Bush is the biggest spender since LBJ  —  WASHINGTON — George W. Bush, despite all his recent bravado about being an apostle of small government and budget-slashing, is the biggest spending president since Lyndon B. Johnson.  In fact, he's arguably an even bigger spender than LBJ.

Chris Dodd's leadership vs. Clinton and Obama's game playing  —  (updated below)  —  Chris Dodd appeared yesterday for a speech and Q&A session sponsored by FireDogLake regarding his commitment to doing everything possible to prevent telecom amnesty.  It can be viewed in its entirety here.

Obama nabs butter-cow backing  —  Could Duffy Lyon be bigger than Oprah?  —  The Obama campaign hopes so, at least in the parts of Iowa off the four-lane.  —  Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) needs to make a cultural connection with the rural caucus-goers of Iowa, a state that will make or break his presidential campaign.

MEDIA MYTHS ABOUT THE JENA 6  —  A local journalist tells the story you haven't heard.  —  Republish  —  JENA, LA. - By now, almost everyone in America has heard of Jena, La., because they've all heard the story of the "Jena 6."  White students hanging nooses barely punished …

Remember Iraq  —  Boy, am I glad we finally got out of Iraq.  It was so painful waking up every morning and reading the news from there.  It's just such a relief to have it out of mind and behind us.  —  Huh?  Say what?  You say we're still there?  But how could that be — nobody in Washington is talking about it anymore?

Comedian Colbert Reaches Double Digits As Third-Party Candidate  —  Comedian Stephen Colbert is not a threat to win the presidency, but the odds are that that his satire will win plenty of laughs and maybe even some votes.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that Colbert …

Clinton's White House years become a boon  —  Democratic voters are looking favorably on her experience as first lady, even on her failed healthcare effort, a poll finds.  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has neutralized the political fallout from some of the most difficult moments …

As Fires Rage for Fourth Day, Hopes Rest on Winds Easing  —  A slew of wildfires across Southern California continued to rage for a fourth day today, though firefighters may get a break late this afternoon when gale force winds fueling the fires are expected to begin easing.

Democrats' DREAM Act is a Nightmare  —  Coyotes are the men who prey on illegal aliens, helping illegal immigrants return to the U.S. over our southern border, sometimes after these immigrants have been deported, two, even three or more times.  Apparently our Democratic friends in Congress …

Tilting the Scales of Justice  —  Every time we take a look at the United States attorney scandal, more evidence emerges that Alberto Gonzales politicized the Justice Department to the point where it sometimes seems like a branch of the Republican National Committee.

O'Reilly: J.K. Rowling Is A 'Provocateur' For 'The Gay Agenda' Of 'Indoctrination'  —  Last Friday, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling revealed that one of the central characters in the series, Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, was gay.  Though Rowling says her books are a …

Blue Dogs refuse to pony up for DCCC  —  A large group of "Blue Dog" Democrats has refused to give money to the party's campaign committee so far this cycle, underscoring simmering tension inside the Caucus and concerns about the caustic language of at least one anti-war Democrat.

Sept 11 'not that terrible' says Doris Lessing  —  Doris Lessing, the Nobel Prize-winning British author, has called the attacks on New York on Sept 11, 2001, "not that terrible", compared to the campaign of terror waged by the IRA in the UK.  —  Lessing, 88, who won the Nobel Prize …

Palestinian 'torture widespread'  —  Amnesty International has accused Hamas and Fatah of widespread human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary detention and other ill treatment against each other.  —  The rights watchdog on Wednesday released a report criticising the Palestinian governments …

Is this the Syrian nuke reactor bombed by Israel?  —  Some clever soul used the info from this morning's WaPo story about photographs of the reactor circulating among intel types to try to find it on Google Earth.  With possible success: follow the link in Dan Riehl's post and see for yourself.

Crunch Time  —  We are hearing that the violence in Iraq is decreasing.  —  And we all hear the phrase 'The Surge.'  —  But what is the surge?  How has it worked to decrease the violence?  —  In my upcoming movie, the viewer will get to see the surge from the inside …