IN FOCUS: STATS

• A Vote Against Dems, Not for the GOP: Voters don't want to be governed from the left, right or center. They want Washington to recognize that Americans want to govern themselves.
  In the first week of January 2010, Rasmussen Reports showed Republicans with a nine-point lead on the generic congressional ballot. Scott Brown delivered a stunning upset in the Massachusetts special U.S. Senate election a couple of weeks later. In the last week of October 2010, Rasmussen Reports again showed Republicans with a nine-point lead on the generic ballot. And tomorrow Republicans will send more Republicans to Congress than at any time in the past 80 years. This isn't a wave, it's a tidal shift—and we've seen it coming for a long time. Remarkably, there have been plenty of warning signs over the past two years, but Democratic leaders ignored them. At least the captain of the Titanic tried to miss the iceberg. Congressional Democrats aimed right for it.... - WSJ, 10-31-10
• Democrats, GOP close in Nevada early votes: Nevada Democrats and their union allies appear to have blunted a surge of Republican enthusiasm in early voting, confirming a close race between Republican tea party favorite Sharron Angle and Majority Leader Harry Reid, figures showed Saturday. Two weeks of early voting that ended Friday provide only a barometer of turnout - it's far from conclusive with Election Day to come. The early numbers confirm Republicans are fired up to deny Reid a fifth term, but Democrats are getting to the polls in significant numbers, too. Statewide, Democrats hold about a 60,000-vote registration edge over the GOP, and the decisive factor on Nov. 2 is likely to be the state's independent voters.... - AP, 10-30-10
• Early Voting Numbers in California: Close Races Ahead?: If early voting is an indication of how Tuesday's midterm elections will go--and it's debatable whether, and how, it can--early vote-by mail turnout in California predicts close races for Senate and governor. Here's a breakdown of who has voted already through the state's vote-by-mail program, provided to The Atlantic by a source close to the California Republican Party. By party registration, here's a who has mailed a ballot so far... - The Atlantic, 10-30-10
• Scenarios: Election trends could be evident early: The battle for control of the Congress on Tuesday promises to stretch deep into the night or beyond, but some of the earliest results could give big clues about the eventual outcome.... - Reuters, 10-29-10
• Midterms Q&A: what's at stake and who might win A guide to the most crucial midterms since at least 1994: On Tuesday, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for grabs, along with 37 seats in the Senate, 37 governorships, and the usual multitude of state and local positions, including everything from state legislatures to judges to city mayors. There are no elections for"town dogcatcher", the post sometimes used to illustrate the lowest reach of American electoral politics – though the evidence suggests there once were.... - Guardian UK, 10-29-10
• Nearly two-thirds of U.S. Latinos detect bias, poll find: Nearly two-thirds of Latinos in the United States think they are being discriminated against, and a plurality view the backlash over illegal immigration as the central driver of such bias, according to a poll by the Pew Hispanic Center. The poll also found that 70 percent of foreign-born Latinos think they are being held back by discrimination, and half of all Latinos think the United States has become less welcoming toward immigrants than it was just five years ago.... - 10-28-10
• Factbox: Elections for Congress, state, local offices: Voters across the United States go to the polls next Tuesday to elect senators and representatives to Congress in Washington, as well as state governors and lawmakers and local officials. While President Barack Obama is not on the ballot, the midterm election is in many ways a referendum on his presidency, which is under pressure from voters unhappy with his handling of the weak economy and high unemployment. Thousands of communities will elect mayors and city and county officials, judges, sheriffs and fill other local offices. In many areas, voters will also voice their opinions on specific initiatives -- from raising or cutting state and local taxes to California's question of whether marijuana should be legalized and taxed.
  Here are the numbers.... - Reuters, 10-27-10
• Parts of Obama Coalition Drift Toward G.O.P., Poll Finds: Critical parts of the coalition that delivered President Obama to the White House in 2008 and gave Democrats control of Congress in 2006 are switching their allegiance to the Republicans in the final phase of the midterm Congressional elections, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Republicans have wiped out the advantage held by Democrats in recent election cycles among women, Catholics, less affluent Americans and independents; all of those groups broke for Mr. Obama in 2008 and for congressional Democrats when they grabbed both chambers from the Republicans four years ago, according to exit polls.... - NYT, 10-27-10
• Early Voting On Track To Set Midterm Election Record 9.4 Million Americans Have Already Cast Ballots; Both Parties Claim Advantage: With less than a week to go until Election Day, more than 9.4 million Americans have already cast their ballots in what experts say could be a banner midterm election season for early voting. More than 1.5 million people have voted early in California, 1.2 million in Florida, 237,000 in Iowa and 266,000 in Nevada. Those numbers are likely to be lowball estimates, since some counties have been slow to report early voting statistics. Local newspaper headlines from around the country tell the story. It's shaping up to be a record-breaking year in places like Polk County, Iowa; Kanawha County, West Virginia; Tazewell County, Illinois and Travis County, Texas. In St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, where early voting ended on Tuesday, the line to cast a ballot stretched out the door.... - CBS News, 10-27-10
• Should Obama run again? More voter enthusiasm than for Reagan in '82: Nearly half of today’s voters say they would like to see President Obama run for reelection in 2012, according to a new poll.
  President Obama might feel like a prisoner heading for the gallows, as voters prepare to give his Democratic Party a major midterm drubbing next Tuesday over his performance thus far. But it could be a lot worse. Mr. Obama could be President Reagan in August 1982, when voters were even less enthusiastic about the prospect of having the commander in chief running for reelection in two years. Nearly half of today’s voters – 47 percent – say they would like to see Obama run for reelection in 2012 versus 36 percent who said in August 1982 that Mr. Reagan should run again, according to the latest Pew Research Center/National Journal Congressional Connection poll.
  Reagan went on to win reelection by a whopping 18 points. President Clinton also had a rough first midterm election in 1994, and he faced reelect numbers similar to Obama's at the time – 44 percent. Mr. Clinton, too, won reelection easily in 1996. For Obama, the polling on"should he run for reelection" is about the same as job approval, which is at 46 percent in the latest Pew survey. For Reagan, the job-approval numbers were better than the reelect numbers, but eventually they were the same. According to Gallup, 42 percent approved of Reagan’s job performance in August 1982. By February 1983, Reagan’s job approval had sunk to 35 percent – the same percentage of voters who thought he should run for reelection, compared with 57 percent who thought he should not.... - CS Monitor, 10-26-10
• By slim margin, Ask America voters agree with GOP: Fully extend Bush tax cuts: Election Day is just a week away, and while politicians are focusing on issues like unemployment and health care in their campaigns, lawmakers will still have to deal with the expiring Bush tax cuts after voters hit the polls.
  The tax breaks are set to expire at the end of the year, and Congress has put the issue on the back burner until after the midterm elections. Meanwhile, as the economy hobbles out of the recession, an increasing number of Democrats in Congress are joining Republicans in favor of extending all tax breaks. President Obama supports locking in the tax cuts for the middle class but strongly opposes extending tax cuts for individuals making $200,000 or more and couples making $250,000 or more.
  The tax cuts are a popular issue on Ask America, the Yahoo! News informal polling forum. We asked if people would like to see the tax cuts extended just for the middle class or for higher-income Americans as well. So far, more than 62,000 votes have come in, and the question has generated more than 4,000 comments.
  The vote is close. So far, 54 percent of responses were in favor of extending the tax cuts to both middle- and upper-class Americans, while 46 percent favor only applying the cuts to the middle class.... - AP / Yahoo News, 10-26-10
• NEWSWEEK Poll: Obama Approval Rating Jumps, Democrats Close 'Enthusiasm Gap' As the president’s numbers climb sharply, results suggest that Democrats may be succeeding in firing up their base: Despite doom-saying about Democrats’ chances in the midterms, the latest NEWSWEEK Poll (full results) shows that they remain in a close race with Republicans 12 days before Election Day, while the president’s approval ratings have climbed sharply. The poll finds that 48 percent of registered voters would be more likely to vote for Democrats, compared with 42 percent who lean Republican (those numbers are similar to those in the last NEWSWEEK Poll, which found Democrats favored 48 percent to 43 percent). President Obama’s approval ratings have jumped substantially, crossing the magic halfway threshold to 54 percent, up from 48 percent in late September, while the portion of respondents who disapprove of the president dropped to 40 percent, the lowest disapproval rating in a NEWSWEEK Poll since February 2010. However, his approval rating, which is notably higher than many recent polls of the president’s popularity, may be evidence of a closing “enthusiasm gap” more than a sea change in voter attitudes, and may not substantially affect Democrats’ fortunes come Election Day. In 1994, NEWSWEEK Polls showed a similar steep climb in President Clinton’s approval between late September and late October, but Democrats still suffered a rout in the midterms.... - Newsweek, 10-22-10
• Republicans poised to win House and gain in Senate: Republicans enter the final week of a bitter U.S. election campaign as heavy favorites to win control of the House of Representatives and score big Senate gains, dealing a severe blow to President Barack Obama two years after he entered the White House. A thirst for change in Washington and worries about the stumbling economy appear likely to break the Democrats' grip on Congress next Tuesday in a rout that would topple House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from power.... - Reuters, 10-26-10
• Democrats off to good start in early voting: Democrats are off to a stronger than expected start in early voting despite months of dire predictions about their lack of enthusiasm for the November 2 midterm elections. More Democrats than Republicans cast early ballots in a handful of key states, although more Republicans took advantage of the early voting process than in 2008 when President Barack Obama led a Democratic election sweep."The early voting numbers are favorable for Democrats, but here's the caution -- they are not as favorable as in 2008," said Michael McDonald, a George Mason University professor who tracks early voting statistics around the country.... - Reuters, 10-26-10
• Election 2010: Where Things Stand with One Week to Go: The CBS News Critical Contests analysis continues to point to GOP gains - but just how many? Enough for House control? Here's what to watch in the final week:
  House: Republicans need 39 net pickups to get control and they can get there with a combination of the seats in which they are favored, plus just a few of the remaining tossups races. We show a net 33 seats they're now favored to gain, PLUS 25 more tossup races in Democratic seats remaining up for grabs. So if Republicans win in 6 of 25 tossups, and they also net the 33 where we see them favored today, that would give the GOP the House. More broadly, the battle in final week hinges on many of the districts the Democrats took in '06 and '08 and on the gains they made with suburban and some rural independents in the last two cycles. If, come Election day, the GOP can roll back most of those gains, they would be in good position to win at least a narrow majority. If the Republicans see even more pickups than that, that scenario would probably be marked by a national two-party House vote of greater than 52%.... - CBS News, 10-25-10
• Early voting data: beware any conclusions: Democrats are looking at early voting data from several key states and suggesting that Election Day might not be too bad for them. But experts say the data are unclear. Election Day is tantalizingly close, and, like children a week before Christmas, some political junkies can’t wait till the real returns are in to open their"presents." So they’re taking an early peek, thanks to the advent of early voting in many states. Election officials don’t actually start tallying the votes until Election Day, but they can tell us how many people have already voted and, in states that register voters by party, their partisan breakdown. The problem is, there are so many ways to slice and dice the numbers, it’s possible to show just about anything. But for Democrats, fighting hard against strong evidence that they will do badly in the Nov. 2 midterms, any glimmers of hope in early voting are worth a shout, if only to keep their side from getting discouraged and staying home altogether. On Monday, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) put out a memo touting numbers in a handful of crucial states that – surprise, surprise – purport to show the Democrats competitive or even doing well.... - CS Monitor, 10-25-10

THE HEADLINES....MIDTERM ELECTIONS 2010

• At Rally, Thousands — Billions? — Respond: Part circus, part satire, part parade, the crowds that flooded the National Mall Saturday for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear made it a political event like no other. It was a Democratic rally without a Democratic politician, featuring instead two political satirists, Mr. Stewart and Mr. Colbert, who used the stage to rib journalists and fear-mongering politicians, and to argue with each other over the songs"Peace Train" and"Crazy Train."
  Though at no point during the show did either man plug a candidate, a strong current of political engagement coursed through the crowd, which stretched several long blocks west of the Capitol, an overwhelming response to a call by Mr. Stewart on his"Daily Show." The turnout clogged traffic and filled subway trains and buses to overflow. The event, sponsored by Viacom’s Comedy Central network and televised live, was viewed by many in the crowd as a counterweight to Restoring Honor, a rally led by the Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck near the Lincoln Memorial two months ago. Some participants staged a protest near a Fox News satellite truck.
  The National Park Service did not offer a formal crowd estimate. But Judy McGrath, the chief executive of Viacom’s MTV Networks unit, said she had been told by the Parks Service that there were"well over 200,000 people” at the rally. Mr. Colbert offered his own guess in a Twitter message:"Early estimate of crowd size at rally: 6 billion."... - NYT, 10-31-10
• Facing G.O.P. Gain, Democrats Fight to Retain Senate: The battle for control of Congress rolled into a frenetic final weekend as Democrats fought to preserve the Senate as their power center on Capitol Hill, trying to hold off a Republican surge that could reshape the political order in Washington. With Republicans in a strong position to capture the House, President Obama on Saturday opened a four-state weekend swing here to rally support for Senate candidates in Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, hoping to build a critical firewall to protect the party’s Senate majority from Republican gains across the country. Republicans intensified their efforts to capitalize on a favorable political environment, with Sarah Palin making a last-minute trip to West Virginia to ask voters to elect a Republican for the Democratic seat Senator Robert C. Byrd held for 51 years. The outcome of five contests considered tossups will help determine if Democrats retain control of the Senate, according to the latest analysis of races by The New York Times, with Republicans trying to capture Democratic-held seats in Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Washington. Should they sweep those, they would still need to triumph in a state like California or West Virginia, where Democratic chances seemed to be improving.... - NYT, 10-31-10
• In Ads, Candidates Make Their Final Pitches to Voters: Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate for Senate in Nevada, wants the state’s voters to know that Harry Reid had his chance, but it’s her turn now. This is the final pitch Ms. Angle makes in a political ad released Thursday and titled"Our Turn," which argues that two years ago, Democrats “promised change—but they delivered unprecedented spending, overwhelming debt, heartbreaking job loss,” and a laundry list of other economic woes."They promised change," the ad concludes."Now, it’s our turn." With Election Day on Tuesday, candidates across the nation are turning to political ads to make their closing arguments — often a last-ditch plea to win over voters by either reintroducing themselves , tearing down their opponent one last time , or something in between. And this year, both Democrats and Republicans are trying to harness the anti-Washington sentiment to push different versions of the same theme: That the nation’s capital must change, and with their independent voice and close ties to their home state, the candidate currently approving this ad is just the person for the job. NYT, 10-31-10
• Republicans Deny Giving Up Hope on Miller as Polls Show Nominee Slipping: Republicans stood by Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller Sunday, denying a claim that the party had given up hope that he can beat write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski, as polls show the GOP nominee slipping. Murkowski, the incumbent senator, launched a write-in campaign after losing to Miller in the Republican primary. Such campaigns are rarely successful in part because the names of write-in candidates do not show up on the ballot -- the state Supreme Court ruled Friday, though, that the write-in list could be provided in limited cases on Election Day.... - Fox News, 10-31-10
• Nev. Senate race converges in state capital: Nevada's hotly contested Senate race had rivals Harry Reid and Sharron Angle serving flapjacks, petting dogs and shaking hands as they worked for last-minute votes during Nevada's statehood celebration. The Nevada Day Parade, part of three-day state holiday, is one politicians rarely miss, especially in an election year. Reid, the Democratic majority leader, strolled the back streets before the festivities began Saturday, talking to entrants as they assembled. He watched the parade from along Carson City's main drag. Polls have consistently shown the race too close to call.... - AP, 10-31-10
• 'Sanity' rally draws tens of thousands: Tens of thousands of people turned out on the sun-splashed National Mall on Saturday to hear comedian Jon Stewart proclaim"reasonableness" as the norm in American life and to jab the cable news media for being purveyors of fear and division.
  "The country's 24-hour politico-pundit-perpetual-panic conflictinator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder," said Stewart in a speech that wrapped up the event. The three-hour"Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" mixed comedy and music with a message that was non-partisan, yet deeply political.... - USA Today, 10-30-10
• Obama fires up voters at Chicago rally: President Barack Obama is telling supporters to go to the polls themselves and get others there as well. He's firing up thousands of people gathered in Chicago on Saturday night just a few blocks from his home in the city for a get-out-the-vote rally. He asked the cheering crowd if they were fired up. He says people have to go to the polls so Democrats can finish what they started in 2008. He said at the rally people need to get others out to the polls too. And he said if everyone who fought for change to elect him comes out to the polls on Tuesday, then Democrats will win. Chicago was Obama's third stop in a day of campaigning as he tries to fend off Republicans trying to win his former Senate seat and the Illinois governor's mansion.... - AP, 10-30-10
• Clinton to campaign for Meek on election-eve: Former President Bill Clinton will factor into Florida's Senate race one more time with an election-eve visit to Orlando for Democratic nominee Kendrick Meek. When Clinton last visited the state, he and Meek discussed the possibility of Meek dropping out of the race to give independent candidate Charlie Crist a better chance of defeating Republican frontrunner Marco Rubio.
  Meek and Clinton both say the former president never urged Meek to withdraw. Meek says Clinton was discussing rumors pushed by Crist and he said Crist asked him directly to drop out a few days ago when the two crossed paths at an AIPAC conference in Broward County.... - Palm Beach Post, 10-
• Obama deals with protests in Connecticut: President Obama, who is having a hard enough time with the Republicans this election season, had to deal with putative supporters today in Connecticut. As Obama launched into his stump speech at an arena in Bridgeport, a group of protesters began heckling him over funding for the global fight against AIDS.
  "Excuse me ... excuse me," an irritated looking Obama said before he could finally talk over the shouting."You've been appearing at every rally we've been doing. And we're funding global AIDS (prevention). And the other side is not. So I don't know why you think this is a useful strategy to take." USA Today, 10-30-10
• Sarah Palin to Joe Manchin: Stay in W.Va.: On a last-minute visit for Republican John Raese's Senate campaign, Sarah Palin said Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin is a"nice guy" who's better off sticking with his current gig."He's such a nice governor, I think that 'Manchin in the mansion' just kind of fits," Palin to the crowd at a rally for Raese, gesturing to the governor's official home just down the riverfront street. It was the only time Palin uttered Manchin's name during her appearance. Instead, she told the crowd that she preferred to call him the"would-be rubber-stamp" for President Barack Obama. Palin's visit was finalized at the last minute, less than 24 hours before she took the stage with Raese and rock guitarist Ted Nugent — and three days before the bulk of voters will head to the polls.... - Politico, 10-30-10
• Palin: Vote for Raese, leave Manchin as governor: Sarah Palin says Democrat Joe Manchin is a good governor — but she says West Virginia voters should keep him in the governor's mansion and out of the U.S. Senate. Palin, the former governor of Alaska and one-time vice presidential candidate, was in Charleston on Saturday to support Republican John Raese (RAY'-see)'s Senate bid. She drew cheers when she said Manchin was a better fit as governor.... - AP, 10-30-10
• Ohio congressman leaves rally as wife gives birth: Ohio Rep. John Boccieri ran offstage Saturday during a speech by Bill Clinton after the congressman received word that his pregnant wife had gone into labor. Boccieri quickly left the podium Saturday afternoon while the former president addressed a crowd of about 1,000 people in Canton, about an hour south of Cleveland."The baby is now being born!" Clinton announced as the crowd erupted with cheers."You'd be amazed how many times I take a picture with a very pregnant woman and then she immediately gives birth." Addressing both sets of grandparents, who were among the crowd standing in the parking lot, Clinton joked:"I'd like some credit for your fifth grandchild being brought into the world." Clinton couldn't resist one more wisecrack before continuing his speech."We got another Democrat," he said."I wish we could register that baby before it's too late."... - AP, 10-30-10
• Fiorina goes Boxer-bashing at Halloween-themed candy store; she, Whitman say they'll prove polls wrong: Standing in a Halloween-decorated Menlo Park candy store Friday amid a mad scientist display, a jar of brains and big fuzzy spiders, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina portrayed Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer as the real goblin in this race.
  "No, Barbara Boxer, the stimulus bill hasn't worked," said Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, during a short visit to the Sugar Shack to highlight the importance of women-owned small businesses."No, your policies of bailing, borrowing, spending, taxing are not working either."
  Asked about a new Field Poll that shows her trailing Boxer 49 percent to 41 percent -- and among women by 15 percentage points -- Fiorina called the statewide poll"an outlier" compared with several others that show the race is"very, very tight" and"very, very winnable." But a recent Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California poll also gave Boxer an eight-point advantage, and a Public Policy Institute of California poll put Boxer ahead by five points. An average of multiple polls at realclearpolitics.com gives Boxer an edge of 6.5 percentage points.... - Mercury News, 10-30-10
• None of the above looms large in Nevada Senate: Choosing"none of the above," the default option on quizzes, is looming as a potential factor in the dead-heat Nevada Senate race for voters who don't like either Democrat Harry Reid or Republican Sharron Angle. Voters in the Silver State have nine choices on the ballot next week — eight are candidates, including Reid and Angle. The number of voters who choose"None of these candidates" is expected to be small, but in a close race those who decide to boycott the ballot could make the difference. Reid knows the risk: A dozen years ago he pulled off a 428-vote re-election victory over then-Republican Rep. John Ensign, while"none" received 8,125 votes, far more than his winning margin.... - AP, 10-29-10
• Palin, US State Department in Twitter duel: A tongue-in-cheek US birthday message to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over Twitter may not have reached the intended recipient, but triggered a rebuke from someone else -- Sarah Palin. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, learning from reporters that Ahmadinejad celebrated turned 54 on Thursday, took to the micro-blogging service to ask him to release two US hikers detained in Iran since last year.
  "Happy birthday President Ahmadinejad. Celebrate by sending Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer home. What a gift that would be," Crowley tweeted."Your 54th year was full of lost opportunities. Hope in your 55th year you will open Iran to a different relationship with the world," read another tweet.
  Palin, the Republican Party's 2008 candidate for vice president who enjoys a following among conservatives, was not amused."Happy B'day Ahmadinejad wish sent by US Govt. Mind boggling foreign policy: kowtow (and) coddle enemies; snub allies. Obama Doctrine is nonsense," she wrote in her own message on Twitter. Palin highlighted Ahmadinejad's past calls for the destruction of Israel..... - AFP, 10-29-10

THE HEADLINES....

• Palin gives strong indication of 2012 presidential run: Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin gave the strongest indication yet that she is preparing a 2012 White House bid, saying Thursday she would run for president"if there is nobody else to do it." The former Republican vice presidential candidate, who was lampooned in the media for her political naivety in the hard-fought final weeks of the 2008 campaign, is now among the most popular conservative politicians in America. Palin, who left office midway through her first term in office as governor of Alaska, told Entertainment Tonight it would take someone willing"to make the tough choices and not care what the critics are going to say about you."It's going to entail a discussion with my family (and) a real close look at the lay of the land, to consider whether there are those with that common sense, conservative, pro-Constitution passion.... - AFP, 10-28-10
• GDP rises slightly to 2% in sign that economy remains sluggish: The third-quarter growth is in line with analysts' forecasts but isn't enough to spur momentum or bring down the jobless rate. In one positive sign, consumer spending grows 2.6%.... - LAT, 10-29-10
• NJ governor shifting focus to state road projects: A day after Gov. Chris Christie killed the nation's largest public works project, an underwater rail tunnel linking New York City to its populous New Jersey suburbs, he said Thursday that it's time to focus on badly needed improvements to the state's roads and bridges. The Republican governor, who burnished a national reputation for cost-cutting by putting his foot down on the $9 billion-plus tunnel, told 200 people at a town hall meeting in Moorestown it's time to pay for improvements to state infrastructure, sometimes rated among the worst in the country.
  "We need to start investing money in that and improving that first," Christie said."And if we find partners in the future like the city and state of New York, like Amtrak, like the federal government, who want to partner with us on the tunnel, I'm happy to listen to them. But if it's to benefit the region, then the region has to pay not just New Jersey."... - AP, 10-29-10
• Will the Rally to Restore Sanity actually restore sanity?: We’re pretty sure that on Sunday, Democratic and Republican candidates will still be running attack ads. But it's possible the Rally to Restore Sanity could have some effect on the national conversation.... - CS Monitor, 10-29-10
• Democratic Messaging Diluted as Obama Pleads With Base: President Obama still has a series of campaign events this weekend ahead of Tuesday's Election Day, but it's his appearances off the campaign trail that has Washington watchers wondering whether he's trying to shed his coattails before an expected Democratic drubbing at the polls. The choice of non-political events the president has selected this campaign season doesn't appear to be doing hopeful Democrats any favors. And with the House expected to lose anywhere from 45-60 Democratic seats to Republicans and the Senate likely to turn a handful or more seats to the GOP, according to the latest polling prognosticators, the president already is setting the bar low for the next two years.
  "I'm president and not king," Obama said Wednesday night in a meeting with bloggers meant to shore up what's left of his support."And so I've got to get a majority in the House and I've got to get 60 votes in the Senate to move any legislative initiative forward."... - Fox News, 10-28-10
• Why has GOP found health care law such a potent weapon?: The specter of"Obamacare" has become a powerful weapon for Republicans this campaign season, as the GOP uses the new health care law as its favorite symbol of big government gone amok.
  "Health care reform is the signature accomplishment of the Obama administration," said Republican strategist Neil Newhouse."For a lot of people, it epitomizes big government and wasteful spending. It's everything they hate about government rolled into one." The message appears to be resonating, even though polls repeatedly show people like many provisions of the new health care law.
  Nevertheless, the"Pledge to America," the House Republicans' book of promises, gets right to the point:"We now know the new health care law will mean more financial pain for seniors, families and the federal government," it says, and urges repeal of the landmark law President Barack Obama signed seven months ago.... - McClatchy Newspapers, 10-28-10
• Analysis: Republican win could revive U.S. trade deals: Three long-delayed trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia could jump to the top of the U.S. congressional agenda if Republicans win control of the House of Representatives next week. While the fate of those deals rests primarily with President Barack Obama, U.S. business leaders say trade is one area of potential compromise between the White House and Republicans in 2011.
  "Trade has been at the back of the bus for last two years and I think there's a real opportunity for trade to be in the front seat next year," said Christopher Wenk, senior director for international policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Republicans are expected to pick up enough seats in Tuesday's congressional elections to take control of the House, which they lost to Democrats in 2006. Democrats are likely to hold onto the Senate, but the party's opposition to trade agreements traditionally has been strongest in the House.... - Reuters, 10-28-10
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