RUSH LIMBAUGH: I’ve never heard Karl as agitated against a Democrat as he was against Christine O’Donnell yesterday.

THE REAL CHRISTINE O’DONNELL STORY? “The ascendancy of prominent women within the Party’s ranks and the public’s mind.”

Well, you know, the Tea Party movement is predominantly female.

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A TRAILER FOR THE NEW HARRY POTTER MOVIE.

RACHEL MADDOW SEXUALIZES CHRISTINE O’DONNELL. Well, she is pretty cute. I can see why Rachel would be interested.

SEQUENCING the chocolate genome.

TEST-DRIVING Lincoln’s Luxury Hybrid. “A smart buyer will see right through the chrome and realize that the MKZ Hybrid is little more than a dressed up Ford Fusion Hybrid with better seats. Of course, something similar could be said of the Lexus HS250h and the Toyota Prius.”

J.P. FREIRE: It’s Not About O’Donnell, It’s About the NRSC.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: AMERICA ALONE: “So the trend of the world — even after the meltdown of September 2008 — is away from statism, except in the United States. I don’t say that lightly or as a slur, but empirically.”

SIGNS AND PORTENTS IN THE SKIES.

JON STEWART MOCKS JOE BIDEN’S “RECOVERY SUMMER” CLAIMS: “It looks like the Summer of Recovery has slipped into the ‘Autumn of Nothing but Ramen Noodles for Dinner.'”

BITTERLY CLINGING TO THEIR JOBS AND PAYCHECKS: Appalachian Coal Miners Say EPA Rules Are Killing Their Jobs.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: ‘Tea party’ is polarizing, but has many ‘closet admirers,’ poll finds. Well, a voting booth is sort of a closet . . . .

FORD VICE PRESIDENT: You Can’t Sell A Hybrid In Today’s Market. Really?

BRYAN PRESTON OFFERS Some Friendly, Unsolicited Advice for the Delaware GOP. “Christine O’Donnell’s win leaves the Delaware Republican party as a rump party. It will have to take visible action if the Republicans are to have a shot at taking the Senate seat.”

UPDATE: Plus, some tough love from Ed Morrissey. “My advice to the GOP would be to quit whining about losing a long-shot bid to win control of the Senate and focus on actually winning the races.” Do you think? Plus this: “Instead of pouting, Republican leaders in Delaware and around the country need to unite around the nominee, who was chosen by the Republicans in Delaware. Had Castle won the nomination, they would have demanded unity themselves, and rightly so. If they want to continue to issue snarky, anonymous asides and in essence take their ball and go home, don’t expect the electorate to follow them into battle in the future. Rarely have I seen such childishness from the supposed leaders of a political establishment, who set the very rules and customs they now want to ignore because they just got embarrassed on a national stage.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: As I predicted last night, a reversal from the NRSC: “The National Republican Senatorial Committee will support the O’Donnell campaign, according to a statement that was just released by its chairman, Sen. John Cornyn.”

So last night’s comments simply did unnecessary damage. Next time, think twice before spouting off, guys. You’re supposed to be the polished, professional insiders, remember?

MORE: Romney Backs O’Donnell: “Support for Christine O’Donnell appears to have emerged this morning as a kind of grassroots litmus test, and the Establishment is scrambling to pass it.”

IN THE MAIL: Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture.

DANA LOESCH: Self-Policing Tea.

CHANGE: Women Getting More Doctorates Than Men. Mostly in Education, “Public Administration and Services,” “Social and Behavioral Sciences,” and Health.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Oh, to be politically favored! “Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education released the latest student-loan default data, and along with it offered some good ol’ fashioned profit-bashing. Meanwhile, politically favored schools got off with nary a negative word. . . . Why do I point this out? Not to pick on HBCUs, but to further illustrate the point that the attack on for-profit schools isn’t really about saving taxpayer dollars or protecting students, but going after the easiest target to demagogue – people honest about trying to benefit themselves as much as ‘the students.’ It is also to illustrate, once again, that when we let government fund something, it is political calculus – not educational benefits, economic effectiveness, or what’s best for taxpayers – that ultimately drives the policies. Which is why government needs to get out of the higher ed business that it has made both bloated and, ultimately, a net drain on the economy.”

KEVIN WILLIAMSON: The Young Guns vs. The Deficit. “I have been, and remain, skeptical of congressional Republicans’ ability to head off Fiscal Armageddon; the political incentives are all wrong, and it probably will take a major economic crisis to realign those incentives. But I am a little less skeptical today than I was yesterday — maybe 5 percent less. I think there is a non-trivial chance that non-entitlement spending could be scaled back to 2008 levels — not exactly raging austerity, but a start; combined with sane entitlement reform and tax reform, that could get us several steps back from the ledge we’re on. Something good seems to be afoot among Republicans.”