Politics

By JOHN WILDERMUTH
Monday, November 13, 2006
It has been called "electoral Powerball" by the New York Times, a "tawdry idea" by USA Today and "a wretched abomination" by the Arizona Republic, but if Arizona voters pass Proposition 200 on Tuesday, one of those voters will win $1 million for casting a ballot.

By CAROLYN LOCHHEAD
Monday, November 13, 2006
Democrats are nearly giddy at their prospects for retaking majority control of the Senate.

"This is the harbinger of a wave," predicted Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who heads his party's effort to retake the Senate, pointing to Democratic gains among independents in Arizona.

Sunday, November 12, 2006
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in mid-October found that more than half of Americans know "nothing at all" about the debate over how congressional districts are drawn.

By JOSH SWARTZLANDER
Monday, November 13, 2006
Democrats may be sailing toward the Nov. 7 election with the political wind at their backs, but they're struggling against the current because of a statehouse tool known as "gerrymandering."

Recent polls show approval ratings for Congress in the teens and for President Bush no higher than 40 percent.

By JOE GAROFOLI
Sunday, November 12, 2006
If Democrats win the House on Tuesday, expect the descriptor _ epithet, really _ "San Francisco values" to become a permanent part of the media conversation.

Sunday, November 12, 2006
A look at young voters:

Grading the president

_ 29 percent give George W. Bush a grade of C on health care; 27 percent give him an F; 20 percent give him a D; 19 percent give him a B; and 4 percent give him an A.

_ 26 percent give him a C on jobs and the economy; 23 percent give him an F; 20 percent give him a B; 20 percent give him a D; and 11 percent give him an A.

_ 43 percent give him an F on handling the war in Iraq; 19 percent give him a C; 16 percent give him a D; 15 percent give him a B; and 9 percent give him an A.

_ 27 percent give him an F on efforts against terrorism; 22 percent give him a B; 19 percent give him a D; 18 percent give him a C; 14 percent give him an A.

Source: Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

By GINA KIM
Friday, November 10, 2006
They're young. They're connected. And they vote.

After years of blowing off elections because there were better things to do, the newly legal generation of today is expected to step into voting booths Tuesday at the highest rate for any midterm election in the last 20 years, according to a report released this week by Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

In an online survey of more than 2,500 people and with a margin of error of less than two percentage points, the institute found that nearly one-third of 18- to 24-year-olds "definitely" will vote Tuesday.

By YONAT SHIMRON
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Like many evangelical Christians, Jason Fletcher isn't thrilled about voting for Republicans in the coming elections. The way he sees it, Bible-believers helped Republicans win the U.S.

By TOM HUMPHREY
Thursday, November 09, 2006
An organization of U.S. military veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan is spending $480,000 in Tennessee to air a TV ad _ more than any group not affiliated with a political party _ that criticizes American policy in Iraq.

By JOHN KOOPMAN
Thursday, November 09, 2006
The smell hits you as soon as you open the door to a casino: cigarette smoke. It's a stale, dry scent that clings to the carpet, walls, slot machines and gamblers.