MTP Transcript for Oct. 29  —  Md. U.S. Senate candidates Rep. Ben Cardon (D), Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R)  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: Only nine days until the midterm elections.  The Democrats must gain six seats to take control of the U.S. Senate.

Michael J. Fox Fires Back at Critics  —  Actor Tells ABC News That Parkinson's Community Was Hurt by Limbaugh's Comments  —  Actor Michael J. Fox jokes that he may be short in stature, but he's still enough of a "big boy" to withstand criticism over his backing of embryonic stem cell research …

U.S. Investigates Voting Machines' Venezuela Ties  —  The federal government is investigating the takeover last year of a leading American manufacturer of electronic voting systems by a small software company that has been linked to the leftist Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chávez.

This is Baghdad.  What could be worse?  —  There was an almost forgettable exchange earlier this month in the Iraqi National Assembly, itself on the fringe of relevance in today's disintegrating Iraq.  Lawmakers debated whether legislation should be submitted to a committee to determine if it was compatible with Islam.

Americans snub invitation to pay $500,000 for Clinton birthday party  —  When America's liberal elite were offered the chance to pay up to $500,000 each (about £260,000) to attend Bill Clinton's 60th birthday extravaganza tonight - with the added promise of a private Rolling Stones concert - a packed house was expected.

To help U.S. win in Iraq, Rummy and Cheney must go  —  The Vietnamization of Iraq.  If you Google that phrase, you'll find a slew of articles dating as far back as March 2003.  They talk about quagmire, guerrilla war, and the difficulty of getting Iraqi forces on line.  Mainly, they are expressions of despair.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer Calls Out Lynne Cheney For 'Sniping At My Patriotism'  —  On Friday, Lynne Cheney repeatedly attacked CNN for having a liberal bias during a combative appearance on the Situation Room.  At one point, she criticized CNN for "running terrorist tapes, terrorists shooting Americans" …

Poll: Iraq hurting GOP chances  —  As U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum makes fighting global terrorism his closing pitch of the campaign, the latest Temple/Inquirer Poll shows that growing doubts about the Iraq war continue to erode support for Republicans.  —  More voters than a month ago say the war …

Clinton Shills For Bad Energy Policy  —  Energy: Bill Clinton's back, now touting tax hikes for ethanol to California voters.  "If Brazil can do it, so can we," he said, claiming an ethanol switch ended Brazil's need for foreign oil.  Once again, he's telling whoppers.

Quote of the day: Garry Wills provides a timely reminder that this administration has given us government of, by and for the "faith-based"  —  "There is a particular danger with a war that God commands.  What if God should lose?"  —Garry Wills, in "A Country Ruled by Faith," in the new (Nov. 16) New York Review of Books

ACLU drops Patriot Act challenge  —  DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday dropped a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the USA Patriot Act.  —  The ACLU said it was withdrawing the lawsuit filed more than three years ago because of "improvements to the law."

Bush's lonely election season  —  Editor's note: The following is a summary of this week's Time magazine cover story.  —  Time.com "Stay the course" is a time-honored rallying cry in politics.  But it has always been more a slogan than a strategy, meant to show the steadfastness of the person …

Senate: The Debate Returns, Again, To War  —  Ned Lamont is staying the course in the last days of his 10-month, $15million campaign to unseat Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, finishing on the issue with which he began: It is time to bring home U.S. troops.  —  A closing ad features retired …

Condi comes clean on her Middle East views  —  We think the Secretary of State comes off as utopian and rather naive.  She needs to go.  —  QUESTION: You're all over the conservative Jewish blogs for remarks you made recently on the Palestinian state, your commitment to it …