Politics

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, center left, meets with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, center right, in a meeting room at the Prime Minister's office in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, second from left, is escorted to his motorcade after meeting with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, not seen, at the Prime Minister's office in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, revies Guards of Honor with Vietnam's Minister of Defense General Phung Quang Thanh at the Vietnam Ministry of Defense in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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A member of Vietnam's military is seen in silhouette as he stands watch at left as Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks at Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, center right, and Vietnam's Minister of Defense General Phung Quang Thanh, center left, review Guards of Honor at the Vietnam Ministry of Defense in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and China's Minister of Defense Liang Guanglie, right sit down for a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and Vietnam's Minister of Defense General Phung Quang Thanh hold a press conference at the Vietnam Ministry of Defense in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates participates in a meeting with Vietnam's Minister of Defense General Phung Quang Thanh, not seen, at the Vietnam Ministry of Defense in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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Defense Secretary Robert Gates, seated right, listens to the translation of his introduction before speaking at Vietnam National University in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. Seated to Gate's left is Michael W. Michalak U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool)

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Maryland Democratic incumbent Gov. Martin O'Malley makes a point during a gubernatorial debate against former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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Former Maryland Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich makes a point during a debate against Maryland gubernatorial candidate Democratic incumbent Gov. Martin O'Malley, Monday, Oct. 11, 2010, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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WJZ-TV anchor Denise Koch (center) moderates a gubernatorial candidate debate between former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (left) and Gov. Martin O'Malley, the Democratic incumbent, in Baltimore on Monday, Oct. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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NATO fuel tankers enter Afghanistan through Pakistan's border crossing in Torkham, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday. Pakistan reopened the key border crossing to NATO supply convoys, ending an 11-day blockade that was imposed after a U.S. helicopter strike mistakenly killed two Pakistani soldiers. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2010 file photo, Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias talks to reporters at a news conference in Chicago.

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White House senior adviser David Axelrod, appearing Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," was challenged on administration assertions — claims repeated in a new Democratic commercial — that the Chamber of Commerce was using foreign dues money to finance political attack ads. (Associated Press)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS "We need a new majority in Congress that will stand up to President Obama and insist that he starts listening to the American people," House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said at a rally at a manufacturing facility in his home state.

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Associated Press Rep. Rob Bishop, Utah Republican, seen here in March 2009, posted the draft report on his website Friday.

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Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is greeted by (from left) Senior Col. Nguyen Hong Quang, Maj. Gen. Nguyen Huu Manh and 2nd Lt. Nguyen Thang Anh as he deplanes from a U.S. military aircraft upon his arrival at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Sunday. Mr. Gates is in Vietnam to reassure jittery Southeast Asian nations this week that the United States won't cede its longtime role as the pre-eminent military power in the Pacific as Chinese naval ambitions expand. (AP Photo)