Pelosi Puts Weight Behind Murtha in Leader Bid  —  Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in line to become Speaker in January, is throwing her support to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) in the race for Majority Leader, a move that will be an early test of her influence and will weigh heavily on Murtha's contest …

Shift on Syria, Iran discussed  —  Ascension of Gates highlights potential impact of Baker commission ideas.  —  WASHINGTON |  A top U.S. intelligence official has been meeting with Middle East counterparts to discuss proposals expected from the Baker commission on Iraq, Middle East sources have told Newsday.

An Uneasy Alliance  —  AMID all the post-election bliss evident within the constellation of bloggers and online Democratic activists known as the "netroots" last week, there was a note of anger and disappointment.  Ned Lamont, the antiwar Connecticut businessman who defeated Senator Joseph …

Iran TV broadcasts 'US ship spy plane footage'  —  Iran's Arabic language television station broadcast footage it claimed showed a US aircraft carrier cruising in Gulf waters it said was taken by an unmanned Iranian drone.  —  The brief minute-long film, which was shown …

Why the Beltway class can't comprehend the Russ Feingolds of the world  —  (updated below)  —  When Russ Feingold announced in March that he would introduce a resolution to censure President Bush for breaking the law by eavesdropping on Americans without warrants, a clear …

The Donald Rumsfeld I Know  —  Much of what you know about Donald Rumsfeld is wrong.  —  I worked intimately with Rumsfeld for four years, from the summer of 2001 until I left the Pentagon in August 2005.  Through countless meetings and private conversations, I came to learn his traits …

MTP Transcript for Nov. 12  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: The voters send a loud and clear message to the White House, and give the Democrats control of the House and the Senate for the first time in 12 years.  What now for the Republicans?  We'll ask a man who is positioned …

Violence in Iraq claims at least 159  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Shiite prime minister promised Sunday to reshuffle his Cabinet after calling lawmakers disloyal and blaming Sunni Muslims for raging sectarian violence that claimed at least 159 more lives, including 35 men blown apart while waiting to join Iraq's police force.

The Architect's Faulty Specs  —  Rove believed in his metrics.  He miscalculated.  How did Bush's guru get the numbers so wrong?  —  President Bush knew he was in for a rough night.  As he settled down in front of the TV in the White House residence to watch the election results, the numbers were already grim.

Lieberman refuses to close door on switching parties  —  HARTFORD, Conn. —Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday repeated his pledge to caucus with Senate Democrats when the 110th Congress convenes in January, but refused to slam the door on possibly moving to the Republican side of the aisle.

Video: The Simpsons salute the lazy and uneducated  —  Another morale-booster from Groening and company.  How pitiful is it that Cracked magazine did a funnier job of lampooning John Kerry than the Simpsons did with the U.S. military?  —  With good episodes increasingly hard to come by …