DoJ Purge Figure Resigns  —  Nothing like a Friday afternoon resignation to end the week.  —  From the AP: … Update: Some highlights from Elston's tenure at DoJ:  — He allegedly called three of the fired U.S. attorneys and made an implicit threat that the Justice Department …

Obama Campaign Circulating Negative (And Ultimately False) Story About Bill Clinton  —  We've just obtained an email that shows that the Obama campaign yesterday circulated a negative, and ultimately false, story about Bill Clinton — that he allegedly made money giving a speech on September 11, 2006.

Latest from McClatchy's Iraqi Staffers: The 'City of Cemeteries'  —  NEW YORK For several weeks, E&P has been featuring frank and often disturbing blog entries by McClatchy's Iraqi correspondents and staffers from their site, Inside Iraq.  The writers' full names are not listed due to security concerns.

The Quiet Gay Revolution  —  When William F. Buckley Jr. revived American conservatism by founding National Review in 1955, he said the magazine's job was to stand "athwart history, yelling stop."  At that time, history did seem to be moving in the wrong direction if you were a conservative, and Buckley was gutsy to admit as much.

Vote for me, dimwit  —  How the electorate is irrational  —  ANYONE who follows an election campaign too closely will sometimes get the feeling that politicians think voters are idiots.  A new book says they are.  Or rather, Bryan Caplan, an economics professor at George Mason University …

Watergate's 35th Anniversary: Would That Story Have Been Broken Today?  —  Who knows, someone with a cell phone camera working in the parking garage might have snapped a photo of Woodward chatting with this unknown source.  Or a blogger would have blown the whistle.  —  Sunday will be a memorable day for me, for two reasons.

Duke Case Prosecutor Says He Will Resign  —  Durham County district attorney Michael B. Nifong said today he plans to resign his job, after admitting that he had "crossed the line" of ethical standards in some of the public statements he made about the Duke University lacrosse players he charged with rape.

Senator Blocks Vote on Subpoenas Over Eavesdropping  —  A Republican senator blocked a vote in the Judiciary Committee on whether to authorize subpoenas to the Justice Department to obtain secret legal opinions and other documents related to the National Security Agency's program of domestic eavesdropping.

A 'Two-State Solution,' Palestinian-Style  —  Does Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas know something that we don't?  For five days his presidential security forces in Gaza came under organized attack by Hamas gunmen.  His compound in Gaza City was under siege.

The Best Days Of My Life  —  After spending all week trying to think of a poignant way of making this announcement, and drawing nothing but blanks, I have decided to just say it as plainly as I can.  Today, after more than three years, I am stepping down as the lead writer and managing editor of MyDD.

The Laptop Is Mightier Than the Sword  —  WHILE waiting to see if the Iraq surge strategy pays off, President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have shown Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the door and brought in Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute as the new White House "war czar."

www.trentlott.com  —  ***update: Rush on Lott—"You've got Republicans talking about talk radio like liberals talk about talk radio.  That tells you something."  Yes, it does.  It tells you that the Republican Party is in deep, deep doo-doo.  Speaking of doo-doo, the literal kind apparently turned up in the Capitol today.

New Orleans turns to international aid  —  NEW ORLEANS — The cash-strapped city of New Orleans is turning to foreign countries for help to rebuild as federal hurricane-recovery dollars remain slow to flow.  —  Kenya Smith, director of intergovernmental relations for Mayor Ray Nagin …