Why Is This GOP Strategist Smiling?  —  The day had been full of ominous warnings.  Polls showed the Republicans on the losing side of almost every issue and the 2008 presidential race — and now they're forced to defend a controversial veto of a popular children's health bill.

An Exit Toward Soul-Searching  —  As Bush Staffers Leave, Questions About Legacy Abound  —  It had been four days since Meghan O'Sullivan left her job at the White House.  Just four days since she gave up her Secret Service pass, her classified hard drive and her entree to the president.

On Torture and American Values  —  Once upon a time, it was the United States that urged all nations to obey the letter and the spirit of international treaties and protect human rights and liberties.  American leaders denounced secret prisons where people were held without charges, tortured and killed.

Nobody Knows the Lynchings He's Seen  —  WHAT'S the difference between a low-tech lynching and a high-tech lynching?  A high-tech lynching brings a tenured job on the Supreme Court and a $1.5 million book deal.  A low-tech lynching, not so much.  —  Pity Clarence Thomas.

Medicare Audits Show Problems in Private Plans  —  Tens of thousands of Medicare recipients have been victims of deceptive sales tactics and had claims improperly denied by private insurers that run the system's huge new drug benefit program and offer other private insurance options encouraged …

Muslim medical students get picky  —  Some Muslim medical students are refusing to attend lectures or answer exam questions on alcohol-related or sexually transmitted diseases because they claim it offends their religious beliefs.  —  Some trainee doctors say learning to treat the diseases conflicts …

BUM RUSH  —  HOW THE DEMS PLAN TO TAKE DOWN THEIR REAL OPPONENTS: RUSH AND O'REILLY  —  In the parable of the million monkeys banging on typewriters for a million years, the reward is supposed to be the complete works of Shakespeare.  But have you heard the parable of the million interns?

Charge It to My Kids  —  Every so often a quote comes out of the Bush administration that leaves you asking: Am I crazy or are they?  I had one of those moments last week when Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, was asked about a proposal by some Congressional Democrats to levy …

The snidely liberals won't watch your back  —  When Salman Rushdie was under threat, following the publication of Satanic Verses, the UK government moved to provide him protection - despite his habit of making critical comments about the UK.  Not everyone was so keen about Salman though.

Old party soldier takes sides: Fighting then and now  —  Hard to believe your eyes, but there he was looking thinner, frailer and all of his 85 years old.  —  George McGovern, with some effort but nattily-dressed, made his way across an Iowa stage littered with hay bales …

Bush, Texas at odds over death case  —  WASHINGTON - To put it bluntly, Texas wants President Bush to get out of the way of the state's plan to execute a Mexican for the brutal killing of two teenage girls.  —  Bush, who presided over 152 executions as governor of Texas …

Iraq Embassy Cost Rises $144 Million Amid Project Delays  —  Planning, Workmanship Cited as Problems  —  The massive U.S. embassy under construction in Baghdad could cost $144 million more than projected and will open months behind schedule because of poor planning, shoddy workmanship …