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.

Ferguson won't seek re-election  —  Rep. Mike Ferguson will announce today that he will not seek re-election to a fifth term in 2008.  The 37-year-old Republican, who won re-election last year by just 1% against Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Stender, wants to spend more time with his four young children.

Novak and Clinton and Obama ... oh my  —  If the acrimony between the Clinton and Obama presidential campaigns was kindling, Robert Novak's shamelessly unethical column was a match.  —  If you're just joining us, Novak reported yesterday that Hillary Clinton's "agents" …

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 …

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.

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:

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.

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 …

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?"

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.