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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

CHENEY: A WORD FROM STEPHEN HAYES  —  Stephen Hayes is the Weekly Standard senior writer whose whork we have frequently highlighted here.  Steve's new book is the biogaphy Cheney: The Live of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President.  Tomorrow the book is officially published.

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.

KILLITARY: Lefties Dropping the Fiction of 'Supporting the Troops'  —  The leftist blogosphere went out of their way to cover this one up as quickly as possible.  —  It was posted at Daily Kos, as Ace relates.  But the Kidz are on edge about their credibility, so it was deleted within hours, without a word of explanation.

Obama solicits La Raza backing  —  MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Sen. Barack Obama told the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group yesterday that he earned their support for his presidential campaign by marching in last year's May 1 immigrant rallies and challenged them to learn whether others met that standard.

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.

Dr. Broun Goes to Washington  —  A conservative Republican wins a stunning upset in a Georgia House race.  —  Special elections to fill vacant House seats are usually fought over local concerns, but often they have national overtones.  The stunning result of a Georgia race last week is a case in point.

In the Heart of Freedom, in Chains  —  Elite hypocrisy, gangsta culture, and failure in black America  —  Two April days threw a clarifying light on the state of race in America.  On the 11th, North Carolina's attorney general exonerated three white Duke students of the rape charges …