Politics

20121031-205718-pic-473328889.jpg

George Allen, a former senator seeking to rejoin the world’s most deliberative body, hosts a town-hall meeting at Joe Ragan’s Coffee in Springfield on Wednesday. Mr. Allen, a Republican, is locked in a dead heat in most polls with fellow former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, with just days to go. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

AFGHAN_POLICE103118

Police officers line up to take their tea pots for breakfast at the police academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The readiness of AfghanistanÃs security forces is central to U.S. and NATO plans to withdraw all forces from the country by the end of 2014, and the academyÃs new commander wants to help turn around a 146,000-strong national police force long riddled with corruption, incompetence and factional rivalries. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

AFGHAN_POLICE103109

Afghan National Police recruits study their notes on how to use a Kalashnikov rifle during a training session at the police academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The readiness of Afghanistan's security forces is central to U.S. and NATO plans to withdraw all forces from the country by the end of 2014, and the academy's new commander wants to help turn around a 146,000-strong national police force long riddled with corruption, incompetence and factional rivalries. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

AFGHAN_POLICE103107

A police recruit looks up to a picture of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in his sleeping quarters at the National Police Academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. On Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, Karzai said that his military and police are prepared to take full responsibility for security if the American-led international coalition decides to speed up the handover. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

AFGHAN_POLICE103101

Afghan National Police instructor Ghulam Hazrat, left, 70, instructs recruits at the police academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. On Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, President Hamid Karzai said that his military and police are prepared to take full responsibility for security if the American-led international coalition decides to speed up the handover. But international observers warn that the largely illiterate police force will disintegrate after 2014 into factional militias more loyal to local warlords than to the state. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Campaign Independent _Reps.jpg

** FILE ** In this Oct. 27, 2012, photo, President Obama, left, speaks to supporters at a campaign event at Elm Street Middle School in Nashua, N.H. Under a fall canopy of crimson and golden leaves, the battle for independent voters is being waged hour by hour in battleground New Hampshire. The state offers only four electoral votes, but Mr. Obama and challenger Mitt Romney are vying fiercely for the remaining independent voters, who are decidedly ambivalent about either candidate. (Associated Press)

20121031-204501-pic-1946713.jpg

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) scrambles during third quarter action at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J., Oct. 21, 2012. (Preston Keres/Special to The Washington Times)

LOUISIANA_01sm.jpg

**FILE** U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany Jr., foreground, and Jeff Landry, back, prepare to debate in a radio studio in Lafayette, La.. Between the Republicans is Jeremy Lawrence, the moderator, of KPEL-FM. (Robert Buckman/Special to The Washington Times)

HALLOWEEN_EASTERNMARKET03

Decorated pumpkins sit on the steps of a home on North Carolina Avenue SE in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

HALLOWEEN_EASTERNMARKET02

Rebecca Heim, 3, (left) and Nehemiah Mills, 3, both from Washington, D.C., join other kids from the AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School Lincoln Park Campus for their Halloween parade in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

20121031-200014-pic-81714777.jpg

What could it predict for the election outcome? Chia Obama and Chia Romney sprout with distinctive difference as they grow in The Washington Times newsroom. (The Washington Times)

LOUISIANA_Jeffrey Landry_sm.jpg

House Natural Resources Committee member Rep. Jeffrey Landry, Louisiana Republican. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

20121031-190140-pic-395481520.jpg

associated press U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton leaves St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Pristina, Kosovo, after meeting Wednesday with ethnic Serbs, who want independence or incorporation into an expanded Serbia. The U.S. and EU say that is not possible.