Takeover by Hamas Illustrates Failure of Bush's Mideast Vision  —  Five years ago this month, President Bush stood in the Rose Garden and laid out a vision for the Middle East that included Israel and a state called Palestine living together in peace.  "I call on the Palestinian people …

Senate Leaders Agree to Revive Immigration Bill  —  Senate Democratic and Republican leaders announced on Thursday that they had agreed on a way to revive a comprehensive immigration bill that was pulled off the Senate floor seven days ago.  —  The majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada …

What I Saw in Iraq  —  Iran remains a problem, but Anbar has joined the fight against terror.  —  I recently returned from Iraq and four other countries in the Middle East, my first trip to the region since December.  In the intervening five months, almost everything about the American war effort …

U.S. Says Iraq Troop Surge Complete  —  The full contingent of new U.S. forces being sent to Iraq — what military leaders call a "surge" of troops to improve security and stability in the capital — was completed by Friday, with 28,500 additional troops now posted in the country, a U.S. military spokesman said.

Rise of the Seculars  —  Paul Waldman has a very interesting article over at the Prospect pondering whether liberal secular Americans will become as "tribal" as evangelicals.  He writes: … Let's put that aside for a moment.  Ross Douthat, meanwhile, notes that Waldman's essay jibes …

Reid Faults Petraeus as Not 'in Touch'  —  Senate Leader Cites General's Upbeat Remarks About Baghdad 'Normalcy'  —  The Senate majority leader took aim yesterday at the top U.S. commander in Iraq, who until now has received little criticism from Capitol Hill over his statements or performance.

The GOP's Identity Crisis  —  The great drama in American politics today revolves around the question: What is the Republican Party?  —  We think we know.  Republicans are the party of business and of evangelical Christians, of better-off voters and people who hate taxes …

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."

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Fred Thompson Pro-Life Video Address  —  Watch Low Band EXCLUSIVE VIDEO:  —  CBNNews.com - It's Christmas in June here at The Brody File.  Look what we found under the tree.  It's a present from "supporters of Fred Thompson" given exclusively to The Brody File.

N.C. pressed on voter listings  —  State, feds say rolls out of date, push changes; official says no need  —  RALEIGH —State and federal officials are mounting two broad challenges to the way North Carolina maintains its voter rolls, charging widespread irregularities that include votes cast under the names of dead people.

Bush administration attacks 'shield' for bloggers  —  WASHINGTON—The Bush administration on Thursday blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources.  —  The latest draft of the Free Flow …

Who's Ahead?  No, Seriously...  It's nice to know that Mitt Romney has pulled ahead in New Hampshire, seven months before the primary voting.  Thanks, Bill Schneider!  Let me ask you something: Who's ahead in addressing a broken health care system?  —  It's fascinating to realize that Hillary Clinton, a woman, is ahead among women.

The Line: Senate Map Is Messy for GOP  —  Most of the recent action in the budding 2008 Senate campaigns came in races that didn't make our last rankings.  —  In Texas, wealthy attorney Mikal Watts (D) not only formed a campaign committee but also dropped nearly $4 million of his own money into it.