Is Hillary a Sure Loser?  —  Jim Geraghty has a significant post on Hillary's floor and ceiling: … The actual Rasmussen release on this point is here: … Hillary has nearly universal name identification.  Nearly every American has an opinion of her.  And regardless of what Americans …

Zogby Poll: 52% Support U.S. Military Strike Against Iran  —  Most see Clinton as the presidential candidate best equipped to deal with Iran, followed by Giuliani and McCain—but many express uncertainty  —  A majority of likely voters - 52% - would support a U.S. military strike to prevent Iran …

Lessons in hate found at leading mosques  —  Books calling for the beheading of lapsed Muslims, ordering women to remain indoors and forbidding interfaith marriage are being sold inside some of Britain's leading mosques, according to research seen by The Times.

Iraqi Dam Seen In Danger of Deadly Collapse  —  AT THE MOSUL DAM, Iraq — The largest dam in Iraq is in serious danger of an imminent collapse that could unleash a trillion-gallon wave of water, possibly killing thousands of people and flooding two of the largest cities in the country …

New Congress at war over everything  —  In a closed-door meeting before the last vote on the children's health care bill, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer appealed for the support of about 30 wavering Republican lawmakers.  What he got instead was a tongue-lashing, participants said.

Tony Snow: "Newspapers Are a Niche Market"  —  Hi, readers.  I braved the suffocating humidity, pastel hues and abundant old people of Boca Raton to bring you insights from the American Magazine Conference.  Or perhaps I should call it the American Magabrand Conference.

The Happiness Gap  —  Some elections are defined by the gap between the rich and the poor.  Others are defined by the gap between the left and the right.  But this election will be shaped by the gap within individual voters themselves — the gap between their private optimism and their public gloom.

Sharpton chides Cheney over Confederate flag flap  —  Nobody got shot, but Vice President Cheney still fired up controversy Monday when he went hunting at a private club that hangs the Confederate flag.  —  A Daily News photographer captured the 3-by-5 foot Dixie flag affixed to a door …

There Is No Crisis  —  I imagine some readers who haven't been hanging around these parts for all that long might have justifiably been puzzled at the reaction to Obama's decision to try to make dealing with Social Security his signature attack on Clinton.  It's true that Obama didn't assert that there was some huge crisis.

Immunity Deals Offered to Blackwater Guards  —  State Department investigators offered Blackwater USA security guards immunity during an inquiry into last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad — a potentially serious investigative misstep that could complicate efforts to prosecute …

How Lawmaker Rebuilt Hometown on Earmarks  —  Johnstown Gets Billions  —  With Power Broker's Aid;  —  FBI Questions a Contract  —  JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — If John Murtha were a businessman, he'd be the biggest employer in this town.  —  The powerful U.S. congressman has used his clout …

State report says Texas has too many reports  —  AUSTIN — The Texas State Library and Archives Commission is declaring there are too many state reports.  —  It says so in a 668-page report.  —  The project took 18 months and included the commission's small team canvassing more than 170 agencies …

Giuliani Still Working at Firm He Promised to Leave  —  Ten months into his presidential bid, Rudolph W. Giuliani continues to work part time at the security consulting firm he promised to leave this past spring to focus on his pursuit of the Republican nomination.

Memories of Obama in New York Differ  —  Barack Obama does not say much about his years in New York City.  The time he spent as an undergraduate at Columbia College and then working in Manhattan in the early 1980s surfaces only fleetingly in his memoir.  In the book, he casts himself …