Michelle gets stronger all the time  —  'I don't want my girls to live in a country based on fear'  —  Barack Obama often says that his wife, Michelle, is smarter than he is, stronger than he is, and gives better speeches than he does.  —  On a trip to Iowa last week, Michelle was a firebrand …

Congress Approval Rating Matches Historical Low  —  Just 18% approve of job Congress is doing  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new Gallup Poll finds Congress' approval rating the lowest it has been since Gallup first tracked public opinion of Congress with this measure in 1974.

The Party Of Tolerance  —  How desperate are Louisiana Democrats to hold onto power?  They're about to air a television ad attacking the leading Republican candidate for governor for his religious views.  The TV spots will accuse Bobby Jindal of being anti-Protestant (via Bryan at Hot Air):

Can the GOP Make a Comeback?  —  The recipe for Republicans is to stop acting like, well, Republicans—that is, Republicans of recent vintage.  —  It's not particularly visible at the moment, but there is a road to political recovery for Republicans.  Chances are they won't get far enough …

Report: CIA Director Unprepared for al-Qaeda Threat  —  Former CIA Director George Tenet failed to lead a strategic effort against al-Qaeda before the Sept. 11 attacks, the agency's inspector general concluded in a long-classified report released today.  —  The report, which Congress ordered …

9/11 TRUTHERS GUT PUNCHED BY HISTORY CHANNEL  —  In what will surely be seen as a defining moment for the 9/11 truther movement, the History Channel has delivered a blow for sanity and rationalism by airing a superior documentary entitled 9/11 Conspiracies: Fact or Fiction.

Are Democrats really so lame?  —  Republicans are on the ropes, but yet another mainstream media star says it's Democrats who are in trouble, thanks to Bush-hating bloggers and billionaires.  Here we go again.  —  The Republican Party is the least respected institution in the U.S today …

Bloomberg says won't run for president  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he cannot win the U.S. presidency and won't run, the strongest statement to date about his intentions for the 2008 presidential race.  —  Bloomberg previously had said he had no plans to run …

How to Spy in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD - American soldiers arrived in Iraq in 2003 with not much of a plan and little idea what to expect.  The Iraqi government, military, and police were overthrown and disbanded under de-Baathification.  Most Iraqis who knew how to run the country were either sent home or imprisoned.

Hurricane Dean: 1 Of 10 Most Intense Atlantic Hurricanes Ever Measured  —  Early this morning Hurricane Dean, after mercilessly intensifying over deep warm waters in the western Caribbean, slammed the Yucatan Peninsula around Chetumal as a Category 5 hurricane with winds upwards of 165 miles per hour …

An Unjust Judge  —  To understand the furor over President Bush's nomination of Leslie Southwick to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, one should start with the Goode family of Mississippi.  —  A propane heater exploded in their house, killing their granddaughter.  The Goodes sued the manufacturer.

For Wall Street's Math Brains, Miscalculations  —  Complex Formulas Used by 'Quant' Funds Didn't Add Up in Market Downturn  —  They are the powerful, cerebral and offstage actors of Wall Street, but the recent turmoil in the financial markets has yanked them into the light.

The Caped Crusader From Vermont  —  "Sen. Patrick Leahy has a part in the next Batman movie."  — Associated Press, Aug. 19.  —  "Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) holds a media availability on the deadline for subpoenas for documents relating to the ... Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program."