Bartlett: 'It's Never Been A Stay The Course Strategy'  —  On CBS this morning, White House Counselor Dan Bartlett claimed that the administration has "never" had "a stay-the-course strategy."  Watch it:  —  President Bush made the same claim over the weekend.  It's not true.

Richard Nixon versus Joe Lieberman  —  After losing the primary, Joe Lieberman changed his tune and began talking about ending the war in Iraq.  It's a very specific way of talking about ending the war, though, and you can see eery parallels between Lieberman and Nixon when Nixon lied about wanting to end the Vietnam War.

Rush Limbaugh attacks Michael J. Fox: " ...he was either off the medication or he was acting.  He is an actor, after all."  —  Rush Limbaugh will say anything to attack anyone who challenges George Bush and his policies.  This time, his target is Michael J. Fox.  Meds are something Rush does have a little experience with.

The Economic Miracle as an Economic Mirage  —  WHATEVER happened to the good old days of cradle-to-grave security — of a steady job, a lifetime pension and paid-for health care along the way?  This is the question at the heart of "The Great Risk Shift" (Oxford University Press, $26) …

REPORT: Bush Officials Were 'Rooting' For North Korea to Test Nuclear Weapon  —  Senior Bush administration officials wanted North Korea to test a nuclear weapon because it would prove their point that the regime must be overthrown.  —  This astonishing revelation was buried in the middle …

Why Barack Obama Should Run for President  —  Though you probably know me as someone who's not a fan of Barack Obama, I do want the Senator to run for President in 2008.  I think it would be good for him, good for the party, and good for the country.  I'm big on process, on public debate …

Active-Duty Troops Launch Campaign to Press Congress to End U.S. Occupation of Iraq  —  65 Members to Send "Appeals for Redress" Under the Military Whistle-blower Protection Act  —  Contact: Trevor Fitzgibbon, 202-246-5303, or Alex Howe, or Laura Gross, 202-822-5200, for Fenton Communications

In Balad, Age-Old Ties Were 'Destroyed in a Second'  —  Sectarian Battles Drive Out Sunnis, Create State of Siege  —  OUTSIDE BALAD, Iraq — At midweek, Shiite Interior Ministry commandos and their Shiite militia allies cruised the four-lane hardtop outside the besieged city of Balad …

God knows why faith is thriving  —  A group of leading atheists is puzzled by the continued existence and vitality of religion.  —  As biologist Richard Dawkins puts it in his new book "The God Delusion," faith is a form of irrationality, what he terms a "virus of the mind."

The Dow Jones Industrials Reach New High  —  Wall Street extended its October rally Monday as investors grew more optimistic about upcoming earnings reports and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it will cut capital spending to drive overall returns.  The Dow Jones industrials shot up more than 110 points and crossed 12,100 for the first time.

Litigation Day  —  Control of Congress may be decided in the courts, starting Nov. 8.  —  Everyone is speculating about which party will control Congress after next month's voting.  But we may not know for a while.  We could see either party pursue the kind of lawsuits that Al Gore unleashed …

New poll shows Allen with narrow lead over Webb  —  RICHMOND — U.S. Sen. George Allen has ended a two-month freefall in voter support and regained a narrow lead in his re-election bid against Democrat Jim Webb, according to a new poll.  —  Allen drew 47 percent support and Webb received 43 percent …

Hell And Back  —  A chronicler of the storm is crushed by its sorrows.  A skeptic on depression is consumed by a disease he doesn't believe in.  A man teetering on the cliff finds his salvation in an unexpected place: modern medicine.  —  I pulled into  —  the Shell station on Magazine Street, my car running on fumes.

BEST GOP HOPE: SCARE 'EM SILLY  —  WITH only two weeks left 'til Election Day, Republicans won't save themselves with phony optimism - pathetic claims that, somehow, they're mounting a comeback.  They need to sound a note of alarm and fill the airwaves with specifics of exactly what will happen if the Democrats triumph.

Late Nite FDL: God Bless Barney Frank  —  "The right to privacy should not be the right to hypocrisy.  These people who want to demonize other people shouldn't be able to go home, close the door, and do it themselves."  (Barney Frank on the practice of outing gay Republicans, hat-tip to my secret lovaaaah, Jesus' General)

Poll: GOP could lose control of Congress  —  Just two weeks before Election Day, poll results continue to signal that Republicans could lose control of one or both chambers of Congress.  —  ELECTIONLINE: What do you think?  —  The latest USA TODAY/Gallup national poll, taken over the weekend, shows that: