Played for a Sucker  —  Lately, Barack Obama has been saying that major action is needed to avert what he keeps calling a "crisis" in Social Security — most recently in an interview with The National Journal.  Progressives who fought hard and successfully against the Bush administration's attempt …

Panel Drops Immunity From Eavesdropping Bill  —  Reflecting the deep divisions within Congress over granting legal immunity to telephone companies for cooperating with the Bush administration's program of wiretapping without warrants, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a new domestic surveillance law …

Come Home … The Dome Under the Cross: Local Muslim and Christian leaders had prepared the church for his arrival.  —  A Bishop came to St John's Church in Baghdad today, 15 November, where a crowd of locals welcomed him home.  They were joined at the service by soldiers from the 2-12 infantry battalion …

How Do Republicans Get Away With It?  —  The NYT has picked up on the McCain "How do we beat the bitch" incident that TPM Election Central first noted earlier in the week, but get a load of the double-triple-reverse psychology that Katharine Seelye's piece employs.

Senate blocks Iraq war money  —  WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday blocked a Democratic proposal that would have paid for the Iraq war but required that troops start coming home.  —  The 53-45 vote was seven votes short of the 60 needed to advance.  It came minutes after the Senate rejected …

FIRST THOUGHTS: VIVA LAS VEGAS  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro  —  LAS VEGAS — If last month's debate in Philly was the moment when Democrats and reporters realized that the Clinton coronation — with a crown of diamonds and pearls? — was postponed …

President Bush Delivers Remarks at Federalist Society's 25th Annual Gala  —  Washington, D.C.  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all.  (Applause.)  So much for the dress code.  (Laughter.)  I'm honored to be with you.  Thanks.  I appreciate being with an organization that understands the value …

Department of Apples and Oranges  —  Andrew links to a shocking article in The Times of London that suggests an epidemic of suicides among veterans: … The implicit suggestion is that the toll of the Iraq war is higher than we ever dared imagine, that even after they return to the States …

Controversy Over Eurostar's Shock Skinhead Urinating Advert  —  An advert depicting a tattooed skinhead urinating into a china teacup is being used to promote tourism to London.  —  The image is part of a new Eurostar campaign aimed solely at the Belgian market.

Gonzales Defense Fund Set Up  —  Supporters of former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales have created a trust fund to help pay for his legal expenses, which are mounting in the face of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into whether Gonzales committed perjury or improperly tampered with a congressional witness.

Questions  —  As ever, it's really striking to observe the difference between the audience-generated questions and the journalist-generated questions.  Wolf Blitzer's main interest is in asking questions designed to put Democrats on the wrong side of public opinion, even if those questions …

Alliances In Ruins?  —  When the Democratic presidential candidates pause from beating Hillary with a stick, they join in unison to pronounce the Democratic pieties, chief among which is that George Bush has left our alliances in ruins.  As Clinton puts it, we have "alienated our friends," …

"Diamond v. Pearl" Student Blasts CNN  —  Maria Luisa, the UNLV student who asked Hillary Clinton whether she preferred "diamonds or pearls" at last night's debate wrote on her MySpace page this morning that CNN forced her to ask the frilly question instead of a pre-approved query about the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.