Tests Show Snow's Cancer Has Returned  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - Presidential spokesman Tony Snow's surgery to remove a small growth showed that his cancer has returned, the White House said Tuesday.  —  Snow, 51, had his colon removed in 2005 and underwent six months of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with colon cancer.

Attorney general coming here, expects questions  —  Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is likely to face questions about the allegedly mediocre status of U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald when he arrives here Tuesday for a scheduled round table discussion and press conference.

Democrat Proposes Making Withdrawal Date Secret  —  Only Congress, White House and Iraqi Government Would Know Plan  —  In one of the more unusual proposals to emerge in the Senate debate on Iraq withdrawal, Sen. Mark Pryor wants to keep any plans for bringing troops home a secret.

McCain-Feingold: Five Years of Failure  —  Five years ago today, President Bush signed into law the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.  Today, American politics is so clean you could eat off it — except for the mud-slinging, back-scratching, favor-trading, influence-peddling, bald-faced lying, indictments, and convictions.

Rice floats idea of Middle-East super summit  —  Photograph by : Associated Press/Murad Sezer  —  JERUSALEM - The emerging goal of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent shuttle diplomacy has created conditions that may make it possible to convene a Middle East peace super summit involving Israel …

The Thompson factor  —  Our latest weekend USA Today/Gallup poll is full of interesting insights into American public opinion.  Tops among them may be the changing landscape of the Republican primary field.  —  Of course it's early and much can change.  But, as I noted here, that's the point.

Senate war bill features $20B in pork  —  WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Like their counterparts in the House, the Senate has larded its version of an "emergency" war spending bill with nearly $20 billion in pork-barrel outlays, including $100 million for the two major political parties' 2008 presidential conventions.

How Bush helped the GOP commit suicide  —  Democrats should give two cheers for George W. Bush.  He and his political mastermind, Karl Rove, dreamed of achieving a permanent Republican majority.  Instead, his disastrous presidency has dealt a devastating blow to the GOP, one from which it may not recover for many years.

Insurgents report a split with Al Qaeda in Iraq  —  The U.S. hopes to take advantage of the Sunni rebel schism, which has resulted in combat in some areas.  —  BAGHDAD — Insurgent leaders and Sunni Arab politicians say divisions between insurgent groups and Al Qaeda in Iraq have widened …

Drudge and The Politico — poisonously joined at the hip  —  The new online political magazine, The Politico, is a pernicious new presence in our media landscape.  As I noted the other day, it really is nothing more than the Drudge Report dressed up with the trappings of mainstream media credibility.

Webb Aide Tried To Take Gun Into Senate Building, Capitol Police Say  —  A top aide to Sen. James Webb was charged yesterday with trying to carry a loaded pistol and extra ammunition into a Senate office building, U.S. Capitol Police said.  —  The staffer, Phillip Thompson …

Plea of Guilty From Detainee in Guantánamo  —  In the first conviction of a Guantánamo detainee before a military commission, an Australian who was trained by Al Qaeda pleaded guilty here Monday to providing material support to a terrorist organization.

Mindful of Past, Clinton Cultivates the Military  —  Of all the early problems Bill Clinton faced as president, few stand out to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as more frustrating and avoidable than his rocky relationship with the military, her advisers say.

Romney offers student fundraisers money  —  BOSTON - A millionaire thanks to his work as a venture capitalist, Mitt Romney is acutely aware of the motivating power of money.  His presidential campaign hopes it will have a similar effect on college students, which is why it's offering them a cut of their fundraising.

Obama's Back Story  —  While I was whiling away my youth as an insurance investigator — yes, yes, Cohen of Claims — I met the lovely Penny, a wise and beautiful woman who utterly changed my life.  She invited me to her family's summer place at the beach.  The old house had a screened-in porch …