing anything less that a Category 4 hurricane.” Adds co-pollster Bill McInturff: “The Democrats … are facing very, very difficult arithmetic.”

*** Dem improvement: But there’s improvement for Democrats in the poll. President Obama’s job-approval rating among registered voters stands at 47%, up one point from last month and three from August. (That rating, in fact, is higher than George W. Bush’s 38% in Oct. 2006 and Bill Clinton’s 46% in Oct. 1994. But Obama’s rating among white voters is equal or worse than Bush’s and Clinton’s, and whites will be the ones turning out in key districts.) What’s more, 37% say the economy will improve in the next 12 months, which is up five points from last month and 11 points from August. And then there’s this: Democrats now have a two-point lead (46%-44%) in the generic ballot among registered voters, which is up from the 44%-44% tie in September. But Hart calls that registered-voter lead “hollow,” because not all registered voters will participate, especially in a midterm election. Indeed, among those expressing a high interest in voting this midterm season, the GOP holds a 13-point edge on the generic ballot (53%-40%). And that’s why we’re seeing Obama embark on yet another campaign swing taking him to Oregon (today), Washington (Thursday), California and Nevada (Friday), and Minnesota (Saturday).

*** VCI Update: -38: With our new NBC/WSJ poll, the president and Democrats get a slight uptick in our October monthly Voter Confidence Index, from -41 to -38 now. As we've written before, the VCI for President Reagan and the GOP in 1982 when unemployment was similar to today, was -35. Republicans lost 26 seats that year. In 1994, the VCI was -30, when Democrats lost 54 seats. More at VCI.msnbc.com.

*** Our “desert island” test: If you dropped us on a desert island and asked us to determine how Election Night would go if we could rely on the returns from three Senate contests, we’d pick: CO SEN, PA SEN, and WA SEN. Colorado and Pennsylvania -- races where Republicans might have a very small edge (though a new PA poll shows Sestak with a lead -- will gauge if there is a GOP wave. And Washington will tell us just how big the wave might be (if Republicans win it, they’ll probably win the Senate; if not, they’ll fall short).

*** The closing arguments: This is the week we’re seeing the TV traffic become dominated by the big “all telling” negative that candidates hope cements a narrative. In California, Jerry Brown (D) hit Meg Whitman (R) with an ad comparing her to Arnold Schwarzenegger (narrative: Meg’s not change). In Florida, Rick Scott is getting hit with the Medicare fraud charge (translation: he can’t be trusted). In Kentucky, Jack Conway (D) is seizing on Rand Paul’s (R) Aqua Buddha incident (Paul is kooky). And in Nevada, Republicans have seized on Harry Reid (D) residence at the Ritz-Carlton (Reid is out of touch).

*** Things that make you go, hmmmmm: The New York Times has this nugget: “Calculations by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and other independent fiscal experts show that the $1.1 trillion cost over the next 10 years of the Medicare prescription drug program, which the Republican-controlled Congress adopted in 2003, by itself would add more to the deficit than the combined costs of the bailout, the stimulus and the health care law.” And here’s Bloomberg: The TARP bailout “provided taxpayers with higher returns than they could have made buying 30-year Treasury bonds -- enough money to fund the Securities and Exchange Commission for the next two decades. The government has earned $25.2 billion on its investment of $309 billion in banks and insurance companies, an 8.2 percent return over two years.”

*** Let’s do the time warp -- again: As NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported on “TODAY,” Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, Ginni, left a message on Anita Hill’s voicemail earlier this month, asking for an apology. The New York Times: “In a voice mail message left at 7:31 a.m. on Oct. 9, a Saturday, Virginia Thomas asked her husband’s former aide-turned-adversary to make amends. Ms. Hill played the recording, from her voice mail at Brandeis University.” Hill says she has nothing to apologize for. The bigger story involving Ginni Thomas, though, is her active engagement with the Tea Party when her husband sits on the U.S. Supreme Court.

*** The men and women who would be House GOP leaders: In the next installment of our Election Book, we look at the Republican men and women who would likely assume the leadership positions and committee gavels if Republicans take back the House. The leadership, per NBC’s Luke Russert:

Speaker: John Boehner (R-OH)
Majority leader: Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Majority whip: Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) or Pete Sessions (R-TX)
GOP conference chair: Mike Pence (R-IN)
GOP conference vice-chair: Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA)
NRCC chair: Sessions or McCarthy

*** The men and women who would be House GOP chairs: And, per NBC’s Russert, here are the people who are likely to become the committee chairs:

Appropriations: Harold Rogers (R-KY) or Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Armed Services: Buck McKeon (R-CA)
Budget: Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Education and Labor: John Kline (R-MN)
Energy and Commerce: Fred Upton (R-MI) or John Shimkus (R-IL)
Financial Services: Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), or Ed Royce (R-CA)
Foreign Affairs: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Homeland Security: Peter King (R-NY)
Judiciary: Lamar Smith (R-TX)
Oversight and Government Reform: Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Rules: David Dreier (R-CA)
Standards of Official Conduct/Ethics: Jo Bonner (R-AL)
Transportation and Infrastructure: John Mica (R-FL)
Ways and Means: Dave Camp (R-MI)

*** Tomorrow’s midterm topic: The women and women who would assume the leadership and committee gavels if Republicans take back the Senate.

*** 75 House races to watch: NH-2: The Democratic nominee to fill the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Paul Hodes (D), who’s running for the Senate, is attorney/community activist Ann McLane Kuster. The GOP nominee is former Congressman Charlie Bass, whom Hodes ousted in ’06. In 2008, Obama won 56% in this district, while Kerry won 52% in ’04. As of Sept. 30, Bass had nearly $375,000 in the bank, versus Kuster’s more than $350,000. Book Cook and Rothenberg rate the contest as Toss Up.

Countdown to Election Day 2010: 13 days

Click here to sign up for First Read emails.
Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter.

FLORIDA: "Just two weeks before the Nov. 2 election that could end his long political career, Gov. Charlie Crist tried to rattle U.S. Senate frontrunner Marco Rubio by raising new questions about his character in the fourth televised U.S. Senate debate," the Miami Herald writes of last night’s debate. "Crist, who is running without party affiliation, called the Republican nominee an `extreme right-wing candidate' who would try to outlaw abortion, punish public school teachers and shear Social Security benefits. And for the first time, Crist accused Rubio of changing his position on insurance legislation when he was House Speaker after selling his West Miami home `for cash' to a chiropractor who was lobbying him."

SOUTH CAROLINA: "Republican Nikki Haley reiterated Tuesday that she will push to eliminate the corporate income tax to bring jobs to South Carolina, while Democrat Vincent Sheheen said he would aggressively use incentives to lure companies," The State reports of the first of three gubernatorial debates.

“President Obama is giving Republicans a 10-day window to set the agenda for a lame-duck session and the new legislative year by leaving the country right after the midterm elections,” The Hill writes. “The timing of the president’s trip to Asia is worrying some Democrats, who believe it could cede further momentum to a resurgent Republican Party that might win a House majority on Nov. 2.”

The New York Times: “If there is a single message unifying Republican candidates this year, it is a call to grab hold of the federal checkbook, slam it closed and begin to slash spending. To bolster their case that action is needed, Republicans are citing major legislation over the four years that Democrats have controlled Congress, notably the financial system bailout, the economic stimulus and the new health care law.”

“But while polls show that the Republicans’ message is succeeding politically, Republican candidates and party leaders are offering few specifics about how they would tackle the nation’s $13.7 trillion debt, and budget analysts said the party was glossing over the difficulty of carrying out its ideas, especially when sharp spending cuts could impede an already weak economic recovery.”

“When Anita Hill arrived at her Brandeis University office on Columbus Day, she had an unexpected phone message waiting. ‘Initially, I thought this might be a prank,’ said the woman who became a household name in 1991 when she accused then-US Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment and ignited a fierce national debate about gender relations in the workplace.

On Hill’s voice mail was a message from Justice Thomas’s wife, Virginia,” The Boston Globe reports. “‘Good morning, Anita Hill, it’s Ginni Thomas,’ according to the message, a transcript of which was provided to the Globe and confirmed by Hill. ‘I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband.’ Mrs. Thomas, a conservative activist, then closed the brief message by adding: ‘So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day.’ Hill, in an interview with the Globe yesterday, said she has no reason to apologize to anyone.”

Bulls in china shops: Chris Christie wants Michelle Rhee to be New Jersey schools chancellor.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Carrie Dann
In a single appearance at a high school last week, GOP Senate hopeful Sharron Angle made statements upsetting to both Asians and Hispanics.

And also, apparently, Canadians.

In a letter sent Monday to the Nevada Senate candidate, the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. asked the Tea Party hopeful to retract her statement that the border between the two countries was “where the terrorists came through.”

From the Vancover Sun:

In a letter sent to Angle on Monday, [ambassador Gary] Doer asks that Angle "set the record straight" on the 9/11 terrorists.

"There have been no terrorist attacks on the United States coming from Canada," Doer writes. "None of the 9/11 hijackers entered the United States from or through Canada. Extensive investigations by U.S. law enforcement authorities have established that all the hijackers entered the United States directly from third countries — not Canada — with visas issued by American diplomatic missions overseas."

Per the Associated Press, an Angle spokesman later pointed to the case of Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian citizen who entered American via the northern border and was later convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, as an example. An embassy spokesman countered that Angle’s original comments were “quite vague” and that she had falsely implied that the Ressam case was one of many.

American voters, let's talk about your feelings.

With unemployment still hovering close to double digits, frustration and dissatisfaction have been running high in the lead-up to the election. That's not been lost on Democratic candidates and surrogates, who, of late, have spent time on the campaign trail putting the electorate on the proverbial couch.

"People are angry," former President Bill Clinton said yesterday at a campaign event for Washington state incumbent Sen. Patty Murray. "But when you make a decision when you're mad -- about anything, not just politics -- there's an 80 percent chance you make a mistake."

Clinton's suggestion -- that fear and anger can cause voters to make unwise decisions -- appears to go hand in hand with President Barack Obama's warning to Democrats that some voters are reluctant to accept rational political arguments because fear and anxiety are clouding their judgment.

"Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument do not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we're hard-wired not to always think clearly when we're scared," Obama told Democratic donors at a fundraiser in Massachusetts last week. "And the country is scared."

Feelings of "anger" about the country’s economic problems vary across party lines. In a recent ABC News/Yahoo Poll, 12 percent of registered Democrats said they were angry about the economy, compared to 30 percent of independents and more than 40 percent of Republicans.

Of the quarter of the survey's total registered voters who classified themselves as "angry" heading into the midterm elections, a majority said that they blame both parties equally. But an additional 35 percent point the finger just at Democrats, compared to just 10 percent who say the GOP is solely to blame. They also say that they are more likely to vote than those who say that they're "dissatisfied," but not hopping mad.

Studies have shown that anger can be a powerful motivating force for voters. "Anger is an empowering emotion," says Christopher Weber, a professor of political psychology at Louisiana State University. "It mobilizes, and it also has been shown to give people a heightened degree of efficacy -- that's the feeling that they can make a difference."

People are also more likely to become "angry" about a situation if they can point a finger at a particular individual or group, Weber adds. "If blame is clear, if you know who to assign responsibility to, you're more likely to appraise a situation with the result of becoming angry," rather than fearful or anxious, he said.

Now, looking at that highly motivated and angry slice of the electorate eager to place blame on incumbents, Democrats are asking voters to think twice about the consequences of pointing those fingers.

The latest incarnation of the "don't vote mad" riff came Tuesday, when the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee unleashed a new ad in the highly contested state of Nevada, warning the state's voters not to take out their "anger" at the polls.

"You're angry. You're frustrated at Washington," a narrator says as a young pony-tailed woman jabs at a punching bag in a deserted ring. "Think how much angrier you'll be if Sharron Angle has her way." The ad goes on to list some of Angle's more extreme policy proposals (phasing out Social Security) and gaffes (saying that it's "not my job" to create jobs in the state).

"So work that anger out in the ring," the narrator concludes, "Because voting for Sharron Angle is only going to hurt yourself."

The 30-second spot does not once mention Angle's opponent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- a Democrat who has suffered from bleak approval ratings among voters in the state throughout the campaign.

Professor Eric Herzik, who chairs the Department of Political Science at the University of Nevada at Reno, says that although there are not many undecided voters in the Nevada race, the ad could serve to mobilize both Democrats and Republicans who dislike Reid but are wary of Angle's "extreme" policy views.

"You're mad at Obama. So you're going to let Sharron Angle be your senator? You may be angry about the economy, but the alternative is not a good alternative" for many voters in the state who think that Angle is "just too crazy," Herzik said.

Such an argument could drive more Nevada voters eager to register a protest vote to choose the state's unique ballot option -- None of these candidates -- instead of selecting one of the two major party nominees, he added. Political analysts believe that could give Reid an edge in the razor-tight race.

Democrats appear united in warning voters against the dangers of making ballot-box choices rashly because of their discontent with the status quo. But, Republicans argue, it's a strategy that could backfire.

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson skewered Obama for his "hard-wired" comment in a Washington Post column Tuesday, writing that the president demonstrated that he is an "intellectual snob" by arguing that his political opponents "rely on their lizard brains" rather upon the "cognitive reasoning" executed by supporters of his policies.

"Though there is plenty of competition," Gerson wrote, "these are some of the most arrogant words ever uttered by an American president."

So are voters "scared," "angry," or just plain annoyed at having their heads shrunk? We'll know next month when the electorate gets off the couch and into the voting booth.

Here’s another data point to keep in mind the next time there’s a media kerfuffle over the possibility of a Hillary Clinton–Joe Biden swap on President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election ticket.

Obama told the National Journal in an interview Tuesday that reports of a swap – most recently mentioned by journalist Bob Woodward, who did not cite concrete evidence that the matter is under consideration – are “completely unfounded.”

From National Journal:

Obama bluntly dismissed suggestions, first raised by author Bob Woodward, that he might replace Biden with Clinton for the 2012 race.

"Completely unfounded. Completely unfounded," Obama said, repeating the phrase a third time for emphasis. "They are both doing outstanding jobs where they are."

From NBC's Luke Russert
According to a piece in the The Hill newspaper, Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) told a local North Carolina TV station that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will not seek another term as Speaker: “From what we’re hearing, she’s probably not going to run for Speaker again,” he said.

McIntyre then pledged to vote for somebody who would oppose Pelosi, "I'm confident she's going to have opposition," he said, "and I look forward to supporting that opposition.”

McIntrye is a moderate, centrist Democrat who hails from a fairly conservative district in North Carolina, and some polls have indicated he could be in a tougher-than-expected race. So it’s not surprising, in this election year, that he would publicly voice opposition to Pelosi -- a West Coast liberal whose popularity in rural conservative districts is negligible.

What is surprising is McIntyre’s claim that Pelosi “will not seek another term as Speaker.” Sources close to the Democratic leadership have told NBC News that McIntyre’s assertion could not be further from the truth.

“If we pull this off [maintaining control of the House], there is no doubt she’ll run for Speaker again and win,” one aide said.

The aides pointed to the many factors Pelosi would have going for her within her Democratic Caucus. The speaker enjoys strong support among progressives, female members, the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as the sizable California delegation, the largest in the House. Therefore, it’s hard to picture a scenario in which she could be beaten in a race of Democrats, especially in an election year where many conservative Democrats are the most likely to lose and therefore not vote for the leadership of the 112th Congress.

Aides also tell NBC News that any decision about Pelosi’s future will be made well after the Nov. 2nd midterms and that “all options are on the table,” but “we fully expect to retain the Speaker’s gavel on the morning of Nov. 3rd.”

Candidates this cycle -- particularly on the Republican side of the political spectrum -- are frequently invoking the Constitution as the basis for their proposed solutions to America's woes.

But at a debate this morning at Widener University Law School in Wilmington, Del., GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell appeared to demonstrate a hazy (or at least unconventional) interpretation of the First Amendment.

O'Donnell and Democratic opponent Chris Coons were discussing the teaching of creationism in public schools when the exchange took place.

From the AP:

Coons said private and parochial schools are free to teach creationism but that "religious doctrine doesn't belong in our public schools."

"Where in the Constitution is the separation of church and state?" O'Donnell asked him.

When Coons responded that the First Amendment bars Congress from making laws respecting the establishment of religion, O'Donnell asked: "You're telling me that's in the First Amendment?"

The First Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

***UPDATE*** NBC's Adam Verdugo attended the debate. His report from the ground adds that the Constititional conversation did not stop there:

Adam writes: The debate also focused on the right to privacy, a legal pillar found in Roe v. Wade and a key legal justification for abortion. The candidates were asked about their views on another “right to privacy” case: Griswold v. Connecticut. The case, which reached the Supreme Court, struck down a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives stating that there was a “right to marital privacy.”

O’Donnell was asked whether the case was an example of “legislating from the bench.”

O’Donnell said that she did not have a specific objection to the Supreme Court’s decision. “I don’t think the courts or Congress should legislate what a married couple does,” O’Donnell said, referring to the lower court’s decision that the Supreme Court overturned.

Coons, seeing this as an opportunity to connect the dots, attacked.

“Griswold v. Connecticut is a case that defines a right to privacy,” Coons said. “If you understand the foundations of Roe v. Wade, you would have to also reject Griswold v. Connecticut. It is in some ways, more of a reach than Roe v. Wade.”

O’Donnell, who was propelled in her primary fight by the Tea Party, was also asked about her comments saying that the Constitution would be a litmus test for how she would vote in the Senate.

“What are your thoughts about repealing the 14^th, 16^th, and 17^th amendments,” she was asked by one of the moderators.

After saying she wouldn’t want to repeal the 17^th amendment, which allows for the direct election of senators, she asked to be reminded of what the 14^th and 16^th amendments were.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring my Constitution with me,” she said. “Fortunately senators don’t have to memorize the Constitution,” she said. “Can you remind me of what the other ones are?”

The moderator reminded her that the 14^th amendment “defines citizenship." As for the 16^th amendment, he said, “I think you should know what the 16^th amendment is...federal income tax.” (Like many other races across the country involving Tea Party-backed candidates, taxes have been an issue. O’Donnell’s campaign cut an ad recently painting Coon’s as “the tax man.”)

After she was reminded what the amendments were, O’Donnell said she supports lowering the income tax and wants to reform the IRS. Regarding the 14^th amendment, she said we have to close the borders adding that “our country has always welcomed people from other lands.”

As for Coons: “I absolutely oppose the widespread proposals by Tea Party candidates for us to repeal the 14^th, 16^th, or 17^th amendments”

*** UPDATE TWO *** O'Donnell campaign manager Matt Moran sends along this statement: "In this morning's WDEL debate, Christine O'Donnell was not questioning the concept of separation of church and state as subsequently established by the courts. She simply made the point that the phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution. It was in fact Chris Coons who demonstrated his ignorance of our country's founding documents when he could not name the five freedoms contained in the First Amendment."

Meg Whitman (R) has run as the new/outsider/change candidate in California's gubernatorial contest. But Jerry Brown's (D) campaign has a counterpunch to that argument: Whitman -- a wealthy moderate Republican who will have to deal with a Democratic legislature -- isn't that much change from outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).

Below is Brown's new TV ad, which displays Whitman and Schwarzenegger echoing familiar statements.

The Whitman campaign responds, “Comparing Meg's experience as one of the world's most successful business leaders to Arnold Schwarzenegger's career as an actor is a false equivalency. The only candidate who has supported Arnold’s plan to raise taxes is Jerry Brown when he supported the ballot measure in 2009 that would have raised Californians’ taxes by $16 billion. Now, Jerry’s plan is to do exactly what Arnold did and ask the voters to approve a massive tax increase. Meg Whitman is the only candidate who is offering Californians a real solution to the problems it faces and is the only candidate who has promised not to raise taxes.”

Are we headed for a third-straight change election?... If Republicans pick up just 20 seats, it’ll be just the fourth time since WWI when either of the parties have gained 20 or more seats in three-consecutive cycles… The other times this has occurred: After WWI, during the Great Depression, and during and after WWII… Tomorrow’s midterm topic: What the committees and GOP leadership would look like if Republicans win control of the House… Is McCain crossing the line in his political attacks?... Biden channels the anger… The Tea Party’s very bad day… Do Republicans begin targeting McAdams in Alaska?... Previewing today’s debates and NH-1… And Kasich leads Strickland by 10 points.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Once, twice, three times … a change election: There has been plenty of discussion about this midterm season and history -- whether it’s our write-up yesterday about how a president’s party almost always loses seat in a midterm cycle, or all the comparisons with 1982, 1994, and 2006. But here’s the biggest history we’ll likely see on Election Day: We’re headed for a third-straight change election. In 2006, Democrats won control of Congress. In 2008, Democrats won the White House. And in 2010, Republicans appear poised to take back control of Congress. To put this into perspective, consider that only THREE times since World War I have either the Democrats or Republicans won 20 or more House seats in three-consecutive cycles: after World I (1920, 1922, 1924), during the Great Depression (1928, 1930, 1932), and during and after World War II (1942, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1952).

*** Making sense of the political volatility: But it hasn’t happened since, until now. If Republicans gain at least 20 House seats -- and that’s viewed as the floor of what is supposed to take place on Nov. 2 -- it would be the FOURTH time since World War I that either Democrats or Republicans will have picked up 20 or more House seats in three-consecutive cycles. In fact, our current times appear to have much in common with those other periods -- economic downturn, war and its aftermath, and political/social unrest (Red Scare, labor strife, McCarthyism). When you step back and look at our current times through this prism, the volatility in our politics makes sense. We are living in a period (high unemployment, war, social/political unrest) that many of us have never experienced before, and that our country has only experienced four times in the last 100 years. Right after WWI, we were transitioning from an agricultural economy to an industrial one. After WWII, we were a country moving away from city/farm live to suburban life as well. So the change was more than just frustration at the economy, or at Washington, or at some foreign enemy.

*** Tomorrow’s midterm topic: The GOP leadership and committee chairmen, if Republicans take back the House.

*** McCain on the attack -- and crossing the line? Here’s a legitimate question to ask: How is the tone in Washington going to change when someone like John McCain -- remember the Gang of 14? -- is being more aggressive than he's ever been before when it comes to attacking fellow senators and colleagues on the campaign trail? First, while stumping for Carly Fiorina (R) over the weekend, he accused Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) of waving “the white flag of surrender.” "Sen. Boxer is the most bitterly partisan, most anti-defense senator in the United States Senate today," he said. "And I know that because I've had the unpleasant experience of having served with her." More: "Barbara Boxer wants to waive the white flag of surrender and endanger this nation's national security. It's time she went back to San Francisco with Nancy Pelosi." Now, per Politico, McCain is airing TV ads -- along with fellow Arizona GOP Jon Kyl -- attacking Arizona Democratic Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva.

*** “I’m the same person”: While Republicans attacking Democrats -- and Democrats attacking Republicans -- is hardly news, it is surprising that a sitting senator would be so aggressive in attacking another sitting senator that he might have to work with after Nov. 2. And considering McCain's past as a bipartisan lawmaker, it's really surprising. Then again, McCain's become more rhetorically partisan than he's ever been in his career. In an interview with ABC, McCain justified his attack on Boxer. "[Working with Boxer] has been an unpleasant experience because Barbara Boxer personalizes the political discourse that we have and that's why she's had so very little effect of any kind in the political process," he said. "There is no Republican that will work with her." And McCain added this about the Obama administration, "This is the most partisan administration that I have ever seen ... and I came to the congress in 1983." He also said: "I consider myself a person who stands up for what they believe in. When I was against President Bush on a number of issues I was called a maverick. When I was against President Obama, then I'm called a partisan. What I was trying to say -- I'm the same person."

*** Biden channels the anger: Has anyone else noticed that Vice President Biden channels the public’s anger much better than President Obama does? Here was Biden campaigning in Pennsylvania yesterday. Per the pool report, he noted how the public was angry. "I know they're angry," he said. "They have a right to be angry." There’s more campaigning for Biden today, as he serves as an opening act before Obama’s trip out West later this week. Biden stumps for Patty Murray in Vancouver, WA and later attends an event for Boxer in San Francisco. Meanwhile, at 1:00 pm ET at the White House, President Obama signs the Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans Executive Order.

*** The Tea Party’s very bad day: The folks over at the National Republican Senatorial Committee must have been drinking their fair share of Maalox yesterday due to revelations about some of their high-profile Tea Party candidates. First came Ken Buck comparing homosexuality to alcoholism in his debate on “Meet the Press,” opening the door to the culture wars – and not the economy – being front and center in that contest. Next was the news that security for Joe Miller had put a working journalist in handcuffs. And finally, video surfaced of Sharron Angle telling Hispanic students. “I don’t know that all of you are Latino. Some of you look a little more Asian to me.” She then added, “I’ve been called the first Asian legislator in our Nevada State Assembly." (What?) Make no mistake, if the House flips but the Senate doesn’t -- which would be the first time that’s EVER happened -- it will be because the GOP’s Tea Party candidates in Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, and Nevada lost.

*** Do Republicans begin targeting McAdams? Speaking of Miller in Alaska, at what point do Republicans begin directing their fire at Scott McAdams (D), to help either Miller or Lisa Murkowski (R-ite-in) win? Miller's getting close to being in free-fall if some private polling is to be believed. And while the national Republicans have to be careful not to anger Palin publicly and also come out and endorse Murkowski, about the best way they could assist may be in going after McAdams. Of course, Alaska is a cheap state and, Democrats might decide to play as well. It's going to be a wild ending in Alaska. And here's the best part: We may not know the winner for three weeks, because state law doesn't count the write-ins until it's been determined there are enough write-ins to alter the outcome. #headache

*** Today’s debates: In Delaware’s Senate race, Chris Coons and Christine O’Donnell participate in a radio debate; in Florida’s Senate contest, it’s Marco Rubio vs. Charlie Crist vs. Kendrick Meek; in Georgia’s gubernatorial contest, it’s Nathan Deal vs. Roy Barnes; in Illinois’ Senate race, it’s Alexi Giannoulias vs. Mark Kirk; and in South Carolina’s GOV race, it’s Nikki Haley vs. Vincent Shaheen.

*** 75 House races to watch: NH-1: The Democratic candidate is two-term incumbent Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, and her GOP challenger is Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta. In 2008, Obama won 53% in this district – which includes the city of Manchester – while Bush captured 51% in ’04. As of Sept. 30, Shea-Porter had nearly $600,000 in the bank, versus Guinta’s nearly $300,000. Shea Porter voted for the stimulus, cap-and-trade, and health care. Both Cook and Rothenberg rate the race as Toss Up.

*** More midterm news: In Ohio’s key gubernatorial contest, a new Quinnipiac poll shows John Kasich (R) with a 51%-41% lead among likely voters over Gov. Ted Strickland (D).

Countdown to Election Day 2010: 14 days

Click here to sign up for First Read emails.
Text FIRST to 622639, to sign up for First Read alerts to your mobile phone.
Check us out on Facebook and also on Twitter.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Washington Post on the back-and-forth between Democratic Senate candidate Paul Hodes and Republican candidate Kelly Ayotte in yesterday’s debate: “Hodes, who spoke publicly about running for the U.S. Senate barely a week after being sworn in for his second term in the House, told a debate audience Monday that his Republican opponent Kelly Ayotte is driven by political ambition. Ayotte, a former attorney general who's never run for office before, countered that Hodes was attacking her to avoid talking about his record.”

NEW YORK: NBC’s John Yang was at the Cuomo-Paladino debate, and Paladino had a hard time standing out: During the debate, Paladino seemed bland and listless. He faded into the background and came across as just what he railed against in the Republican primary, when he beat establishment candidate Rick Lazio -- just another politician. He criticized wasteful Medicaid spending, unfunded education mandates and the bureaucracy of New York City's public transit authority. But there were none of the outbursts of the past. Never once did he mention Cuomo by name. "My critics, they say I'm angry," Paladino, whose primary election slogan was, "I'm Mad as Hell," said in his closing statement. "No, I'm passionate about saving New York."

Or maybe it was just tough to stand out in the seven-candidate event that included Jimmy McMillan of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, who kept repeating that very phrase with greater and greater emphasis. Or Kristin Davis of the Anti-Prohibition Party, who claims to have run the escort service that provided former governor Eliot Spitzer with prostitutes and is running on a platform of legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana and prostitution. At one point Davis said that unlike the New York City transit system, she "delivered on-time and reliable service." She also said politicians in Albany were "the biggest whores in the state, and I may be the only person on the stage with the experience to deal with them."

This is why you don’t invite every candidate to a debate. The New York Post’s headline sums it up: “Jokers wild in debate debacle.”

The New York Daily News calls it: “One bad comedy show,” and “Andrew Cuomo won Monday's debate, just by sitting up straight.”

While there were no "fireworks" directly between gubernatorial opponents Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino, the first -- and possibly last -- debate between the seven candidates running for governor had plenty of entertainment value, according to the New York Times, which described it as “90 minutes of political theater verging on farce Monday night, with a format that allowed even cursory discussion of issues like taxes and schools to be interrupted by random one-liners and sometimes inexplicable answers.”

WEST VIRGINIA: NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell has some quotables from the Senate debate: John Raese (R) on global warming: "Gov. Manchin … he does believe global warming is caused by man, and the fact that we do have global warming. And that's where he and I have a difference: I don't believe that." Manchin on cap-and-trade: "I respectfully disagree with President Obama. He is dead wrong on cap and trade." Raese on health care: "I don't like socialism to tell you the truth. … I'd like to repeal every part of it because it is pure unadulterated socialism. It is the worst bill that has ever come out of the United States Senate and House." Manchin: "I'm not prepared to scrap the entire bill. There's parts that need change. There are parts that need to be repealed I am sure of that and we have never passed a piece of perfect legislation.”

Raese on the minimum wage: "We have to start lifting jobs and manufacturing where they should be. Not like Manchin and Obama they enjoy people working for 7 dollars and 25 cents. Quite frankly I don't. … I know a lot about creating jobs in my lifetime I've created a lot of em."

Manchin praised the commanders for their decision Afghanistan, saying the president “followed”: "I support the commander's decision for the building up and the president followed that recommendation and with that we must support our troops and we must give them needed support to complete mission.” Raese: "Gov. Manchin might have it a little bit wrong, because when Gen. McChrystal requested troops, he got troops. He only got 70%. Once again Obama did not listen to his generals." Manchin: “I have to inform my opponent Mr. Obama's name will not be on the ballot. … I'm not a rubber stamp for anybody; never have been in my life."

Stu Rothenberg in Roll Call: “One of the interesting things about elections is how races ebb and flow. Some incumbents who seemed to have no chance to survive a couple of months ago are still hanging in there, even giving themselves a real chance to win. On the other hand, some presumably safe incumbents suddenly look to be in serious trouble.” Where incumbents are looking better: AZ-1, AZ-5, ND-AL, MD-1, MS-1, IN-2. Those now in worse shape: TN-4, OH-18, CO-3, FL-2.

“Latinos for Reform announced today the launch of a national ad campaign in targeted states urging Latino voters not to vote for Members of Congress that have failed to deliver on their immigration reform promises,” PR Newswire reports. The ad accuses the Democratic leadership of “betraying” immigration reform proponents, saying that with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, they had “no excuses” not to pass reform.

Here’s the ad.

Facebook has begun profiling its House races to watch.

ALASKA: “A former borough mayor claims Miller was nearly fired in 2008 for using government computers in a failed effort to overthrow the state GOP chairman,” the AP reports. “The Dispatch had reported allegations related to this before the mayor publicly spoke, citing unidentified sources. Miller on Monday acknowledged to CNN he was disciplined over the matter but said he was never threatened with termination.” The prosecutor in the case could file charges against the security guards for handcuffing the blogger.

CALIFORNIA: The Washington Post’s Tumulty writes about the money that Meg Whitman has spent on her race and on her get-out-the-vote operation.

COLORADO: “Former President Bill Clinton campaigned for Sen. Michael Bennet late Monday with taunts for this year's slate of conservative Republicans and Tea Party candidates, saying they hide behind massive TV campaigns from donors ‘too chicken to say who they are,’’ the Denver Post reports. "’This Tea Party business has brightened my life — they have everybody on from wrestling to witchcraft,’ Clinton said, before more than 2,000 cheering Democrats at the Evie Garrett Dennis school campus in Green Valley Ranch. ‘They have everybody in the Tea Party but the Mad Hatter, and that's just a matter of time.’"

CONNECTICUT: “First Lady Michelle Obama staged a revival at the historic Palace Theater on Monday, returning to the city where she did the bidding of her husband two years ago to campaign for Richard Blumenthal for Senate,” the Connecticut Post reports of the First Lady’s campaign stop yesterday in Stamford.

GEORGIA: Another Nathan Deal ethics problem: Roll Call: “Ex-Rep. Nathan Deal’s Congressional office paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Georgia company owned by his top staffer’s wife to fly to and from his Congressional district, but the staffer did not report the income on his financial disclosure forms because he claims the couple made no profit. House rules prohibit Members from purchasing services from a staff member but appear to be silent on purchasing from a staff member’s spouse.”

KENTUCKY: “Democrat Jack Conway ran into trouble defending his accusations against Kentucky Senate challenger Republican Rand Paul on MSNBC’s ‘Hardball’ Monday night, with host Chris Matthews drilling Conway for a campaign ad attacking Paul,” the Daily Caller recounts. “Matthews interrogated Conway on why, as the Attorney General of Kentucky, he would take an anonymous source at her word about allegations of questionable behavior by Paul from more than 30 years ago – including accusations that Paul tied the unnamed woman up and forced her to kneel before an ‘Aqua Buddha.’”

WASHINGTON: MSNBC.com’s Tom Curry reports from Everett, WA: Campaigning for Sen. Patty Murray Monday in Everett, WA, former president Bill Clinton diagnosed Democrats’ problems this way: Voters don’t yet feel how good the Democrats’ reform will be. “There’s always a gap between when you vote for change and you start implementing and you feel it,” he explained. “Since we have these elections every two years, this election is occurring in the gap. This is the tragedy, the dilemma, the danger of this election -- we’re in the gap between when you do something that makes sense and when people can feel it,” he told a crowd of about 1,000. That delayed gratification, he said, is why “all this anti-government venom sounds so good. People are angry,” Clinton said, but he warned “when you make a decision when you’re mad -- about anything, not just politics -- there’s an 80 percent chance you make a mistake.”

The New York Times asks, "What if a president cut Americans’ income taxes by $116 billion and nobody noticed? It is not a rhetorical question. At Pig Pickin’ and Politickin’, a barbecue-fed rally organized here last week by a Republican women’s club, a half-dozen guests were asked by a reporter what had happened to their taxes since President Obama took office. 'Federal and state have both gone up,' said Bob Paratore, 59, from nearby Charlotte, echoing the comments of others. After further prodding — including a reminder that a provision of the stimulus bill had cut taxes for 95 percent of working families by changing withholding rates — Mr. Paratore’s memory was jogged. 'You’re right, you’re right,' he said. 'I’ll be honest with you: it was so subtle that personally, I didn’t notice it.'"

"Few people apparently did. In a troubling sign for Democrats as they head into the midterm elections, their signature tax cut of the past two years, which decreased income taxes by up to $400 a year for individuals and $800 for married couples, has gone largely unnoticed."

“Sarah Palin launched a two-week run of Tea Party Express rallies yesterday leading up to the election and teased supporters about a possible presidential run for herself, saying ‘we can see 2012 from our house,’” the AP writes.

NBC’s John Boxley reports from Reno, NV: The Tea Party Express gathered here to kick off a "Liberty at the Ballot Box” bus tour leading up to Election Day. Hundreds were on hand, cheering and waving signs. Tea Party superstar Sarah Palin addressed the crowd, praising the efforts of the Tea Party. "That reawakening that you are seeing, it is sweeping the land and it is thanks to you, Tea Party Americans, the Patriots who finally said enough is enough and we're taking it back.” And she said the left doesn't know what to do with the Tea Party. "You have been mocked, you have slammed by the left, still you didn't let big government loving professional politicians and the left wing lame street media tell you to sit down and shut up, instead you didn't retreat, you reloaded you came out even stronger and you've turned this country around."

Palin had this warning shot for the Obama-Reid-Pelosi team, "Our message is we don't work for you anymore, Mr. Reid. Enjoy your retirement. We don't work for you anymore, Nancy Pelosi. You’re fired. And Mr Obama and your czars -- you’re next, because now we can see 2012 from our house." Still, Palin said now is not the time to celebrate. "We've got so much work to do between now and Nov. 2. It’s gotta be 16-,18-, 20-hour days where we are exhausting ourselves, doing all we can to get out the vote...”

While greeting supporters afterwards, Palin was asked about Sharron Angle and what Palin would tell undecideds about her. "Look at the alternative. Look what has happened to Nevada's economy with national policies led by Harry Reid that has created this unemployment that is record here 14.4%. It’s really atrocious, these policies that have outsourced jobs and opportunity away from Nevada to foreign countries. It’s been led by Harry Reid, so just consider the alternative. Sharron Angle's boldness, her common sense all those things that will do our entire Country so well, she really is the right candidate."

“The campaign rhetoric of tea-party-inspired Republicans is on a collision course with the federal debt limit, which could make the threat of a government shutdown an early order of business in a new Republican majority,” Roll Call reports.

“Ten months ago, when Scott Brown was the hottest name in politics and Bill Hudak was the Republican best known for his yard sign depicting Barack Obama as Osama bin Laden, the newly elected senator tried to keep his distance,” the Boston Globe writes. “Days after Brown’s stunning win, Hudak had to retract and apologize for his assertion that Brown had endorsed him in his congressional bid. Now, things have changed. Last week, Brown issued the endorsement, bestowing his stamp of approval on Hudak and eight other Republicans running for the all-Democratic Massachusetts delegation. … Nationally, Republicans have voiced concern about the electability of their more unorthodox nominees.”

In a New York Times op-ed today, NBC's Tom Brokaw makes a striking observation: In this midterm season, there has been very little discussion about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The United States is now in its ninth year of fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, the longest wars in American history. Almost 5,000 men and women have been killed. More than 30,000 have been wounded, some so gravely they’re returning home to become, effectively, wards of their families and communities.

[snip]

So why aren’t the wars and their human and economic consequences front and center in this campaign, right up there with jobs and taxes?

The answer is very likely that the vast majority of Americans wake up every day worrying, with good reason, about their economic security, but they can opt out of the call to arms. Unless they are enlisted in the armed services — or have a family member who has stepped forward — nothing much is asked of them in the war effort.