Obama goes for the capillaries  —  Barack Obama delivers a rousing speech in Iowa on Saturday night, all but calling out Hillary Clinton, and then gets weak-kneed on Sunday morning.  —  Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks during the Iowa Democratic Party's Jefferson Jackson Dinner on Nov. 10 in Des Moines.

Al Gore's next act: Planet-saving VC  —  The recovering politician is teaming with a legendary venture capitalist and bigtime moneyman to make over the $6 trillion global energy business.  A Fortune exclusive  —  (Fortune Magazine) — It's lunchtime on Sand Hill Road, and Al Gore wants answers.

A New Channel for Soft Money Starts Flowing  —  The so-called Wounded Warriors Act, legislation intended to improve health care for veterans, has attracted nearly unanimous, bipartisan support in Congress.  So why would the newly formed Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America begin running …

Hurdles Stall Plan For Iraqi Recruits  —  Shiite Leadership Wary of Bringing Fighters Into Ranks  —  BAGHDAD — The U.S. effort to organize nearly 70,000 local fighters to solidify security gains in Iraq is facing severe political and logistical challenges as U.S.-led forces struggle to manage …

Lions for Lambs...Slaughtered  —  Looks like the Saturday night box office estimates are in and while Lions for Lambs basically doubled its take from Friday, $6.7 million in box office is only good for 4th place.  —  A distant 4th place: Bee Movie grossed $26 million, American Gangster $24 million, and Fred Claus $19 million.

Pakistani Opposition Threatens to Boycott Election  —  Two of Pakistan's biggest opposition parties said today they would likely boycott parliamentary elections due to be held in early January if the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, persists in holding the vote while still maintaining emergency rule.

A Failed Congressional Ploy  —  WASHINGTON — The ploy had been hatched behind closed doors by Democratic leaders of both houses.  A pork-laden appropriations bill filled with $1 billion in earmarks would combine with veto-proof spending for veterans.  Instead, the two measures were decoupled in a Senate party-line vote last Tuesday.

Michelle Obama: Inferiority Complex Prevents Blacks From Supporting Obama  —  Guess I won't be calling Mika Brzezinski a "newsreader" again anytime soon.  She went to Iowa over the weekend and scored an in-depth interview with Michelle Obama that included a highly-controversial suggestion from the candidate's wife.

Ron Paul's record in Congress  — by Dave  —  In the comments thread to my previous post on Ron Paul, the indispensable Trefayne compiled a series of posts on Paul's track record as a congressman, particularly those bills he sponsored or co-sponsored.  —  Here's Trefayne:

Even ascendant Dems wary of 'liberal' label  —  The Democratic front-runner shied away, saying the "word" — noticeably not using the word — has taken on a connotation that "describes big government.  —  "I prefer the word 'progressive,'" she said.  It has a "real American meaning."

Arafat memorial erupts into gunfire in Gaza  —  Hundreds of thousands of Fatah supporters fled in panic today after gunfire erupted at a memorial event for former Palestinian Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat.  —  The anniversary had given the defeated faction in Hamas-controlled Gaza a rare chance to hold a rally.

Armitage 'foolish' to leak CIA agent's name  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — The man who revealed that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA said that he was "extraordinarily foolish" to leak her name.  —  Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview broadcast Sunday …

TOP SPITZ MAN TOLD AIDE TO LIE: INSIDER  —  Gov. Spitzer's former communications di rector, Darren Dopp, asked another Spitzer aide to lie about the origins of the Dirty Tricks Scandal - including the governor's own allegedly extensive knowledge of the plot to smear the Senate's GOP leader, a well-placed source told The Post yesterday.

31% Want Cheney Impeached  —  Thirty-one percent (31%) of Americans say that Vice President Dick Cheney should be impeached and removed from office.  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 40% disagree while 29% are not sure.  —  Among Democrats, 51% say the Vice President …

Over There — and Gone Forever  —  BY any conceivable measure, Frank Buckles has led an extraordinary life.  Born on a farm in Missouri in February 1901, he saw his first automobile in his hometown in 1905, and his first airplane at the Illinois State Fair in 1907.

Security Guard Fires From Convoy, Killing Iraqi Driver  —  An Iraqi taxi driver was shot and killed on Saturday by a guard with DynCorp International, a private security company hired to protect American diplomats here, when a DynCorp convoy rolled past a knot of traffic on an exit ramp in Baghdad …