Kristol Suggests People of Iran Would Embrace U.S. Attack, Triggering Regime Change  —  This morning on Fox, Bill Kristol continued to escalate his calls for war against Iran, stating, "We can try diplomacy.  I'm not very hopeful about that.  We have to be ready to use force."

In First Veto, Bush Blocks Stem Cell Bill  —  President Bush today used the first veto of his presidency to stop legislation that would have lifted restrictions on federally funded human embryonic stem cell research.  —  "This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope …

DeWine blunder adds fuel to controversial Sept. 11 ad  —  The controversial video of the burning World Trade Center towers in a television campaign ad for Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine is doctored, U.S. News has learned.  The television spot, which has been lambasted by critics as a political exploitation …

India Blocks Several Web Sites, Many of Which Are Blog Homes  —  By ERIC BELLMAN in Mumbai and PETER WONACOTT in New Delhi  —  India's Internet regulators have started blocking several Web sites in a move that borrows a page from China, where government censors heavily restrict the flow of online information.

Neutral stance rejected  —  Opposition criticizes Harper's tough talk  —  Mike Blanchfield; with files from Mike De Souza and MauriceBridge, CanWest News Service  —  PARIS - Making his strongest statement yet on the Middle East crisis, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday …

Lieberman's Donors Include Many Who Favor Republicans  —  When it comes to supporting candidates for public office, the Associated General Contractors of America gives 90 percent of its campaign contributions to Republicans.  —  And then there is Senator Joseph I. Lieberman.

CT-SEN: It's Official — Lieberman Rules Out Any Run On GOP Line  —  As I wrote below, Election Central posed a question this morning to the Lieberman campaign: Would he or would he not rule out a run on the GOP line if he lost the Dem primary and the line were offered to him?

Ralph Reed's Comeuppance  —  Analysis: The former leader of the Christian right suffers a humiliating defeat in his Georgia primary race, thanks to his ties to a disgraced lobbyist  —  As a political operative Ralph Reed had a golden touch.  Four years ago in Georgia, as chair of the Republican Party …

Public vs. Private Schools  —  The national education reform effort has long suffered from magical thinking about what it takes to improve children's chances of learning.  Instead of homing in on teacher training and high standards, things that distinguish effective schools from poor ones …

Thune Says He'd Distance Himself From Bush  —  Freshman Sen. John Thune, the Republican hero two years ago for ousting the Senate Democratic leader, said Wednesday that if he were running this year, he'd distance himself from President Bush and his agenda.  —  In 2004, the White House …

President Bush and The Fury of the "Disdained," or How to Get the 180s Back  —  As critics of Israel begin to assemble, the horn of George Will is calling all the weary conservatives to join with long- and medium-term critics of the Adminstration under the banner of "anti-Weekly Standard."