President Bush Discusses Global War on Terror  —  Washington, D.C.  —  In Focus: Defense  —  In Focus: National Security  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.  Ed, thanks.  Thanks for the kind introduction.  I'm looking forward to working with you for the next 14 months …

Campaign call reveals Clinton debate concern  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) top advisers, doing damage control after the candidate's debate performance Tuesday, told supporters on a conference call Wednesday that the campaign needed more money to fight back.

S.C. Dems reject Colbert candidacy  —  Stephen Colbert's satirical run for the presidency has run into its first roadblock - his bid to be on the ballot in the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary was rejected on Thursday.  —  The party's executive council voted 14 to 3 …

Finalists Announced  —  Here is a complete list of the finalists for The 2007 Weblog Awards.  Finalists badges (hosted by Imageshack) will be available Thursday.  Voting is scheduled to begin Thursday evening (late), but at this point we can't pinpoint the exact time polls will open.

From the Desk of Donald Rumsfeld . . .  In Sometimes-Brusque 'Snowflakes,' He Shared Worldview, Shaped Policy  —  In a series of internal musings and memos to his staff, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld argued that Muslims avoid "physical labor" and wrote of the need to …

Time to Close the US Embassy  —  I don't try to start an internet campaign very often, because the blogosphere has its own priorities and logic that are democratic and should not be forced.  But here is a plea for everyone in the blogging world to help force congress to save our diplomats.

The most influential US conservatives: 21-40  —  As the US prepares for what is arguably the most open presidential election since 1928, the last time there was no incumbent president or vice-president on the ballot, the Daily Telegraph's Washington correspondents compile a list of the 100 …

My Nobel Moment  —  I've had a lot of fun recently with my tiny (and unofficial) slice of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  But, though I was one of thousands of IPCC participants, I don't think I will add "0.0001 Nobel Laureate" to my resume.

The Ron Paul Revolution  —  It sometimes seems as if someone is playing a cruel practical joke on Ron Paul.  He goes to a college and delivers the same speech he's given for the past 30 years of his political career, the one espousing the Austrian school of economics.

NYC Council Member Agrees To Push Investigation of Giuliani and the 9/11 Firemen Radio Debacle [VIDEO]  —  Giuliani did nothing to improve the New York City Fire Department's radio performance for seven years after the 1993 World Trade Center attack.  —  New York City Councilman Eric Gioia …

Iraqi Islamic Party says, "Al Qaeda is Defeated."  —  O1 November 2007  —  Iraqi Islamic Party: "Al Qaeda is Defeated"  —  "Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated," according to Sheik Omar Jabouri, spokesman for the Iraqi Islamic Party and a member of the widespread and influential Jabouri Tribe.

What's the Air Force For?  —  A roundtable discussion of Robert Farley's proposal to abolish the Air Force.  —  Rob Farley discusses his case for abolishing the Air Force with David Axe of War is Boring, Jason Sigger of Armchair Generalist, John of OP-FOR, Noah Shachtman of Danger Room …

Blackwater sneak silencers into Iraq?  —  Security firm under investigation for allegedly sidestepping export controls  —  A Blackwater employee shows off a silencer-equipped rifle in Iraq in a photo obtained by NBC News.  The picture has been digitally altered to protect the identity of the subject.