Bush: 'I Am Relevant'  —  A defensive President Bush insisted that he was still relevant this morning in a news conference dominated by his bitter complaints about the Democratic Congress.  —  Asked how he found himself vetoing a children's health insurance bill that had passed Congress …

House Democrats Shut Down Debate to Preserve Terrorist Loophole  —  Not many people are familiar with the House Rules Committee, or why it has so much power to determine what legislation passes the House.  Simply put, the Committee sets the terms for debate of all significant legislation …

Stephen Colbert: I am running for president  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Colbert has announced his candidacy for president on "The Colbert Report," tossing his satirical hat into the ring of an already crowded race.  —  "I shall seek the office of the president of the United States," …

Morgan Stanley Sells Entire New York Times Stake  —  Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest shareholder in New York Times Co., sold its entire stake today, according to a person briefed on the transaction, sending the stock to its lowest in more than 10 years.

Mukasey Calls Torture 'Antithetical' to American Way  —  That was, um, unexpected.  Not only did Michael Mukasey repudiate the so-called 2002 "torture memo" signed by Office of Legal Counsel chief Jay Bybee — which appears to have survived in spirit, if not in letter — but he compared U.S. torture to the Holocaust.

Birth-Control Foe To Run Office on Family Planning  —  The Bush administration again has appointed a chief of family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who has been critical of contraception.  —  Susan Orr, most recently an associate commissioner in the Administration …

Imagine If A Democrat Had Done This, Part 9,487  —  Here's a question: When are the cable nets and the Capitol Hill press and the pundits going to dig into the role that GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell played in pushing the smear of the Frost family?  —  It needs to be said that reporters …

Rudy's Doin' It!  —  Battle Stations!  Shocked Cacophony Among New York Democrats That Rudy They Know May Actually Become Republican Candidate; 'Romney Is Entitled to Three Wives,' Says Charlie Rangel  —  EDITION OF THE NEW YORK OBSERVER.  —  Philip Burke  —  Rudy-lot!

Packaging 9/11, Terror and the War in Iraq  —  The language used to talk about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the language used to take the nation to war in Iraq have been so interlaced that polls show they are inextricably linked in the minds of a substantial number of voters.

Both Parties Have Strengths in "SCHIP" Debate  —  Democrats generally preferred, but Bush's counterarguments have support  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The Beltway debate over a bill reauthorizing federal funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is moving beyond the attempt …

Pelosi sours on Senate  —  Frustrated by lack of legislative progress in the Senate, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is increasingly touting Democratic achievements in the House.  —  Her statements represent a significant shift from the stance she took six months ago.

Republican Iowa Caucus  —  Iowa: Romney 25% Thompson 19% Huckabee 18%  —  The first Rasmussen Reports poll of the Iowa Republican Caucus for 2008 finds former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney enjoying a six-point lead while former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee …

Pence pushes vote against Fairness Doctrine  —  Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) filed a discharge petition Wednesday to force a vote on legislation to ban the so-called Fairness Doctrine.  —  "The time has come to do away with the Fairness Doctrine once and for all," the lawmaker said on the House floor.