Monday Must-Reads: Untying a Tie

As ballot-counters continue to sort out the NY-20 race (and as the Minnesota senate race wears on), writers look back to other close elections. The record for the longest election appears to go to a 1960 race in Indiana, which lasted seven months. Luckily, according to a breakdown at FiveThirtyEight, these close Congressional races are becoming less common. The LA Times looks at the political strategy the Obama team is using to present his family—which seems to be working well. Another strategy, Sen. Chris Dodd’s attempts to come back from his low poll numbers, is becoming clearer, though we’ll have to wait to check if it’s successful. A spate of stories examines the Republican identity crisis. Too many Palin supporters don’t realize just how unelectable she is, one writer thinks; the party lacks a leader on health care, set to be the next big legislative campaign; and the NRCC’s fundraising numbers have slipped (though that’s offset, they say, by a lower overhead). But some are seeking solutions, too: A political strategist and former McCain adviser made headlines by urging the party to change its position on gay marriage, and South Dakota’s Sen. John Thune is trying to expand the party’s grassroots after an era of too much inside-the-Beltway networking. Maybe the solution lies on the Internet, where 55 percent of adults turned to for political action and information last year, according to a new Pew report—with Republicans more active online than Democrats.