Building a Coalition, Forgetting to Rule  —  AS a political strategist, Karl Rove offered a brilliant answer to the wrong question.  —  The question he answered so successfully was a political one: How could Republicans win elections after Bill Clinton steered the Democrats to the center?

Gonzales could get say in states' executions  —  Proposed rules would let the attorney general sign off on 'fast tracking' death penalty appeals.  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is putting the final touches on regulations that could give Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales important …

Imus Settles With CBS, May Make Comeback  —  NEW YORK — Don Imus has reached a settlement with CBS over his multimillion-dollar contract and is negotiating to resume his broadcasting career.  —  Imus and CBS Radio "have mutually agreed to settle claims that each had against the other regarding …

For Top General in Iraq, Role Is a Mixed Blessing  —  BAGHDAD — Gen. David H. Petraeus looked out from a Black Hawk helicopter at the vistas of Baghdad rushing by 150 feet below on a recent summer evening, pointing at bustling markets, amusement parks and soccer fields scattered through neighborhoods …

Obama leaves some wanting a little more  —  NASHUA - U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's surging presidential campaign is reaching a critical mass in that voters want to hear more.  —  As a self-described, "hope monger,'' the Illinois Democrat's optimistic call for systemic change on health care …

Hillary Chooses States Rights Over Gay Rights  —  During last week's historic gay debate, Hillary Clinton dredged up the old states rights argument when justifying her opposition to gay marriage.  Apparently she thinks that the second class citizenship of gays and lesbians is a matter for the states to decide.

When I'm Wrong, I'm Wrong  —  Having given it a bit more thought, I think Byron York is right.  I should have been clear that Sam Brownback was quoting what Mother Teresa said to him when he said at the Iowa Straw Poll, "All for Jesus.  All for Jesus.  All for Jesus.  All for Jesus."

Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned  —  The US government is on a 'burning platform' of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country's top government inspector has warned.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Gotham)  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - He's a veteran statesman and hard-hitting chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.  But Sen. Patrick Leahy is set to leave the marble halls of Washington for the bright lights of Hollywood — at least briefly.

Our Lives, Controlled From Some Guy's Couch  —  Until I talked to Nick Bostrom, a philosopher at Oxford University, it never occurred to me that our universe might be somebody else's hobby.  I hadn't imagined that the omniscient, omnipotent creator of the heavens and earth could be an advanced version …

Clinton's first-lady records locked up  —  Archivists say the documents at her husband's presidential library won't be released until after the '08 vote.  —  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton cites her experience as a compelling reason voters should make her president …

Lawsuits May Illuminate Methods of Spy Program  —  In 2003, Room 641A of a large telecommunications building in downtown San Francisco was filled with powerful data-mining equipment for a "special job" by the National Security Agency, according to a former AT&T technician.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: "The US Military is more successful in Iraq than the world wants to believe."  —  Historical consistency has never been a strong point for SPIEGEL magazine or SPIEGEL ONLINE - but this is shocking:  —  Just look at this article.  —  After years of calling Iraq a disaster …

Elizabeth Edwards Unplugged  —  ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: In an interview in August's edition of The Progressive magazine, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Senator John Edwards, D-N.C., takes candid shots at the other candidates battling for the Democratic nomination against her husband.

The Air Force "Thinks Creatively" About Counterinsurgency  —  In DefenseNews (subscription required), Maj Gen Charles Dunlap (AF Deputy Judge Advocate General) has this flash of inspiration on how the Air Force can contribute to the Global War on Terror using its overwhelming air power.

Source Disclosure Ordered in Anthrax Suit  —  Five reporters must reveal their government sources for stories they wrote about Steven J. Hatfill and investigators' suspicions that the former Army scientist was behind the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001, a federal judge ruled yesterday.