Summary: NBC News’ Political Unit and MSNBC.com have created the Voter Confidence Index (VCI) as a measure of the current political climate and what it may signal about the November 2010 elections. The index uses a combination of three questions commonly asked in national polls: the president’s job approval rating, the direction of the country (right track / wrong track), and the generic congressional ballot. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on September 24, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), delivered the Third Annual Eugene J. McCarthy Lecture at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn.

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Summary: The New York Times reports that Republican victories in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races “put the party in a stronger position to turn back the political wave President Obama unleashed last year, setting the stage for Republicans to raise money, recruit candidates and ride the excitement of an energized base as the party heads into next year’s midterm elections.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on Election Day 2008 — the 17th and final day of his write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District — Aubrey Immelman reissued his Statement on the Iraq War, reiterated instructions for casting a write-in ballot, and reported on ongoing violence in Iraq.

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Summary: Politico reports that Charlie Cook has sent out a special update to Cook Political Report in which he envisions a scenario in which Democratic House losses could exceed 20 seats in 2010. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 39th day of his campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination as House of Representatives candidate in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman started his second walking tour — a 50-mile campaign swing down Minnesota Highway 23 from Foley in the east through St. Cloud, Waite Park, Rockville, Cold Spring, and Richmond to Paynesville on the western boundary of the Sixth Congressional District.

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