Democrats skipping briefings on Iraq Updates  —  Sen. Harry Reid says that the war is lost, then backtracks.  —  Rep. Nancy Pelosi declares that the road to peace is through Damascus, and offers to meet with Iran's apocalyptic pirate president but declines to meet with the President of the United States.

Author David Halberstam killed in crash near Dumbarton Bridge  —  Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author David Halberstam was killed in a three-car accident this morning in Menlo Park near the Dumbarton Bridge, the San Mateo County Coroner's Office announced.

Bush Sr.: 'Bush fatigue' may be setting in  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President George Bush told CNN's Larry King Monday that the electorate may be experiencing "Bush fatigue."  —  And it may be the reason his son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is sitting out the 2008 presidential election, the 41st president said.

Ever-Larger Media Matt  —  Okay.  The time has come to let you all in on some changes forthcoming soon in my life and on this blog.  Most notably, I'm leaving my job at The American Prospect to take a position at The Atlantic Monthly where my primary responsibility is going to be . . . producing this blog.

JESUS WANTS US TO EXPLOIT THIS TRAGEDY  —  Well, it's a free country, so the Reverend Donald Wilmon's American Family Association has the inalienable right to post "The Day They Kicked God Out of the Schools," a video making those old familiar arguments — that school shootings are the fault …

McNulty to be interviewed by Senate Judiciary Committee  —  Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty will be interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee this Friday, a week after his boss, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was publicly grilled by the panel.  —  McNulty will be questioned …

Iraq Blast Kills 9 GIs, Injures 20 At Outpost  —  Suicide Attack in Diyala Among Deadliest of War  —  A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-rigged truck into a U.S. military outpost near Baqubah on Monday, killing nine soldiers and wounding 20 in one of the deadliest single ground attacks …

"Faith-Based Justices"  —  "You know what concerns me?"  Rosie O'Donnell asked last week on ABC's morning gabfest, The View.  —  "How many Supreme Court judges are Catholic, Barbara?"  —  "Five," responds host Barbara Walters.  —  "Five.  How about separation of church and state in America? …

Obama's Foreign Policy  —  Obama's Foreign Policy  —  Barack Obama probably felt the need to outline his broad views on foreign policy because, unlike Joe Biden, John McCain, and Bill Richardson, for example, he hasn't had the benefit of decades of talk show appearances and floor statements with which to illustrate them.

Soldier: Honor troops like Va. Tech dead  —  KABUL, Afghanistan - An Army sergeant complained in a rare opinion article that the U.S. flag flew at half-staff last week at the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan for those killed at Virginia Tech but the same honor is not given to fallen U.S. troops here and in Iraq.

Don't do anything you're going to regret later  —  "Marry, and you will regret it.  Do not marry, and you will also regret it.  Marry or do not marry, you will regret it either way.  Whether you marry or you do not marry, you will regret it either way.  Laugh at the stupidities of the world …

Can Petraeus Pull It Off?  —  A report on the progress of our arms in Baghdad, Baqubah, Ramadi, and Falluja.  —  The news from Iraq is, as usual, grim.  Bombings, more bombings, and yet more bombings—that's all the world notices.  It's easy to conclude that all is chaos.  That's not true.

NO MURROW.  Over at the Politico, Roger Simon takes us on a little trip down memory lane back to 1988, when Bernard Shaw dealt a crushing blow to the Dukakis candidacy by asking the Massachusetts governor, with the opening question of his final debate with George H. W. Bush, "Governor …

Former Aide to GOP Rep To Plead Guilty  —  Yet another shoe drops in the Jack Abramoff investigation.  A former aide to Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Mark Zachares, looks set to plead guilty to corruption charges.  —  The Justice Department filed a criminal information today on Zachares …

Frayed Nerves, Excruciating Punchlines, and Sanjaya: My Night at the White House Correspondents' Dinner  —  It was Throwback Night at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this weekend, thanks to Rich Little's moldy-oldie comedy routine and Karl Rove's retro dismissal of global warming.