He's back: Sandy Berger now advising Hillary Clinton  —  WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Sandy Berger, who stole highly classified terrorism documents from the National Archives, destroyed them and lied to investigators, is now an adviser to presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Top Iraqis Pull Back From Key U.S. Goal  —  Reconciliation Seen Unattainable Amid Struggle for Power  —  BAGHDAD — For much of this year, the U.S. military strategy in Iraq has sought to reduce violence so that politicians could bring about national reconciliation, but several top Iraqi leaders …

Gates Vs Cheney Over Iran War  —  The UK's Daily Telegraph had an interesting report yesterday which said that Bob Gates is the only real barrier within the Bush administration to Cheney's war with Iran. … That last sentence is the scariest thing I've read in weeks.

Hillary Will Trigger Stock Crash  —  I give political analysis, not financial advice.  But sometimes, the two closely merge.  So here's what I think: Hillary Clinton will cause the stock market to crash as her likely election as president approaches.  —  Hillary says she wants to raise the capital gains tax.

Republicans Remain Deeply Distrustful of News Media  —  Democrats much more positive  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans in America today remain deeply distrustful of the national news media — in sharp contrast to Democrats, who have a great deal more trust in the media's accuracy.

Happy Columbus Day  —  James Carroll at Boston Globe, All glasses half full, all silver linings cloudy.  Put another way: … Carroll's quick summage of American suckage through history ... actually relatively upbeat as Carroll's America takes go ... and in the GWOT leaves out a couple of factors that make this a happy holiday.

Al Gore tipped to win Nobel  —  THE environmental campaigner Al Gore is being tipped as a favourite to win the Nobel peace prize in Oslo this Friday in a controversial move that could place saving the planet above saving people from war and conflict.  —  Gore, a former American vice-president …

Same Old Party  —  There have been a number of articles recently that portray President Bush as someone who strayed from the path of true conservatism.  Republicans, these articles say, need to return to their roots.  —  Well, I don't know what true conservatism is, but while doing research …

Take a Shot at Chris  —  Unless the Republican candidates prepare for what's coming, the winner of their debate tomorrow will be Hillary Clinton.  To prevent that result, the candidates have to do what Republicans' campaign consultants have always prevented: they need to take on the media itself.

Right-Of-Center Bloggers Select Their Least Favorite People On The Right (2007 Edition)  —  Right Wing News emailed more than 225 right-of-center bloggers and asked them to send us a list of whom they considered to be their "Least Favorite People On The Right."  Representatives from the following 45 blogs responded...

The Best Police Force in Iraq  —  RAMADI, IRAQ - In late July when I visited a police station in the town of Mushadah just north of Baghdad I worried that Iraq was doomed to become the next Gaza.  As many as half the police officers, according to most of the American Military Police who worked …

Rep. Ron Paul: I advocate the same foreign policy the Founding Fathers would  —  Any response to this paper's Friday editorial on my foreign policy position must rest on two fundamental assertions: first, that the Founding Fathers were not isolationists; and second, that their political philosophy …

Is Rudy the most electable Republican?  —  Last week Rudy Giuliani said this: "Every poll shows that I would be, by far, the strongest candidate against Hillary Clinton.  There hasn't been one taken in the last six or seven months that shows anything other than I'm the Republican that has the best chance to beat her."

FIRST THOUGHTS: FRED'S DEBUT  —  From NBC's Chuck Todd and Domenico Montanaro  —  *** Fred's debut: All eyes are on Fred Thompson this week as he makes his debate debut at the CNBC/MSNBC/The Wall Street Journal debate on Tuesday from Dearborn, Michigan.  It is the first Republican Presidential debate …