For Bush, Advances But Not Approval  —  The war in Iraq seems to have taken a turn for the better and the opposition at home has failed in all efforts to impose its own strategy.  North Korea is dismantling its nuclear program.  The budget deficit is falling.

U.S. Hopes to Arm Pakistani Tribes Against Al Qaeda  —  A new and classified American military proposal outlines an intensified effort to enlist tribal leaders in the frontier areas of Pakistan in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, as part of a broader effort to bolster Pakistani forces …

Obama Camp Uses Disputed Gerth Account Of Clintons' 20-Year-Plan To Fault Hillary  —  Barack Obama has unveiled a new line of criticism against Hillary: In speeches he's started to point to the allegation made in Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta's Hillary book that the Clintons secretly formulated …

Did Mitt Romney Push Poll Himself?  —  News broke Thursday that voters in New Hampshire and Iowa had received phone calls from pollsters raising questions about aspects of Republican Mitt Romney's Mormon faith.  Who made the calls?  Although the Romney campaign denies involvement, evidence points in its general direction.

Mi Casa, Sue Casa  —  Nancy Pelosi tries to force the Salvation Army to hire people who can't speak English.  —  It's been less than a week since New York's Sen. Hillary Clinton and Gov. Eliot Spitzer had to climb down from their support of driver's licenses for illegal aliens.

Democrats Say They Won't Back Down on War  —  Democrats in Congress failed once again Friday to shift President Bush's war strategy in Iraq, but insisted that they would not let up.  Their explanation for their latest foiled effort seemed to boil down to a simple question: "What else are we supposed to do?"

Goldman Sachs Rakes in Profit in Credit Crisis  —  For more than three months, as turmoil in the credit market has swept wildly through Wall Street, one mighty investment bank after another has been brought to its knees, leveled by multibillion-dollar blows to their bottom lines.

Baghdad by night — juice bars, neon lights, bustling streets  —  The gaudy orange, green and purple electronic palm trees flashing in the dark alert you that you're getting close to one of Baghdad's bustling nightspots.  —  The palms, like a mirage, can be seen from way down the darkened streets …

A Response to Andrew Sullivan  —  In my article "The Case for Bombing Iran" (COMMENTARY, June 2007), in my book World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism, and in various public appearances (including a televised debate with Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek), I quoted the Ayatollah Khomeini as having said the following:

War on Terror Conversations: Fred Thompson [Video]  —  In the first Pajamas Media War on Terror Conversation, Presidential candidate Fred Thompson discusses the current situations in Iran, Iraq and Pakistan.  The senator/actor also explains why he thinks the recent Hollywood anti-war films are box office failures.

McCarthy=Bad  —  But the truth is more complicated.  —  Blacklisted by History  —  The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies  —  by M. Stanton Evans  —  Crown Forum, 672 pp., $29.95 … M. Stanton Evans is a conservative who has been highly esteemed …

NY1 Anchor Quits After Calling a Show on the Station Under a False Name  —  Gary Anthony Ramsay, a longtime reporter and a weekend anchor for NY1 News, left the station this week, days after calling in to one of the channel's live shows under a false name and commenting on a news story …

McCain Takes On Clinton, With an Eye to Civility  —  Senator John McCain tried Sunday night to make the case that he was best positioned to defeat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in a general election, outlining a series of contrasts with her on issues including national security and health care.