The Bush Paradox  —  Let's go back and consider how the world looked in the winter of 2006-2007.  Iraq was in free fall, with horrific massacres and ethnic cleansing that sent a steady stream of bad news across the world media.  The American public delivered a stunning electoral judgment …

GAO Report Faults Post-'Surge' Planning  —  Lack of Comprehensive Strategy Cited, but Pentagon Study Sees Gains in Iraq  —  The administration lacks an updated and comprehensive Iraq strategy to move beyond the “surge” of combat troops President Bush launched in January 2007 as an 18-month effort …

Roosting Chickens  —  Don Imus has now got himself in hot water again with a seemingly biased remark about Adam Jones.  When told of his latest arrest, Imus asked, “What color is he?”  Then told that he is “African-American,” Imus scoffed: “There you go.  Now we know.”

IDF soldier dies from self-inflicted gunshot at Sarkozy farewell  —  An Israeli soldier on the perimeter of a farewell airport ceremony for French President Nicolas Sarkozy apparently shot himself on Tuesday in a incident that did not endanger the visiting leader, Israel Radio said.

Hoyer hails FISA bill as “a significant victory for the Democratic Party”  —  (updated below)  —  Just as Nancy Pelosi ran to Time to justify her support for the FISA bill, Steny Hoyer yesterday spuoted his justifications to The Politico and said this:

McCain's Core Advantage  —  In politics, we're having a Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr kind of year.  It was Karr, a French writer, who coined the phrase plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, which means, as Barack Obama has shown, that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

What's Wrong With the Kansas City Star?  —  A disgraceful contribution from their house cartoonist:

James Dobson accuses Obama of ‘distorting’ Bible  —  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - As Barack Obama broadens his outreach to evangelical voters, one of the movement's biggest names, James Dobson, accuses the likely Democratic presidential nominee of distorting the Bible and pushing a “fruitcake interpretation” of the Constitution.

Heinz pulls ad showing men kissing  —  Heinz has withdrawn its Deli Mayo TV ad that featured two men sharing a kiss and apologised to viewers after the advertising regulator received about 200 complaints that it was offensive and inappropriate.  —  The Heinz Deli Mayo ad has been pulled …

Are You Experienced?  —  Why a U.S. senator might not trump a state legislator  —  Obama during his days in the Illinois Senate  —  We are in the opening days of a presidential campaign that pits youth against age, the virtues of experience against the freshness and riskiness of the new arrival.

Report Says Partisanship Reigned in Justice Department Hiring Program  —  High-ranking political appointees at the Justice Department labored to stock a prestigious hiring program with young conservatives in a five-year-long attempt to reshape the department's ranks, according to an inspector general's report to be released today.

McCain's Campaign Funding Hypocrisy: Why Are the Media Looking the Other Way?  —  Last month, I wrote about the mainstream media's ongoing membership in the John McCain Protection Society and its offshoot, The Swift Boat Media for McCain, and how their highly motivated efforts are affecting the presidential race.

Obama's Hollywood Night  —  Sugar Ray Leonard and Jennifer Beals are the latest boldfaced names expected on Tuesday afternoon for Barack Obama's fund-raiser at the Los Angeles Music Center.  —  Also on the guest list are Dennis Quaid, Heidi Klum, Sidney Poitier, Cedric the Entertainer …

Clinton to Join Obama As He Courts Female Vote  —  As Hillary Rodham Clinton prepared to return to life in the Senate and announced that she will campaign with Sen. Barack Obama in New Hampshire on Friday, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee began reaching out to female voters …

Terror Strike Would Help McCain, Top Adviser Says  —  A top adviser to Sen. John McCain said that a terrorist attack in the United States would be a political benefit to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, a comment that was immediately disputed by the candidate and denounced by his Democratic rival.

Raise High the Rafters  —  At the Democratic convention, Obama will have to prove he's more than just a brilliant speech giver—by giving the most difficult speech of his meteoric career.  A rhetorical analysis.  —  Barack Obama's upcoming speech at the Democratic National Convention is …