Queen Hillary, Empress of Mesopotamia  —  My friend, David Brooks, does his best to reinforce the Hillary-Is-Inevitable consensus in Washington right now.  He may regret this, though: … Then we hear this from a right-wing reporter with access to Bush:

Ahmadinejad Gets Laughed At  —  Watch Ahmadinejad's face here.  —  He's not being feared.  He's being laughed at.  Imagine how the Iranian people feel seeing these clips (and they're seeing them).  Imagine how the rest of the Iranian government feels being made to look so foolish …

Webb: Lieberman And Kyl's Hawkish Iran Amendment Is 'Cheney's Fondest Pipe Dream'  —  On the Senate floor today, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) made an impassioned appeal to his fellow senators, declaring that the Lieberman-Kyl amendment on Iran should be "withdrawn" because the "proposal is Dick Cheney's fondest pipe dream."

Justices Agree to Hear Case About Voter ID Laws  —  The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to decide whether laws that require voters to take government-issued photo identification to the polls place an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.  —  The justices, whose new term begins on Monday …

House Passes Expanded Children's Health Insurance  —  With an overwheming bipartisan vote of 265-159, the House has just passed the final House-Senate agreement to reauthorize the successful Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), H.R. 976, for an additional five years.

Iraqi Prime Minister Says That Civil War Has Been Prevented  —  Maliki Also Plays Down Iran's Influence  —  Civil war has been averted in Iraq and Iranian intervention there has "ceased to exist," Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said yesterday.  —  "I can't say there is a picture …

Bed-wetter Nation  —  Here's a big question that I want to start addressing in upcoming posts: what is conservative rule doing to our nation's soul?  How is it rewiring our hearts and minds?  What kind of damage are they doing to the American character?  And can we ever recover?

Pay Pals — Paul supporters reach into their pockets  —  Supporters of long-shot GOP presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) are putting their money where their mouth is — the Internet.  —  With the third quarter drawing to a close, the campaign said it expects to exceed the $2.4 million haul …

Front-Runner No-Shows at GOP Minority Debates Assailed  —  Former Republican Congressman J.C. Watts Calls Decision Not to Attend 'Stupid'  —  A former member of the House Republican congressional leadership — and the last African-American to serve as a member of the GOP in Congress …

Iranian President Ahmadinejad Delivers Remarks at U.N. General Assembly Meeting  —  SPEAKER: IRANIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD  —  AHMADINEJAD (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): In the name of God, the compassionate and the merciful, oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi and grant him good health …

Bush's UN Speech Full of Fone-eh-tick Pronunciations for World Leaders  —  ABC News' Ann Compton and Jennifer Duck report: Never before has the White House released a draft version of the President's speech to the annual United Nations General Assembly.  —  But this year, a glimpse …

Democratic Party Maintains Solid Image Advantage Over GOP  —  Public Prefers Democratic Party to Republican for handling terrorism, military security  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Public attitudes toward the two major political parties have not changed much in recent months.

House Panel Approves a Trade Pact With Peru  —  A trade pact between the United States and Peru won bipartisan support in a crucial Congressional committee Tuesday, signaling that some Democrats will be receptive to new trade deals as long as they call on other nations to adhere to international labor and environmental standards.

Koppel on Rather Suit: Squeezing Out of Newsman was a 'Travesty'  —  Calling the ouster of Dan Rather from CBS News in 2006 a "travesty," newsman Ted Koppel said today that he hopes the $70 million suit filed by Mr. Rather against CBS and Viacom will bring Mr. Rather "relief from his [emotional] pain."

Hofstra Law School Hosts Sixth Biannual Legal Ethics Conference "Lawyering at the Edge: Unpopular Clients, Difficult Cases, Zealous Advocates"  —  Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, NY: Hofstra Law School is pleased to announce its upcoming 2007 Legal Ethics Conference, Lawyering at the Edge …

Hollywood reporting for duty?  —  What duty, if any, does Hollywood have to the country?  What role should it play in the national discourse? … Good night and good laugh  —  By Andrew Breitbart  —  David,  —  Trust me, David, my expectations for the cinematic braintrust you eagerly defend are quite low.

House panel debates hip-hop lyrics  —  WASHINGTON - Two rappers, sitting side-by-side in an ornate House hearing room, went in different directions Monday on the need for hip hop artists to expunge their work of sexist and violent language.  —  One, Master P, apologized to women for past songs …