Board of Elections USA

AFP - The United States should scale back troops and goals in Afghanistan as its military campaign has backfired and boosted the Taliban, according to a study billed as a Plan B for President Barack Obama.

AP - Republican Senate candidate John Boozman has removed the University of Arkansas logo and football stadium from his latest campaign ad after the school asked him to pull the original spot.

AP - Democrat Jack Conway reported more than $300,000 in contributions Wednesday from his first Web-based fundraiser and Republican Rand Paul sought more cash as the rivals for the U.S. Senate readied fall TV ad blitzes.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, fighting to keep Democrats in charge of Congress, said on Wednesday the United States could not afford to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the rich and accused Republicans of being fiscally irresponsible.

AP - The nation's self-professed toughest sheriff says Nevada voters should fire Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

AP - Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is shrugging off the suggestion that a national GOP group won't help finance his campaign anymore and said Wednesday he will continue to fight for votes.

AFP - President Barack Obama admitted Wednesday if US voters in the upcoming midterm elections make their choices based on their opinion of the economy, his Democratic Party could be in big trouble.

The Christian Science Monitor - President Obama on Wednesday took the election-year battle over the economy and made it personal.

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that Democrats risked punishment in November's congressional elections if they allow the vote to be just about the U.S. economy, rather than the two parties' policies.

AP - Former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday that Democrats must avoid coming across as defensive and focus on issues rather than "anger, apathy and amnesia" in order to win back voters before the November election.

The Upshot - Here is our roster of stories that managed to evade full-0n blog treatment today: • Tickets to Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin's 9/11 rally in Alaska range from $65 to $110 — but photos with the headliners will cost you extra. (Politico) • Job discrimination complaints filed by Muslim-Americans are on the rise over the [...]

AP - John Goss, an environmental activist and former state official from Indiana, was appointed Wednesday as the Obama administration's point man in the fight to prevent Asian carp from gaining a foothold in the Great Lakes.

The Christian Science Monitor - The announcement by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley Tuesday that he will not seek a seventh term is presenting the city a situation it has not experienced in over 20 years: a free-for-all election Feb. 22 with as many as a dozen candidates expected to seek the top seat at city hall.

AP - Politically weakened but refusing to bend, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that Bush-era tax cuts be cut off for the wealthiest Americans, joining battle with Republicans - and some fellow Democrats - just two months before bruising midterm elections.

AP - Colorado Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes is shrugging off the suggestion that a national GOP group won't help finance his campaign anymore and said Wednesday he will continue to fight for votes.

AFP - US President Barack Obama Wednesday admitted some of his policies were unpopular and had not revived the economy quickly enough, but sought to rekindle his frayed bond with American voters.

AP - No single election contest this fall combines the buzz and history-making potential of California's Proposition 19, which would make the state the first to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Trying to persuade voters that he has ideas to strengthen the weak economy — and therefore that they should vote for Democrats in November — President Barack Obama Wednesday proposed major tax incentives for business and accused Republicans of stonewalling in a bid to "ride this fear and anger all the way to Election Day."

Reuters - Nobody at the White House would be surprised if President Barack Obama's influential right-hand man, Rahm Emanuel, decides to run for Chicago mayor and already there is speculation as to who would replace him.

AFP - Speculation swirled Wednesday that US President Barack Obama may shake up his White House staff if his top political enforcer Rahm Emanuel decides to run for Chicago mayor.