A tale of two polls  —  It could be an episode of Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story."  Mitt Romney was announced from the podium Saturday afternoon as the winner of the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Straw Poll," narrowly edging Mike Huckabee.  —  But it turns out that the 5 …

Malefactors of Megawealth  —  Paul Krugman is a justly renowned professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University.  His abundant accolades include the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded biannually to an outstanding economist under the age of 40 — a distinction said to be predictive of …

Jindal wins Louisiana governor's race  —  BATON ROUGE, La. - U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal became the nation's youngest governor and the first nonwhite to hold post in Louisiana since Reconstruction when he carried more than half the vote to defeat 11 opponents.  —  Jindal, the Republican 36-year-old son …

State Department Struggles To Oversee Private Army  —  The State Department Turned to Contractors Such as Blackwater Amid a Fight With the Pentagon Over Personal Security in Iraq  —  Last Christmas Day in Baghdad, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad received a furious phone call from Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.

Suicide Is Not Painless  —  IT was one of those stories lost in the newspaper's inside pages.  Last week a man you've never heard of — Charles D. Riechers, 47, the second-highest-ranking procurement officer in the United States Air Force — killed himself by running his car's engine in his suburban Virginia garage.

FBI working to bolster Al Qaeda cases  —  The U.S. is concerned that evidence obtained from CIA interrogations will be inadmissible at war-crimes tribunals.  —  WASHINGTON — The FBI is quietly reconstructing the cases against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and 14 other accused Al Qaeda leaders …

Obama Should Repudiate and Cancel His Gay Bash Tour, and Do it Now  —  Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama ripped a page straight from the Bush campaign playbook with his announced upcoming three date barnstorm tour through South Carolina with notorious gay basher, gospel singer Donnie McClurkin.

Yankees  —  The record-breaking autumn heat wave finally broke—just in time for Mr. Global Warming to snare the Nobel Peace Prize.  Hot!  —  Hillary  —  The good times keep rolling.  But even her aides say it won't be as easy as the CW now suggests.  —  Thompson

Obscure, violent left-wing blogger threatens murder for hire!  —  Sadly, Mr. Chuck Adkins of Lincoln Park, Michigan has now taken his rude behavior a step too far.  Tonight I posted a respectful comment (no profanity or anything) to his blog asking him to explain to me how Limbaugh had "mocked" the Frost kid.

His Meteoric Days Gone, Quiet Dean Leads Party  —  There has never been a Democratic chairman with as much firsthand knowledge about running for president as Howard Dean.  —  Four years ago, at this stage in the race, he was flying high.  Now, Mr. Dean is being sued by Democrats in Florida …

Victory Is Within Reach in Iraq  —  Should we declare victory over al Qaeda in the battle of Iraq?  —  The very question would have seemed proof of dementia only a few months ago, yet now some highly respected military officers, including the commander of Special Forces in Iraq …

Poll: Concern grows over global warming  —  (CNN) — Most Americans blame emissions from cars and industrial plants as the primary cause of global warming and believe the United States should reduce levels even if other countries don't, a survey shows.  —  Fifty-six percent of poll respondents …

Not All Are Pleased at Plan to Offer Birth Control at Maine Middle School  —  Carissa Porcaro, a student at King Middle School here, did not hide her feelings about the Portland school board's decision to let the independently operated clinic at her school provide girls access to prescription contraceptives.