Bush's New Tack Steers Clear of 'Stay the Course'  —  President Bush and his aides are annoyed that people keep misinterpreting his Iraq policy as "stay the course."  A complete distortion, they say.  "That is not a stay-the-course policy," White House press secretary Tony Snow declared yesterday.

Independents Favor Democrats Over Republicans  —  Poll Finds Votes Motivated by War Pessimism, Dissatisfation With GOP  —  Two weeks before midterm elections, Republicans are losing the battle for independent voters, who now strongly favor Democrats on the major issues facing the country …

MoD bans TV news access to warzones  —  THE Ministry of Defence has banned Britain's biggest commercial news broadcaster from frontline access to the nation's forces, The Times has learnt.  —  In an unprecedented move that risks accusations of censorship, the Government has withdrawn co-operation …

A Jim Webb fib?  —  There's a lot to admire about Jim Webb.  He's a bonafide war hero who parlayed his wartime experiences into a successful career as a novelist and movie producer that made him millions.  He even managed to wrangle a load of Republican political appointments to enhance his stature.

Wyo. opponent says incumbent made threat  —  CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Thomas Rankin, the Libertarian running for Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat, said Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., threatened to slap him after a televised debate.  —  During a debate Sunday that also included Democrat Gary Trauner …

Bush says he uses "the Google."  —  Watch it:  —  Digg It!  —  Transcript:

Spanning the Web  —  1) I WILL BE RETAKING New England's airwaves tonight to discuss political advertising on Jim Braude's "News Night" at 7:00 p.m. on New England Cable News.  I mention this only for New England-area readers who might need a break from Shep or "Seinfeld."

Debate Madness  —  The debate was very high temperature from the get — take a look at the YouTube of Lamont supporters marching with the Kiss Float beforehand.  There were people in the debate hall who were singing and distrupting both Lieberman and Lamont, and they were evidently Lyndon LaRouchites …

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 …

Poll: War Evens Up Race In 4th District  —  The race between incumbent Republican Chris Shays and Democrat Diane Farrell for Connecticut's 4th Congressional District is now tied and is being driven more than ever by the war in Iraq, according to a new poll commissioned by The Courant.

Men who use mobile phones face increased risk of infertility  —  Men who use mobile phones could be risking their fertility, warn researchers.  —  A new study shows a worrying link between poor sperm and the number of hours a day that a man uses his mobile phone.

Peace activist jailed for attack on singer  —  A smirking peace activist who left a rising rock star fighting for his life after a row over his girlfriend was jailed for eight months today.  —  Christiaan Briggs, 30, attacked 19-year-old singer Billy Leeson and left him in a coma …

Women Scarcer On Evening News  —  B&C Contributing Editor Andrew Tyndall analyzed the first six weeks of Katie Couric's tenure atop the CBS Evening News and found that woman have gotten fewer assignments.  —  When former Today host Katie Couric arrived at the anchor chair of the CBS Evening News …

The Don't Show Me State  —  The liberal assault on voter ID laws.  —  People in the good state of Missouri need photo identification to cash a check, board a plane or apply for food stamps.  But the state Supreme Court has ruled that a photo ID requirement to vote is too great a burden on the elderly and the poor.

NYT-ea culpa: Times mouthpiece acknowledges error  —  What do you call it when the ombudsman of the New York Times admits he made a mistake?  —  A good start.  —  New York Times ombudsman Byron Calame has initiated what we can only hope will be a trend in America's holier-than-thou media …

Olbermann's Special Comment on GOP Fearmongering  —  Keith issued arguably his most powerful Special Comment yet tonight.  This time he takes on the GOP's newest fearmongering ad which quotes Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri superimposed over pictures of explosions with the sound of a ticking bomb in the background.