'Meet the Press' transcript for July 15, 2007  —  Jim Webb, Lindsey Graham, Al Hunt, Mike Murphy, Bob Shrum, Bob Novak  —  MR. TIM RUSSERT: Our issues this Sunday: The president digs in on Iraq.  —  PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH: I don't think Congress ought to be running the war.

Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran  —  Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Julian Borger  —  The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

Saudis' role in Iraq insurgency outlined  —  Sunni extremists from Saudi Arabia make up half the foreign fighters in Iraq, many suicide bombers, a U.S. official says.  —  BAGHDAD — Although Bush administration officials have frequently lashed out at Syria and Iran, accusing it of helping insurgents …

Some Democratic Senators Still Not Cosponsoring Habeas Corpus Restoration  —  It's been almost three weeks since I last wrote about the status of cosponsorship on the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007, a bill by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) that would "...restore habeas corpus for those detained by the United States."

Breaking Al-Qaeda Code Islamically: New OBL Video Possibly Announcement Of His Death  —  Osama Bin Laden recently emerged in a new video from Al-Qaeda in a 37 second clip, praising martyrdom.  The rest of the forty minutes of the video was some kind of collage/montage of Al-Qaeda activity.

Clinton, Romney lead poll  —  Head-to-head contests pose challenges  —  July 15.  —  illary Clinton and Mitt Romney hold the leads in their respective New Hampshire primary races, a new Monitor poll shows.  But it's not all good news for the top two: The poll finds each would face thornier challenges …

Thompson Uses Loophole to Avoid Reporting Fundraising  —  Opponents Claim Ex-Senator In Violation of Campaign Finance Reform Law  —  Former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., has avoided revealing his fundraising figures by exploiting a legal loophole whereby he says he is simply "testing the waters" …

CNN's response to Michael Moore  —  In response to a letter Michael Moore wrote about CNN's reporting on his documentary "SiCKO," a CNN spokesperson released the following statement:  —  "It's ironic that someone who has made a career out of holding powerful interests accountable is so sensitive …

'Independent' voted off finance island?  —  Mark Burnett, meet the Federal Election Commission.  —  Burnett, the reality TV pioneer behind "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," is teaming with MySpace on a politically themed reality show with an interesting twist.

What Does It Take?  —  Of all the campaign themes that will emerge leading up to the 2008 primaries, one you probably won't hear a lot about is experience.  That's because the candidates who are at the moment best positioned for the nominations of their parties have surprisingly little of it.

New Populism Spurs Democrats on the Economy  —  On Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail, Democrats are increasingly moving toward a full-throated populist critique of the current economy.  —  Clearly influenced by some of their most successful candidates in last year's …

Bush Iraq policy controlled by Bill Kristol  —  Bill O'Reilly loves to spread his propaganda on the FACTOR that says NBC and the Democratic Party takes its marching orders from the liberal blogoshere.  What will he say to this? … The Weekly Standard and the AEI control our foreign policy now. …

The truth is, we can't ignore the sun  —  According to the headlines last week, the sun is not to blame for recent global warming: mankind and fossil fuels are.  So Al Gore is correct when he said, "the scientific data is in.  There is no more debate."  —  Of that the evangelical BBC had no doubt.

Man of the Flesh to Man of the Cloth  —  SOME people have their midlife crisis in reverse, like Ronald Boyer, who for most of his professional life has been better known as a star of pornographic films, Rod Fontana.  —  After 30 years of sowing the wildest of oats, Mr. Boyer, 54 …

Ralph Nader says he is considering 2008 presidential run  —  READING, Pennsylvania (AP) — Consumer advocate Ralph Nader told the Green Party's national convention that he is considering a 2008 presidential run and accused Democrats of trying to shut smaller parties out of the political process.

Aid to Pakistan in Tribal Areas Raises Concerns  —  GHALANAI, Pakistan — The United States plans to pour $750 million of aid into Pakistan's tribal areas over the next five years as part of a "hearts and minds" campaign to win over this lawless region from Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Fred Hiatt defends the administration's mild, restrained secrecy  —  Senior Washington Bush spokesman Fred Hiatt — who also works as the Editorial Page Editor of The Washington Post — shatters conventional wisdom this morning by defending the Bush administration's mild, balanced, and restrained use of government secrecy.

During all-white-male Meet the Press panel, Novak claimed "woman or an African-American" Dem nominee would give GOP "hope"  —  During a panel discussion of the 2008 presidential election on the July 15 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, syndicated columnist Robert Novak asserted: "Republicans are very pessimistic about 2008.

THE NEW GILDED AGE....What a depressing story this is from Louis Uchitelle in the New York Times today.  I mean, it's nice to know that there are a few rich people who aren't complete a**holes, but it seems safe to say that the majority fall pretty safely into this category.