Romney Favors Hubbard Novel  —  "What's your favorite novel?" is a perennial campaign question, the answer to which presumably gives insight into leadership.  —  A "Moby-Dick" lover may understand the perils of obsessively chasing of a goal.  A fan of "To Kill a Mockingbird" may well focus on racial justice.

ABC: Reports Of Masri's Death False, 'Part Of A Misinformation Campaign'  —  According to ABC News, reports that al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri has been killed are "unconfirmed and part of a misinformation campaign."  ABC has not posted its full story yet, and details are unclear …

House Committee Readies for Gonzales Redo  —  For those of you eager to relive Alberto Gonzales' hearing from two weeks ago, you're in luck.  Gonzales is scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee next Thursday, May 10.  —  Along with the expected questions about the U.S. attorney firings …

'Mission Accomplished' By The Numbers … U.S. Troops Wounded … U.S. Troops Killed … Contractors Killed … Journalists and Media Assistants Killed … U.S. Forces in Iraq … Size of Iraqi Security Forces … Number of Insurgents … Insurgent Attacks Per Day … Cost to U.S. Taxpayers

The Left's New Machine  —  MOST POLITICAL ACTIVISTS can point to one catalyzing event, an episode in each of their lives (or, more often, in the life of their country) that shook them from their complacency and roused them to change the world.  You can find many such stories if you troll through …

Shadowy Iraq office accused of sectarian agenda … BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Iraq's prime minister has created an entity within his government that U.S. and Iraqi military officials say is being used as a smokescreen to hide an extreme Shiite agenda that is worsening the country's sectarian divide.

State Dept: Iraq Has Been 'Good For The Effort To Reduce Terrorism'  —  Yesterday, the State Department released its annual terrorism report, showing that the number of terrorist attacks worldwide rose by 20,000 (40 percent) last year.  Iraq accounted for nearly two-thirds of last year's terrorism-related deaths.

Wolfowitz Goes on the Attack, but Hints at a Deal  —  Paul D. Wolfowitz defended himself vigorously on Monday, declaring that it would be "unjust and frankly hypocritical" for the World Bank's board to find him guilty of ethical lapses.  But he also hinted that he would discuss whether …

DeLay's PAC closes shop  —  The political action committee for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was quietly closed last week after a decade-long run as one of the most influential - and infamous - PACs run by members of Congress.  —  With a final $1,400 payment …

News Corp. Offers $60 a Share In Unsolicited Bid for Dow Jones  —  Dow Jones & Co., parent of The Wall Street Journal, said it received an unsolicited $5 billion offer from News Corp.  —  The publisher said the board and members and trustees of the controlling Bancroft family are evaluating …

What haircut stories tell us about the press  —  Only because it would save time and make them more efficient, I think members of the Beltway press corps should consider starting up a new reporting pool, to duplicate the one currently in place for shadowing the president …

House oversight panel may look past Rice, Tenet in inquiry into uranium  —  Following a subpoena to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a letter to former CIA Director George Tenet last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee may cast an even wider net in its probe …