New poll shows New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s Democratic foe, Thompson, is losing ground

NEW YORK — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Democratic challenger has lost ground, a new poll shows, despite increasing his television ads and the force with which he’s attacking the popular billionaire mayor.

Conn. Sen Dodd hopes Obama visit will highlight his ties with president and his agenda

HARTFORD, Conn. — Down in the polls a year before the 2010 election, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd is hoping to tap into the statewide popularity of President Barack Obama.

Poll finds that Schwarzenegger’s approval rating has dropped to all-time low

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is having trouble selling his latest act to California voters.

Entrenched Chicago mayor shows no sign of leaving office quietly, despite failed Olympic bid

CHICAGO — A Daley has run Chicago and its all-powerful Democratic political machine for 41 of the last 54 years, and despite a recent spate of bad publicity for the nation’s third-largest city, Mayor Richard M. Daley shows no sign of relinquishing his throne.

AP Poll: Obama’s job approval rises after declining since inauguration; war support declines

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama’s approval ratings are starting to rise after declining ever since his inauguration, new poll figures show as the country’s mood begins to brighten. But concerns about the economy, health care and war persist, and support for the war in Afghanistan is falling.

Senate GOP leader offers no support for Ensign amid new allegations about cover-up affair

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Ensign of Nevada was only beginning to emerge from a self-imposed political exile over fallout from his extramarital affair with a campaign aide. Now, tawdry new details about the case are raising fresh questions whether Ensign can be re-elected in 2012 — or even face criminal charges over his behavior.

Bloomberg has spent $64.8 million on 3rd campaign; burns through cash at $15k-per-hour clip

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has spent $64.8 million of his own money in his bid for a third term and, since midsummer, has been spending campaign cash at a rate of $15,000 per hour.

Candidates make run for crucial 2.4M independents in New Jersey governor’s race

TRENTON, N.J. — After casting his vote for Democrat Jon Corzine four years ago, Daniel Wilson is backing the Republican challenger this time around, unhappy the New Jersey governor has not eased the high tax burden on state businesses and residents.

NY governor ignores pressure to end 2010 election quest despite pressure from senior Democrats

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. David Paterson isn’t scrapping his plans to run for the office he inherited 18 months ago, despite growing pressure from Washington and intervention by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has contacted the governor and the White House over his concern.

Japan’s new Cabinet kicks off with strong public support, polls show

TOKYO — Japan’s new, largely untested Cabinet is starting out with high public approval ratings amid hopes that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s government will reinvigorate the world’s second-largest economy, polls showed Friday.

Japan ruling party the underdog as campaigning begin in hotly contested elections

TOKYO — Campaigning began Tuesday in one of the most heated elections in Japan in more than a decade, with the party that has ruled the country almost continuously for 55 years trailing in polls and the opposition urging the nation to vote for a historic change.

Campaigning begins for hotly contested Japan elections; ruling party seen as underdog

TOKYO — Political leaders took to the streets Tuesday as campaigning kicked off in one of the most hotly contested elections Japan has seen in more than a decade, a race in which the party that has ruled the country for most of the past 55 years is considered a distant underdog.

Campaigning begins for Japan’s hotly contested elections; ruling party seen as underdog

TOKYO — Campaigning began Tuesday for one of the most hotly contested elections Japan has seen in more than a decade, with a major poll saying the party that has run the country for most of the past 55 years is lagging far behind the opposition.

Campaign begins for hotly contested Japan elections; Ruling party seen as underdog

TOKYO — Campaigning began Tuesday for one of the most hotly contested elections Japan has seen in more than a decade and a major poll said the party that has run the country for most of the past 55 years is lagging well behind the opposition.

Obama heading to mountain West, a microcosm of his vulnerability with the national electorate

DENVER — Perhaps no region of the country better illustrates President Barack Obama’s political vulnerabilities than the mountain West.

Analysis: Obama hopes beers at the White House will be a toast, of sorts, to changing topics

WASHINGTON — “If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose,” the comedic philosopher Jack Handey once theorized.

White House: Apologies aren’t expected at Obama ‘beer summit’ with police officer, professor

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama does not expect his “beer summit” will be a mediation session for the black professor and the white policeman who arrested him to work out their differences, the White House said Thursday.

Poll: More people than not disapprove of Obama’s handling of black scholar’s arrest

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s approval rating among white Americans has fallen as they have watched him wade into the racially tinged dispute between a white Cambridge, Mass., police officer and a well-known black Harvard scholar, according to a poll released Thursday.

Analysis: Amid polls showing growing doubt on economy, Obama steps up talk of budget restraint

WASHINGTON — At a critical moment in his presidency, Barack Obama finds increasing need to talk about taming federal deficits as he struggles with a dour economy.

Obama ytries to rally support for health care overhal, says debate is ‘not a game’

WASHINGTON — Six months in office, President Barack Obama sought to rally support for sweeping health care legislation Wednesday night as Congress struggled to find agreement on a historic overhaul. He vowed to reject any measure “primarily funded through taxing middle-class families.”

Obama urges faster action on health care overhaul, says debate is ‘not a game’

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Wednesday night that Medicare and Medicaid are the “biggest driving force behind” massive federal deficits, and must be tamed as part of any health care legislation.

Prime-time news conference as health care debate reaches a key moment

WASHINGTON — Six months into his presidency, Barack Obama now owns America’s problems and a solid but slipping approval rating. He goes before the nation Wednesday night to defend his economic decisions and press his fight for the health care overhaul he says is desperately needed.

AP-GfK Poll: Great expectations for Obama give way to harsh realities, slip in approval rating

WASHINGTON — That was fast.

Japan’s PM dissolves parliament, urges voters to resist change in coming elections

TOKYO — Prime Minister Taro Aso, who triggered new elections when he dissolved the powerful lower house of Japan’s parliament on Tuesday, launched his party’s fight for survival with a familiar refrain: Reject change.

Japan’s beleaguered prime minister dissolves parliament and calls national elections

TOKYO — Prime Minister Taro Aso dissolved the powerful lower house of Japan’s parliament Tuesday and vowed his divided ruling party will make a new start in national elections next month despite forecasts it may lose the grip it has held on the nation for most of the past 55 years.

Obama’s support among some Democrats eroding over divisions on health care, concern on economy

NEW YORK — Might that Midas magic be dulling for President Barack Obama, even among fellow Democrats?