W library in record book  —  $500M center would be priciest for a Prez  —  DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF  —  WASHINGTON - He may be a certified lame duck now, but President Bush and his truest believers are about to launch their final campaign - an eye-popping, half-billion-dollar drive for the Bush presidential library.

Both/And Not Either/Or  —  With regard to the split between the Economic Policy Institute's populists and the Hamilton Project's centrists, I would hope that both sides of this debate would see that they need each other.  On issue after issue, there's simply no way you're going to build a constituency …

In The Blog's-Eye: The Impeached Former Judge  —  To voters in Florida's 23rd District, Democrat Alcee Hastings is their representative in the House.  They first elected him by 59 percent of the vote in 1992 and subsequently have returned him to Congress by margins ranging from 73 percent to 100 percent.

Olmert offers mass prisoner release  —  The Israeli prime minister today said he was prepared to free "many" Palestinian prisoners in return for the release of Cpl Gilad Shalit, the soldier captured by Palestinian militants in June.  —  Speaking on the second day of a fragile ceasefire …

U.S. Embassy Asks Bush Twins to Leave Country  —  Joe Goldman and Rhonda Schwartz Report:  —  Amid a growing barrage of front-page headlines, U.S. embassy officials "strongly suggested" President Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara Bush, cut short their trip to Buenos Aires because of security issues …

Ahmadinejad Predicts Collapse of Israel, U.S., U.K. (Update1)  —  Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the collapse of Israel, the U.S. and Britain, attacking what he called their ``oppressive behavior.''  —  ``The Zionist regime is on a steep downhill towards collapse …

Willful Suspension of Disbelief, redux  —  From Curt at Flopping Aces comes the news many of us quietly expected: Centcom has confirmed that Capt. Jamil Hussein, the primary source for the recent kerosene mosque murder reports—and for a whole host of reports of Shia massacres recounted by the AP …

A Day When Mahdi Army Showed Its Other Side  —  Militia Seen as Heroic In Aiding Bomb Victims  —  In the chaos, Ayad al-Fartoosi thrived.  —  Against a backdrop of death and panic in Sadr City last Thursday, he strode confidently through streets littered with burning cars and charred bodies.

The Hill May Look Steep For Republicans in 2008  —  As the 2006 congressional campaign fades from memory, the 2008 Republican campaign to retake the House and Senate will get underway in coming months.  —  This year, scandal and a strong anti-GOP tide were fortuitous forces for Democrats …

Hurricane Predictions Off Track As Tranquil Season Wafts Away  —  More from this channel:  —  This feature requires the Macromedia Flash Plugin.  Please visit http://www.macromedia.com/go/ getflashplayer to download this plugin.  —  It was not the hurricane season we expected, thank you.

Rangel Adopts the Logic of Kerry's 'Joke'  —  Rep. Charles Rangel has adopted Senator Kerry's "botched joke" about unsuccessful young people ending up in the military — only Mr. Rangel is not joking.  —  "If a young fellow has an option of having a decent career, or joining the Army to fight in Iraq …

In Class Warfare, Guess Which Class Is Winning  —  NOT long ago, I had the pleasure of a lengthy meeting with one of the smartest men on the planet, Warren E. Buffett, the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, in his unpretentious offices in Omaha.  We talked of many things that, I hope, will inspire me for years to come.

Chilling Echo for Lebanon, Mirror of Regional Tension  —  In April 1975, gunmen fired on a church in East Beirut in what appeared to be an attempt to kill Pierre Gemayel, founder of the main right-wing Lebanese Christian militia.  He was not killed, but the shooting set off a cycle of revenge that became a 15-year civil war.

At the Inquirer, Shrink Globally, Slash Locally?  —  Brian Tierney, a onetime critic of the Philadelphia Inquirer who wound up buying the paper, is determined to take his new property in a different direction.  —  "We don't need a Jerusalem bureau," he says.  "What we need are more people in the South Jersey bureau."

Better Late Than Never  —  Two Republicans take a stand against profligate spending.  —  It's been years since federal agencies have screamed this loudly about fiscal discipline being imposed on them.  GOP Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Jim DeMint of South Carolina have decided to take a stand …

A G.O.P. Breed Loses Its Place in New England  —  It was a species as endemic to New England as craggy seascapes and creamy clam chowder: the moderate Yankee Republican.  —  Dignified in demeanor, independent in ideology and frequently blue in blood, they were politicians in the mold …

Democrat pledges array of investigations  —  WASHINGTON - The incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is promising an array of oversight investigations that could provoke sharp disagreement with Republicans and the White House.  —  Rep. John Dingell (news, bio …

Democratic gains in suburbs spell trouble for GOP  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats made large gains in suburbia in this month's elections, pushing Republican turf to the outer edges of major population centers in a trend that could signal trouble for the GOP, an analysis shows.

Rep. Frank Accuses Fox News Host of Bias  —  Following in President Clinton's footsteps, a prominent Democratic congressman yesterday accused a Fox News anchor of conducting a skewed interview designed to make Democrats look bad.  —  "I've got to say, Chris, you have an odd view of balance …

The gloves come off  —  Keith Olbermann's anti-Bush views have driven up the ratings of his MSNBC show.  —  THE Democrats may have wrested back control of power in Congress, but that hasn't quieted the ire of Keith Olbermann.  —  Last week, he delivered one of his trademark blistering critiques …

New Congress Unlikely to Rush Toughest Issues  —  Democratic lawmakers vow to come roaring out of the blocks when they assume control of the next Congress, passing several top-priority bills in the first 100 hours.  Absent from that list, however, are the knottiest problems that bedeviled …

Woman faces fines for wreath peace sign  —  DENVER - A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti- Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.