Top Items:
Jennifer Hunter / Chicago Sun Times:
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 …
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Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
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 …
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New York Times:
Statement by George J. Tenet on C.I.A. Report — Following is the text of a written statement issued by George J. Tenet, the former Director of Central Intelligence, regarding the public release today of the executive summary of the June 2005 report by the Office of the Inspector General concerning the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001:
Discussion:
The Raw Story
Katherine Shrader / Associated Press:
CIA missed chances to thwart al-Qaida
CIA missed chances to thwart al-Qaida
Discussion:
Publius Pundit
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup Poll:
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.
Discussion:
Hot Air, QandO, Balloon Juice, Salon, Booman Tribune, The Influence Peddler, The Swamp, TIME, JammieWearingFool, About.com U.S. Politics, D-Day, Wake up America and Althouse
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The Rothenberg / The Rothenberg Political Report:
Louisiana Governor: Backlash Anyone? — In one of the hardest hitting - Republicans will undoubtedly say "dirtiest" - television ads aired in history, the Louisiana Democratic Party is accusing Rep. Bobby Jindal of being anti-Protestant. — The bizarre charge is delivered by an unidentified woman …
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Fred Barnes / Opinion Journal:
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 …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Ankle Biting Pundits, Thought Theater, Nitpicker and Daily Pundit
Rick Moran / Right Wing Nut House:
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.
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Joan Walsh / Salon:
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 …
Audrey Hudson / Washington Times:
CAIR blames Justice for its troubles — The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) says it is suffering from a decline in membership and fundraising and blames the Justice Department for listing it as an unindicted co-conspirator in a case involving a charity accused of terrorist ties.
Nan Aron / Washington Post:
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.
Michael J. Totten:
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.
Daniel Trotta / Reuters:
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 …
Discussion:
Ed Driscoll.com
The Daily Green:
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 …
Fred File:
A New York State of Mind — When I was working in television, I spent quite a bit of time in New York City. There are lots of things about the place I like, but New York gun laws don't fall in that category. — Anybody who knows me knows I've always cared deeply about the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Discussion:
IMAO
Frank Ahrens / Washington Post:
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.