Anti-Bush Sign Has Bridge World in an Uproar  —  In the genteel world of bridge, disputes are usually handled quietly and rarely involve issues of national policy.  But in a fight reminiscent of the brouhaha over an anti-Bush statement by Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks in 2003 …

Ron Paul: Trouble back home  —  While Texan Ron Paul's stock is soaring nationally, there is trouble on the home front.  In September, Paul finished third in a straw poll of 1,300 Texas Republican activists who had been delegates to recent Republican conventions.

The Insanity of Bush Hatred  —  Our politics suffer when passions overcome reason and vitriol becomes virtue.  —  Hating the president is almost as old as the republic itself.  The people, or various factions among them, have indulged in Clinton hatred, Reagan hatred, Nixon hatred …

Senate Dem leaders float plan for forced filibuster  —  Senate Democrats might force Republicans to wage a filibuster if the GOP wants to block the latest Iraq withdrawal bill, aides and senators said Tuesday.  —  That could set the stage for a dramatic end-of-the-year partisan showdown …

F.B.I. Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause  —  Federal agents investigating the Sept. 16 episode in which Blackwater security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians have found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules in effect …

Bush strategist looks back in sadness  —  AT HIS TEXAS RANCH: Matthew Dowd, political strategist and former Bush advisor, says of the president: "I don't think he's evil or bad.  I think he's a good person that didn't accomplish what he set out to do."  —  Matthew Dowd helped win the White House.

Who Wants To Be The Analog To Kos At Newsweek?  —  Via a number of sources, Markos Moulitsas has won a column assignment at Newsweek.  In a press release, the magazine announced that Markos will occasionally appear in both the print and on-line versions of the periodical …

The Kathleen Willey Interview  —  Yesterday, I did a phone interview with Kathleen Willey, who has a new book out: Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton.  —  What follows is a transcript of our conversation, edited slightly for readability's sake.

Is Clinton campaign too scripted?  —  A planted question at an Iowa event brings the issue to the front burner.  —  WASHINGTON — At a campaign stop in Newton, Iowa, last week, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton peered out at the crowd of 250 people and called on a 19-year-old college student …

Should Hillary Pretend to Be a Flight Attendant?  —  In 2005, a year after Ellie Grossman, a doctor, met Ray Fisman, a professor, on a blind date, she was talking to her grandmother about her guy.  —  "Never let a man think you're smarter," her grandmother advised.  "Men don't like that."

President of Columbia Is Criticized  —  Lee C. Bollinger, the president of Columbia University, was confronted yesterday by discontented professors who gathered more than 100 faculty signatures for a document criticizing his leadership.  —  Their "statement of concern," read to him at a faculty meeting …

OUT-OF-GAS ELIOT PUTTING THE BRAKES ON LICENSE PLAN  —  With his poll numbers collapsing, Gov. Spitzer will pull the plug today on his controversial plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.  —  The embattled governor will make the announcement as he meets today …

VOTER ID....The State of Indiana has the most stringent voter ID laws in the country.  Democrats are always griping about this, and have even gone so far as to challenge Indiana's law in the Supreme Court.  But this is just silly.  In this day and age everyone has a photo ID anyway, so what's the problem?

Send the State Department to War  —  THE State Department has announced that it will force 50 foreign service officers to go to Iraq, whether they want to or not.  This is the biggest use of "directed assignments" since the Vietnam War, and it represents a long-overdue response to complaints …

Senator Obama's Curious Comments on Meet the Press  —  I support Senator Clinton's White House bid because I believe she is the one candidate with the strength and experience to actually end the war in Iraq.  —  I thought Iraq was the wrong war at the wrong time and have been fighting …

Giuliani's House of Mirrors  —  The Giuliani campaign is playing a beautiful game of three card monte with the national media regarding the expectations game in Iowa and New Hampshire - not that I've ventured out of the Cathedral to actually witness such a sinful game of tricks and deceit. ...