Polling Results  —  October 20, 2006 - Lieberman Opens 17-Point Lead In Connecticut, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Dem Challenger Gains Slightly On Rell  —  Candidate debates this week did not help the two principal challengers in the Connecticut Senate race, as Sen. Joseph Lieberman now holds a 52 …

After Pat's Birthday  —  Editor's note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004.  Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.

Shiite Militia Seizes Control of Iraqi City  —  A Shiite militia that has been accused of a wave of sectarian attacks on Iraq's Sunni minority has seized control of the city of Amara in southeastern Iraq, attacking police stations and erecting checkpoints, witnesses in the city said today.

During National Character Counts Week, Bush Stumps for Philanderer  —  So it has come to this: Nineteen days before the midterm elections, President Bush flew here to champion the reelection of a congressman who last year settled a $5.5 million lawsuit alleging that he beat his mistress during a five-year affair.

John McCain unveils his Grand Plan for Victory in Iraq  —  When pro-war advocates talk about Iraq these days, what they say is not only misguided and false, but almost always incoherent.  In explaining why we ought to stay, they are reduced to a form of babbling that sounds almost adolescent …

Iran says Europe may get hurt for backing Israel  —  TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday Europe was stirring up hatred in the Middle East by supporting Israel and warned it "may get hurt" if anger in the region boiled over.

America's Next Top Pundit  —  What does it take to be a talking head?  —  Whenever news breaks — on the fall campaign trail, in North Korea, in the most trivial corners of Hollywood — thousands of pundits have something to say.  What most of them don't have is somewhere to say it.

SUPREME COURT ALLOWS VOTER ID LAW: Surprising action on a Friday afternoon from the Supreme Court: The Court vacated the Ninth Circuit's order that had enjoined Arizona's Voter ID law: the 6 page per curiam opinion is here.  The gist of the Supreme Court's decision is that the Ninth Circuit enjoined …

Bush is wrong: Iraq is not Vietnam  —  President Bush has for the first time conceded a similarity between events in Iraq and those in Vietnam 40 years ago.  Asked in a television interview on Wednesday if he now saw a similarity between the recent escalation of American losses in Iraq …

Priest: I was nude with young Foley  —  But says naked massage didn't count as sex  —  ROME — A priest acknowledged Thursday that he was naked in saunas and went skinny-dipping with Mark Foley decades ago when the former congressman was a boy in Florida, but denied that the two had sex.

Why is the White House so Eerily Confident about the Coming Elections?  —  All week I've been reading in disparate sources from Drudge to US News and World Report about Bush, Rove and Cheney being overly confident about the midterm elections.  Even Republican strategists are increasingly concerned …

Top US general says Rumsfeld is inspired by God  —  MIAMI (AFP) - The top US general defended the leadership of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, saying it is inspired by God.  —  "He leads in a way that the good Lord tells him is best for our country," said Marine General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Unendorsed  —  We've been following Ken Blackwell's career for years.  Our file on him is more than an inch thick.  We've talked with him personally and come away impressed with his intelligence and commitment to change — both of which are much needed in this state.But while Blackwell …

EXCLUSIVE: Lewis Falsely Implies Mass Suspension Of Committee Investigators Was 'Bipartisan'  —  Powerful House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) has abruptly suspended the contracts of "60 investigators who had worked for his committee rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, effective immediately."

OK, let's get this over with  —  On Wednesday, The New Republic and I parted ways, ending my four-year association with the magazine.  The ostensible reason for my release concerns my relationship with Franklin Foer and the magazine's other editors.  However, the irreconcilable ideological …