U.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia  —  The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to total $20 billion over the next decade at a time when some United States officials contend that the Saudis …

Partisans Gone Wild  —  A funny thing is happening in American politics: The fiercest battle is no longer between the left and the right but between partisanship and bipartisanship.  The Bush administration, which has been notorious for playing to its hard-right base, has started reaching across the aisle …

What Beltway media stars mean by "centrism" and "extremism"  —  As always, when wielded by Beltway media stars, the terms "centrist" and "moderate" and "mainstream" mean "whatever views I personally happen to hold on a topic, regardless of how many Americans actually share it."

'No more confirmations of Bush high court nominees'  —  New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush "except in extraordinary circumstances."

Labels Matter: Progressive Better than Liberal, Reagan-Like Better than Conservative  —  During last Monday's Democratic Presidential debate, Senator Hillary Clinton indicated that she preferred to be called "progressive" rather than "liberal."  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds …

Fred on Restoring Federalism: Bring Back Reagan on the 10th Amendment  —  Former Tennessee senator and presumptive GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson continues his hearts and minds campaign on the Right side of the Blogosphere with a lengthy post on federalism at I'm With Fred.

Democrats as victims?  —  There's an interesting meme of Democratic victimology developing here...  In addition to former Sen. John Edwards, D-NC, saying that media attention on his hair stems from powerful interests who "want to shut me up", it should be noted that Sen. Hillary Clinton …

Romney Will Skip YouTube Forum  —  Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said Friday that he will not participate in a debate on Sept. 17 co-sponsored by CNN and YouTube, saying the debate did not show the proper respect for the process of selecting a presidential nominee.

Aide: Iraq PM relations with Petraeus poor  —  BAGHDAD — A key aide says Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's relations with U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus are so poor the Iraqi leader may ask Washington the withdraw the well-regarded U.S. military leader from duty here.

The Case Against Gonzales  —  I've opined previously that I think Alberto Gonzales' technical defense to a perjury charge would be that he was relying on an implicit definitional distinction between the NSA program as it existed in December 2005 (when the president first confirmed its existence) …

As U.S. Rebuilds, Iraq Won't Act on Finished Work  —  Iraq's national government is refusing to take possession of thousands of American-financed reconstruction projects, forcing the United States either to hand them over to local Iraqis, who often lack the proper training and resources to keep …

The Cleavage Issue  —  I know that this week is devoted to singing Hillary's praises as a candidate, but surely it is in the area of fundraising where her skill and discipline really shine.  Over on Drudge there was a picture of the Senator in the pink jacket and fairly low cut black shell …

The Saturday Cartoons  —  And here's Mark Fiore with an animation on the Bush administration dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: "Pickling The Poor" with your host, Buzzie the Fly.  —  Click on the screenshot above or go here to see it.  —  All cartoons are posted with the artists' express permission to BobGeiger.com.

Parents' Ire Grows at Pedophile's Unabashed Blog  —  The search for the self-described pedophile in the large-brimmed black hat commences nearly every day here, with findings posted on chat rooms frequented by mothers.  —  He was spotted at a fair in Santa Clarita.

Obama goofed by not including caveat  —  One in an occasional series on presidential candidates' views about Latin America.  —  I was not terribly surprised when Sen. Barack Obama said in the Democratic presidential debate Monday that he would sit down with Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chávez if elected president.