The midterm polling 'roller coaster': 5 theories (The Week)
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:00:00 GMT
The Week - Last week Gallup had a record 10-point GOP lead in its generic party matchup; this week, the two parties are tied. Is the race for control of Congress really that fluid?

Will Google Instant Make It Impossible to Game Search Traffic? (The Atlantic Wire)
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:26:22 GMT
The Atlantic Wire - The dark art of search engine optimization (SEO) focuses on getting a website to appear prominently in search results. And since a number of websites live or die based on how much Web traffic search engines send them, Google's new update to search, Google Instant, has some worried. Should they be? Yes, according to Steve Rubel, a Forbes columnist and Internet marketing guru. He says the introduction of Google Instant, which instantly provides search results as you type, is a game changer:

Cartel-Plagued Mexico: As Bad as Colombia? (The Atlantic Wire)
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:44:49 GMT
The Atlantic Wire - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has compared the worsening drug violence in Mexico to Colombia of the 1980s and 90s, when cartels challenged the state police and military for control of whole swathes of the South American nation. "It's looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago," Clinton said of Mexico in comments on Wednesday, comparing the cartels to an insurgency. "It got to the point where more than a third of the country, nearly 40% of the country at one time or another was controlled by the insurgents." Journalists and experts are evaluating this claim, which Mexican officials have unsurprisingly rejected. Is Mexico really as bad as rock-bottom Colombia? If so, what are the implications?

Are Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin Cashing in on 9/11? (The Atlantic Wire)
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:55:10 GMT
The Atlantic Wire - Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are rendezvousing in Alaska this Saturday to commemorate 9/11. The event will likely share some similarities to Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally in DC. But with one important difference:

Is the GOP ready for prime time? (The Week)
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:34:00 GMT
The Week - All signs point to big Republican gains in November, enabling the GOP to implement its agenda. But what agenda is that?

Florida's 'suspended' Koran-burning (The Week)
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:10:00 GMT
The Week - A small Florida church called off, then reconsidered, its heavily criticized plan to burn the Muslim holy book. What now?

5 Best Sunday Columns (The Atlantic Wire)
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:21:24 GMT
The Atlantic Wire - The 'Brutal' Dem Plan for November  The New York Times' Jeff Zeleny and Carl Hulse write, "As Democrats brace for a November wave that threatens their control of the House, party leaders are preparing a brutal triage of their own members in hopes of saving enough seats to keep a slim grip on the majority. In the next two weeks, Democratic leaders will review new polls and other data that show whether vulnerable incumbents have a path to victory. If not, the party is poised to redirect money to concentrate on trying to protect up to two dozen lawmakers who appear to be in the strongest position to fend off their challengers." In other words, Democrats whose odds look unlikely are getting left behind.

Newt's Faint Presidential Prospects (RealClearPolitics.com)
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:00:00 GMT
RealClearPolitics.com - On Friday, at a town hall in small town Oklahoma, conservative Sen. Tom Coburn said Newt Gingrich is "the last person I'd vote for, for president." Gingrich is "a super-smart man but he doesn't know anything about commitment to marriage." Gingrich lacks, in Coburn's view, "the character traits necessary to be a great president."

Haiti presidential election: justice on the line (The Christian Science Monitor)
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:50:21 GMT
The Christian Science Monitor - Outgoing Haitian President René Préval has set the presidential elections for Nov. 28, 2010 and technical preparations are underway. But Haiti has failed the first fundamental test in holding credible elections – certifying candidates, and affording each due process under the law, equally and without discrimination.

Ten Things Dems Could Do to Win (The Nation)
Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:53:56 GMT
The Nation - The Nation -- Yes, the country is in a foul mood, with 15 million unemployed. The Democrats may get clobbered in 2010. And even if we survive, how do we hang on for the long term? If our great founder, FDR, could come back to us, he might remind us of the three simple rules that once, long ago, Democrats used to follow: