Outside the Beltway

Conservatives have latched on to a few words in a decade-old article by Democrat Chris Coons in their efforts to boost the candidacy of Christine O’Donnell in Delaware.

This handshake on August 14, 1980 in Madison Square Garden put an end to the public contest between President Carter and Senator Kennedy, but now the former President has decided it’s time to reopen old wounds.

Christine O’Donnell’s victory in Delaware Tuesday has made it less likely that the GOP will be able to take control of the Senate, but they still have an excellent shot of making substantial gains that will transform Congress’s Upper House.

The prospect of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell before the November elections is in doubt thanks to a threatened filibuster led by Arizona’s John McCain.

The Tea Party movement and the populist backlash against DC mayor Adrian Fenty are a sign that things are changing so fast that a lot of people simply can’t adjust.

Turkey reformed its constitution over the weekend, in what Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised “will go down in history as a turning point in Turkish democracy.” But there’s strong disagreement over which way it’s headed.

The Cheeburger Cheeburger Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Yes, the Tea Party is popular compared to the Democrats and Republicans.

The CBO sees a clear threat of a fiscal crisis during the next two decades unless we’re saved by magic ponies.

Sarah Palin had a very good track record in her primary season endorsements, but it’s not at all clear that she will have much of an impact on the 2010 General Election.

Warren to appears set to oversee the establishment of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

At least one Christine O’Donnell supporter thinks that Republicans who aren’t jumping on are bandwagon are doing so because of her gender.

DC schools superintendent Michelle Rhee has radically transformed the system for the better. Naturally, the teachers unions want her gone.

Time for the Thursday OTB Caption Contest^TM

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine thinks all his party’s problems will be solved with this new web site. Yea, that’s the problem you guys have this year, bad web design.

I was never particularly hopeful that the GOP would retake the Senate, but even if it turns out that O’Donnell’s nomination prevents it from happening, I can’t bring myself to care all that much.

Let’s go to the numbers in Delaware.

Is it odd that a political blogger dislikes actual political involvement ? No, not really.

Christine O’Donnell is buying ads on posts arguing that the party screwed itself by voting for her in yesterday’s Republican primary.

Last night’s celebration in Wilmington is sure to be tempered just a bit by news that Christine O’Donnell is sixteen points behind her Democratic opponent.

U.S. forces are still engaged in full-scale counterrrorism operations in Iraq. In what sense are “combat operations” over?

The Navy has fired fourteen skippers this year. Eleven of those were for personal misconduct.

Now we get to see how the Tea Party effects the GOP ove the medium to long term.

For the first time ever, white students do not make up a majority among freshmen at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Delaware GOP now has, according to Nate Silver, a 17% chance of winning the Senate seat.

Why do innocent people confess to crimes they didn’t commit, and what should we do about it ?

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels appears to be quietly putting together the beginnings of a campaign for President of the United States. Don’t count him out by any means.