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 …

This is where Fannie and Freddie step in  —  Over the past 20 years major financial disruptions have taken place roughly every three years, starting with the 1987 stock market crash; the Savings & Loans collapse and credit crunch of the early 1990s; the 1994 Mexican crisis …

HELLO I MUST BE GOING  —  With regret I have to announce that my blogging days will end on September 3.  New professional responsibilities will preclude any public pontificating.  Aside from professional articles, the scope for my publishing activities is not yet clear.  There may turn out to be none.

THE SHOE DROPS  —  Finally, unexpectedly, out of the blue even, we appear to have arrived at a grand cross-party consensus on Iraq: it's Nuri al Maliki's fault and he should be fired.  Faced with the tough task of biting the bullet one way or another, pols across the partisan divide seem …

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.

They wait for us to run again  —  George W. Bush gave a speech about Iraq last week, and in the middle of it he did something long overdue: He attempted to appropriate the left's most treasured all-purpose historical analogy.  Indeed, Vietnam is so ubiquitous in the fulminations of politicians …

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 …

The Obama Doctrine, Take 2 [hilzoy]  —  Oh dear: it's only my second day as a guest-blogger, and I'm already getting into a disagreement.  Jamie links to an article he wrote in the Providence Journal about something he calls the Obama Doctrine.  From his article:

Countdown On NBC: Worst Person In The World - Comedian Rush Limbaugh  —  Keith Olbermann made the most of the nationwide, broadcast debut of "Countdown."  Thankfully, NBC chose not to water down the show for the masses and let Keith be Keith.  Tonight's Worst Person In The World winners were as follows …

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 …

British move out of Basra police center, Shiite militia moves it  —  BASRA, Iraq: Shiite militiamen from the Mahdi Army took over the police joint command center in Basra on Sunday after British soldiers withdrew from the facility and handed control to the Iraqi police, witnesses said.

I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE ASHAMED OF OUR NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY  —  In the past, I've tried to give some benefit of the doubt to the Washington Post.  Compared to the New York Times, I consider the folks at the Post downright sane.  —  Sane, however, clearly doesn't mean brave.

Inside the Countrywide Lending Spree  —  ON its way to becoming the nation's largest mortgage lender, the Countrywide Financial Corporation encouraged its sales force to court customers over the telephone with a seductive pitch that seldom varied.  "I want to be sure you are getting the best loan possible …