July 23, 2007 - Bloomberg Boosts Democrats' Fortunes In Florida, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; McCain Fades In Republican Primary Race  —  If New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg runs for President as an independent candidate, it helps Democrats in Florida, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Associated Press, MSNBC and CNBC Seen as Having Liberal Bias  —  In the final poll of a series measuring perceptions of media bias, the Associated Press, local television stations, MSNBC, and CNBC are all perceived as tilting to the left when reporting the news.

Politico Playbook: First date  —  Good Monday Morning.  —  YOU were the TIME person of the year (great resume fodder) and now YOU (or some of you, at least) get to help out host Anderson Cooper and electronically ask the Democratic candidates questions during the two-hour CNN/YouTube debate at 7 Eastern tonight.

Unlikely Adversary Arises to Criticize Detainee Hearings  —  NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Stephen E. Abraham's assignment to the Pentagon unit that runs the hearings at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, seemed a perfect fit.  —  A lawyer in civilian life, he had been decorated for counterespionage …

Democrats Press House to Expand Health Care Bill  —  After a rare bipartisan agreement in the Senate to expand insurance coverage for low-income children, House Democrats have drafted an even broader plan that also calls for major changes in Medicare and promises to intensify the battle with the White House over health care.

Bill Kristol, Highly Recommended  —  Bill Kristol's the-war-is-being-won piece in The Washington Post brought him plenty of ridicule, but at least one person liked it.  —  President Bush read the July 15 Outlook article that morning and recommended it to his staff.

Deceased Farmers Got USDA Payments  —  The U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed $1.1 billion over seven years to the estates or companies of deceased farmers and routinely failed to conduct reviews required to ensure that the payments were properly made, according to a government report.

On Duty  —  In the cause of liberty, we must be ever vigilant.  Via the NYTimes opinion page: … The radical nature of the Republican party must be understood in full context in order to comprehend the broad scope of their grab at power — and their wholesale rejection of the principles …

TV provides poor signal for Hillary  —  When Hollywood producer Rod Lurie created fictional president Mackenzie Allen in 2005 for the show "Commander in Chief" he made no mistake about one of his goals: tilling the soil of popular culture so that it would soon be easier for a real woman to take root in a nonfiction Oval Office.

U.N. suspends peacekeepers amid sex abuse charges  —  ABIDJAN, Cote d'Ivoire (Reuters) — The United Nations said on Saturday it had suspended a Moroccan military contingent from its peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire while it investigated allegations of widespread sexual abuse.

Binary America: Split in Two by A Digital Divide  —  CHARLESTON, S.C. — Less than a mile and a half from the Citadel, the site of the Democratic presidential debate tonight, sits Cooper River Courts, a public housing project.  Forget the Web.  Never mind YouTube, the debate's co-sponsor.

Lieberman's New Party Line  —  No one was surprised to see Joseph I. Lieberman , the Democrat-turned-independent from Connecticut, siding with the Republican leadership this month during the latest Senate debate over the Iraq War.  —  Lately, though, Lieberman has taken his alliance with GOP leaders up a notch.