Muslims Assail Pope's Remarks on Islam  —  Turkey's ruling Islamic-rooted party joined a wave of criticism of Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, accusing him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades with remarks he made about Islam.  Muslim leaders in the Middle East expressed dismay …

Bush wants 'clarity' on interrogations  —  WASHINGTON - Facing a GOP revolt in the Senate, President Bush urged Congress on Friday to join in backing legislation to spell out strategies for interrogating and trying terror suspects, saying "the enemy wants to attack us again."

Zogby: Battle for Congress Tightens  —  Republican Candidates Trail Democrats by Just 3%; Bush Job Approval Climbs to 39%  —  Following an aggressive media blitz, the latest Zogby America poll finds the standing of President Bush and congressional Republicans climbing as the November elections rapidly approach.

Novak "Would Hope" Bush Would Pardon Libby  —  Bob Novak took questions on C-Span today.  Some highlights (and I am straining my TiVo here):  — Novak "would hope" that President Bush would pardon Libby.  Whether a pardon should be given before or after the trial seems to be a point …

Democrats Meander in a New New Direction  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the woman who will become speaker of the House if Democrats get lucky in November, began her weekly news conference yesterday holding up a red-white-and-blue brochure.  —  "I hope you all received 'A New Direction for America …

The Tehran Calculus  —  In his televised Sept. 11 address, President Bush said that we must not "leave our children to face a Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons."  There's only one such current candidate: Iran.

House Votes To Disclose Earmarks  —  The House voted yesterday to shed more light on narrow-interest tax and spending legislation called earmarks, an incremental step toward openness that ended the prospect for a more sweeping overhaul of federal lobbying laws this year.

In a Volatile Region of Iraq, U.S. Military Takes Two Paths  —  AL-FURAT, Iraq — With a biker's bandanna tied under his helmet, the Special Forces team sergeant gunned a Humvee down a desert road in Iraq's volatile Anbar province.  Skirting the restive town of Hit, the team of a dozen soldiers crossed …

Press Conference of the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: It's always a pleasure to be introduced into the Rose Garden.  Thank you, Wendell.  Thank you for coming.  I'm looking forward to answering some of your questions.  —  This week our nation paused to mark the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Ritter tops in poll  —  Democrat holds 17-point lead over Beauprez for guv  —  Democrat Bill Ritter has a remarkable 17-point lead over Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez in the race for Colorado governor, according to a Rocky Mountain News/ CBS 4 poll of likely voters.

A DEADLY KINDNESS  —  AT GITMO, PC RULES LET QAEDAS PLOT ON  —  RICHARD MINITER  —  ON the military plane back from America's most fa mous terrorist holding pen, the in-flight film was "V for Vendetta," a screed that tries to justify terrorism.  It was a fitting end to a surreal, military-sponsored trip.

Oil Prices  —  Two years ago -as oil prices began to rise- two friends of mine in the industry said to look for a dramatic climb in prices but "over the long term" (a decade? fifteen years?) look for oil to settle in a zone of $40 to $55 a barrel.  When oil reached $70 a barrel I thought about that "zone."

Ace of Spades Reader Spotted Wanted Terrorist?  (Updated: Limited Confirmation From FBI)  —  TKS alerts me of an interesting comment posted here: … Name withheld (and I hope she used a pseudonym).  —  Later, after Purple Avenger provided the contact information for the Texas FBI,  —  she reported:

Obama Watch: Another Hint of '08 Intent?  —  After yesterday's post on Barack Obama's visit to Iowa this weekend, another tidbit of information came to The Fix's attention that will certainly fuel even more chatter that the Illinois senator is seriously pondering a 2008 presidential bid.

Citizen Lanny  —  Lanny Davis is currently flogging a new book about how "Gotcha" politics are destroying America.  This is mildly paradoxical because Davis is famous for exactly nothing else except his willingness in 1998 to be the publicity point man for Bill Clinton in the whole Lewinsky mess.

E. coli cases traced to bagged spinach  —  WASHINGTON - Consumers nationwide should not eat fresh bagged spinach, say health officials probing a multistate outbreak of E. coli that killed at least one person and made dozens of others sick.  —  Food and Drug Administration and state officials …

Why Oh Why Can't We Have a Better Press Corps?  (CJR Daily Jumps the Shark Edition)  —  UPDATE: Bree Nordenson of Columbia Journalism Review says that she will explain her side of the story about why she wrote that Paul Krugman's references to median earnings of households headed by college graduates was "partisan slipperiness."

Yeas and Nays: Friday, Sept. 15  —  WASHINGTON - Jeff DuFour and Patrick Gavin cover people, power and politics in the beltway each weekday.  Email them at yan@dcexaminer.com .  —  Must be the beautiful blue eyes ...  Covering the White House is not an easy beat.