Iraq's leaders agree on key U.S. benchmarks  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders announced on Sunday they had reached consensus on some key laws that Washington views as vital to fostering national reconciliation.  —  The agreement was the most significant …

Obama: U.S. can't fail New Orleans again  —  NEW ORLEANS - Democrat Barack Obama said Sunday the country cannot fail New Orleans again and that as president, he would keep the city in mind every day.  —  "The words never again cannot be another empty phrase," he said in front …

Stop Making Sense  —  Between 2000 and 2006, a specter haunted the community of fundamentalist Democrats.  Members of this community looked around and observed their moral and intellectual superiority.  They observed that their policies were better for the middle classes.

Re: Chertoff for AG  —  Kathryn — If the Administration could avoid a protracted confirmation bloodletting — a very big if — I think that replacing Alberto Gonzales with Michael Chertoff would be a very positive step.  Gonzales' departure is long overdue.

Troops Cheer Call For Iraq Withdrawl  —  Governor's Call For U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq Greeted With Standing Ovation At National Guard Conference  —  (AP) A call by Puerto Rico's governor for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq earned a standing ovation from a conference of more than 4,000 National Guardsmen.

Challenging the Generals  —  On Aug. 1, Gen. Richard Cody, the United States Army's vice chief of staff, flew to the sprawling base at Fort Knox, Ky., to talk with the officers enrolled in the Captains Career Course.  These are the Army's elite junior officers.

Misinterpreting the Mideast  —  Until they get past their mistaken assumptions, foreign envoys can do little to calm the region.  —  After a few years of benign neglect, Israel is back on the itineraries of well-meaning foreign emissaries.  Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited …

Migrants fleeing as hiring law nears  —  Immigration hard-liners cheer, but economic fallout begins  —  Undocumented immigrants are starting to leave Arizona because of the new employer-sanctions law.  —  The state's strong economy has been a magnet for illegal immigrants for years.

Question: If Brian Baird Used His Brain. . .  What would you get?  —  Answer: Jan Schakowsky (emphasis and photo added): … Anyone want to guess how many CNN and talking head appearances Rep. Schakowsky will get over the next week?  —  Any idea where the Congressional leadership is in amplifying this message?

Beer runners' trail a recipe for trouble  —  Pair arrested after marking a powdery path through IKEA parking lot  —  NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Two people who sprinkled flour in a parking lot to mark a trail for their offbeat running club inadvertently caused a bioterrorism scare and now face a felony charge.

Why did we go to war?  —  This morning on C-SPAN 2, I heard a nice young historian spout the conventional wisdom about President Bush and the Iraq War.  This particular interpretation is now totally uncontroversial - but it is false.  —  Elizabeth Borgwardt of Washington University told …

Possible Presidential Hopeful Woos Support In Indy  —  Thompson Emerges As Republican Favorite Among Some  —  INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis is an important stop this weekend for many frontrunners for the 2008 presidential nomination.  —  The Midwest Republican Leadership Conference continued Saturday …

Rebounding George Allen, rising Fred Thompson  —  Former Sen. George Allen of Virginia, scarred by his own remark, conceding defeat to Jim Webb last fall.  Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images  —  by David Lerman  —  WASHINGTON — Former Sen. George Allen, who made ``macaca" …

Another Brace Of Dhimmitude From American Newspapers  —  Twenty-five years ago, I followed the comic strip Bloom County avidly.  Berkely Breathed's sense of the absurd and his flair for political and social satire surpassed anything on the comics page in the 1980s.

I Believe That Children Are Our Future  —  Miss Teen USA 2007 finalist, Lauren Caitlin Upton of South Carolina, on her fellow Americans' poor grasp of geography:  —  /via friend T.

WHEN SILLY MEETS PREDICTABLE  —  When a rock band's creativity grows stale, their songs become formulaic.  They take an old hit, change the key, alter the lyrics a little, and voila.  A new single.  —  When a newspaper columnist's creativity grows stale, the same problem emerges.