REAL CHILD OF HELL:  —  Behold!  Mitt Romney rides a pale horse.  From last night's debate: … Bin Laden is a singular figure, but, you know, fair enough; there will be a successor to bin Laden.  But where might Romney be going with this? … Mitt Romney's War: the total conflation of all Islamist movements.

Giuliani gambles on abortion stance  —  Former NYC mayor calculating a libertarian stance may not be a liability  —  Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani set himself apart with his response to questions on abortion.  —  SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani went …

Have Bill Frist and right-wing bloggers plagiarized their new Iraq plan?  —  After having created "The Victory Caucus" two months ago only to stand by helplessly as it died a rapid and painful death, right-wing bloggers have now joined forces with former Senator Bill Frist to create a new Victory website …

22% Believe Bush Knew About 9/11 Attacks in Advance  —  Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance.  Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure.

Don't Abandon Us  —  Last weekend a traffic jam several miles long snaked out of the Mansour district in western Baghdad.  The delay stemmed not from a car bomb closing the road but from a queue to enter the city's central amusement park.  The line became so long some families left their cars …

I Guess the Word "Immediately" Has a Different Meaning When Used by Old Media  —  The L.A. Times asks: Will Fred Thompson's racist role have political repercussions? … The paper mulls over the meaning of this — and looks to conservative blogs! … Which conservative blogs?  I'm so glad you asked!

The U.S. Attorney, the G.O.P. Congressman and the Timely Job Offer  —  There is yet another United States attorney whose abrupt departure from office is raising questions: Debra Wong Yang of Los Angeles.  Ms. Yang was not fired, as eight other prosecutors were, but she resigned under circumstances …

Bush Warns of Vetoes Over Abortion Issue  —  President Bush told Congressional leaders Thursday that he would veto any legislation that weakened federal policies or laws on abortion.  —  In a two-page letter sent to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid …

Hillary's Image  —  Public rates Clinton  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Hillary Clinton is one of the best-known political personalities in the country, having been in an intense public spotlight for more than 15 years.  Although Clinton has been well-known for some time, opinions of her have shifted considerably as the years have gone by.

Bush, Democrats and Iraq  —  What happens next?  —  The House on Wednesday failed to override President Bush's veto of a $124.2 billion war-funding measure that included a firm time line for withdrawing troops from Iraq.  —  The House's 222-203 vote fell 62 votes short of the two-thirds majority required.

The Colorful Case of A Well-Named Lawyer  —  Montgomery Blair Sibley's Current Client Isn't the Juiciest Part of His Story  —  Montgomery Blair Sibley, attorney for the morally impugned and legally challenged, is first and foremost Montgomery Blair Sibley, which is to say a descendant …

The Wall Street Journal's op-ed page says Democrats should be embarrassed...  ...because they have no clue about dirty politics.  —  Writes John Fund: "The general election may be a year and a half away but the Democratic National Committee has already released its opposition research packet …

NFP: 88k (and I don't believe even that)  —  The Payroll numbers are out, and they are not particularly pretty:  —  88,000 new jobs were created in April, according to BLS.  This is the weakest job gain since November '04.  Cumulative revisions for prior months were to the downside by 26,000.

Dems Outline Plans for Iraq Bill  —  Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.) outlined a new plan for an Iraq funding bill in private meetings Thursday afternoon, congressional aides said.  —  The plan would split the now vetoed supplemental spending bill into two bills, one that would provide two months …

Waxman to Rice: Step Back  —  Here's the latest volley in the ongoing battle between Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.  —  Waxman, the chairman of the House committee on oversight, wrote to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice today to complain …