And the news...

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Which way should Congress turn?

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
October 24, 2007

A new L.A. Times/Bloomberg poll gives Congress poor ratings but offers little guidance for lawmakers…

Voters favor Democratic ideas to mend healthcare

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Janet Hook
Los Angeles Times
October 24, 2007

Survey also finds that Americans are pessimistic about the direction of the country and are dissatisfied with Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress…

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THE FIELD

Wall Street Democrats vs. Main Street Democrats

By Harold Meyerson
Washington Post
October 24, 2007

Never let it be said that there's no difference between the two parties. On matters economic, the Republicans are almost invariably the party of major banks and corporations (though the current backlash against immigration is one of the rare instances in which the party's voting base has triumphed over its financial base). The Democrats, by contrast, are on matters of economics the party of -- well, not labor, as such. Not consumers, as such. The younger masters of the universe who work on Wall Street like as not are liberal on cultural issues and appalled at Republican foreign policy, though they're no fans of regulating capitalism. They give big-time to such Democrats as Barack Obama (who supported legislation moving class-action lawsuits from state to federal courts, a bill intended to reduce the size of jury awards in such lawsuits) and Chuck Schumer (who has opposed a fairer tax rate for hedge fund operators). The Democratic Party is their political home -- just as it is labor's…

BIDEN

Biden Says He's Best Prepared, Stumbles When Talking on Schools

By Shalaigh Murrary
Washington Post
October 24, 2007

In a lengthy interview with the Washington Post editorial board, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) asserted that he is more prepared to be president than any other candidate, disputed the notion that governors are better suited for the White House than senators and warned that Pakistan is a potentially bigger threat than Iran…

EDWARDS

Almost Stealing the Show but Selling Her Husband

By Christine Hauser
New York Times
October 25, 2007

Elizabeth Edwards has advised her husband, John, from behind the scenes, defended him in front of audiences and occasionally stolen his spotlight…

OBAMA

Obama Adds Openly Gay Minister to Concert

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
October 24, 2007

Senator Barack Obama is trying to tamp down a growing uproar over his plans to include a controversial gospel singer at a campaign concert this weekend in South Carolina…

Gay Rights Group Criticizes Obama

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
October 25, 2007

Senator Barack Obama has scheduled a gospel concert with a singer who has made controversial statements about homosexuality…

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GIULIANI

Mideast Hawks Help to Develop Giuliani Policy

By Michael Cooper and Marc Santora
New York Times
October 25, 2007

Rudolph W. Giuliani is consulting with a particularly hawkish group of advisers and neoconservative thinkers…

Bronx Jeers for Giuliani, Now Rooting for the Red Sox

By Alan Feuer
New York Times
October 25, 2007

For many New Yorkers, it is an unpardonable insult that Rudolph W. Giuliani has declared he will be rooting for the Boston Red Sox against the Colorado Rockies in the World Series…

More on Rudy's deal with the devil

Los Angeles Times Top of the Ticket
October 24, 2007

The Yankee fan's decision, allegedly nonpolitical, to back the Boston Red Sox is causing shock waves…

McCAIN

McCain Makes the Most of Debate One-Liner

By Jim Rutenberg
New York Times
October 24, 2007

John McCain’s campaign is putting his "tied up" remark to use in a television spot that it says is to begin running in New Hampshire…

McCain Reflects on P.O.W. Past, and Goes After Clinton

By Jim Rutenberg
New York Times
October 25, 2007

An ad makes the most of a shining moment for Senator John McCain at last Sunday’s debate…

THOMPSON

The Thompson Sound Effects

By Michael Luo
New York Times
October 24, 2007

The Republican candidate explains away his throat-clearing tic…

<><>2008/PRESIDENT<><><><><><><><><

Parsing Candidates' Student-Loan Proposals
Top Democrats Would End Subsidized Commercial Loans; Government as Sole Provider

By Anne Marie Chaker
Wall Street Journal
October 25, 2007

The front-running Democratic presidential candidates are pushing a simple idea they say will make college loans more affordable: cutting out the middlemen. And the middlemen -- primarily, commercial banks and lenders -- are none too pleased…

Their Looks for Fall 2008

By Stephanie Rosenbloom
New York Times
October 25, 2007

A close inspection of candidates’ wares offers the prospect of a peek into their characters and hoped-for constituencies…

The Women Behind the Scenes

By Katharine Q. Seelye
New York Times
October 24, 2007

Hillary Clinton has the most women staff members of the major campaigns, but 8 of the 15 people on Mike Huckabee's tiny staff are women…