Democratic Defections Clear Path For Mukasey  —  2 Senators Say Nominee Is Best Bush Would Offer  —  The nomination fight over attorney general nominee Michael B. Mukasey effectively came to an end yesterday, as two key Senate Democrats parted from their colleagues and announced their support …

HRC White House papers will go public in 08  —  The Clinton library is readying a trove of detail about Hillary Rodham Clinton's eight years as first lady in the White House for release in late January, government lawyers said in a court filing.  —  But Bill Clinton's lawyer will have the final …

Kucinich Will Introduce Privileged Resolution To Force Up Or Down Vote On Cheney Impeachment  —  Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) announced today that he will be offering a privileged resolution on the House floor next week that will bring articles of impeachment against the Vice President, Richard B. Cheney.

Clinton's 'Pile-On Politics'  —  Nearly three days after the Democratic debate Tuesday night, Senator Hillary Clinton's post-forum tactics — complete with her video titled "The Politics of Pile On" and her remarks about the all-men's club of politics — have reverberated with more buzz …

Goodbye to All That  —  T he logic behind the candidacy of Barack Obama is not, in the end, about Barack Obama.  It has little to do with his policy proposals, which are very close to his Democratic rivals' and which, with a few exceptions, exist firmly within the conventions of our politics.

The Petraeus Curve  —  Serious success in Iraq is not being recognised as it should be  —  Is no news good news or bad news?  In Iraq, it seems good news is deemed no news.  There has been striking success in the past few months in the attempt to improve security, defeat al-Qaeda sympathisers …

Loyal to Kerik, Giuliani Missed Warning Signs  —  If the rise of Bernard B. Kerik under the mentorship of Rudolph W. Giuliani was meteoric, the speed of his fall was breathtaking.  —  In December 2004, President Bush nominated Mr. Kerik, a former New York police commissioner, to head the federal Department of Homeland Security.

One Hundred Routes to War, One Hundred Ways to Hell  —  Almost two years ago, in writing about the effects of any foreign intervention that is not a demonstrably necessary act of self-defense, I identified what I considered to be the most important principle regarding interventions of this kind.

Sugar Industry Expands Influence  —  When U.S. sugar farmers needed help this summer defending a $1 billion, 10-year subsidy plan in a new House farm bill, they found it in some surprising places.  —  Among the 282 lawmakers siding with Midwest and Gulf Coast growers on a key vote …

Hiring strong despite housing woes  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Job growth surged in October at twice the rate expected and factory orders edged up, suggesting the world's largest economy was strong enough to handle a deep housing slump without falling into recession.

Hollywood Writers Set Strike for Monday  —  LOS ANGELES — Film and TV writers prepared to go on strike Monday for the first time in two decades to break what has become a high-stakes stalemate with the world's largest media companies over profits from DVDs and programming on the Internet.

It's official: Putin has just stopped pretending  —  It's safe to say that no one really expects this December's Russian elections to be a fair contest.  All the same, the Kremlin's decision to cut the number of international observers invited by two thirds is a particularly brazen demonstration …

Let's See What You've Got, Babe  —  You know, I'm perfectly willing to say that Hillary shouldn't "play the gender card."  It's just not right.  —  Chris Matthews puts it best, I think: … So true.  And now I will be eagerly looking forward to him and the rest of the commentators calling …