re: Civics  —  A totally crazy Saturday-morning thought: Wouldn't George W. Bush make an awesome high-school government teacher?  Wouldn't it be something if his post-presidential life would up being that kind of post-service service?  How's that for a model?  Who needs Harvard visiting chairs and high-end lectures?

Obama Refines Plans for Germany Trip  —  Barack Obama's planned European tour might make a major whistlestop in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.  The candidate's schedule isn't set, but a Berlin appearance before the end of July looks likely.  —  Plans for a visit by Barack Obama …

Obama backs late, mental-health abortion  —  Sen. Barack Obama clarified his position today on mental-health exceptions to late-term abortions, saying he supports such exceptions and that comments he made during a recent magazine interview shouldn't be interpreted as opposing them.

Why Fly When You Can Float?  —  The view inside the cabin of a Zeppelin NT during a flight over southern Germany.  The dirigible can carry 12 sightseers.  More Photos >  —  PARIS — Imagine gliding in a floating hotel over the Serengeti, gazing down at herds of zebra or elephants …

Blogger admits Hawaii birth certificate forgery, subverting Obama claims  —  Posted on Photobucket and in comments attached to the Daily Kos blog post where the purported Obama birth certificate appears  —  Jay McKinnon, a self-described Department of Homeland Security-trained document specialist …

The political establishment and telecom immunity — why it matters  —  Nancy Soderberg was deputy national security advisor and an ambassador to the United Nations in the Clinton administration.  Today, she has an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times defending the FISA bill and telecom amnesty.

Iran Says Nuclear Policy Is Unchanged  —  PARIS — Iran's nuclear policy has not changed, an Iranian government spokesman said Saturday in Tehran, confirming that Iran would not comply with Security Council resolutions requiring it to stop enriching uranium.

McCain Battles a Nemesis, the Teleprompter  —  LAS VEGAS —Senator John McCain was performing relatively smoothly as he unveiled his energy plan.  —  He managed to limit the mechanical hand chops and weirdly timed smiles that can often punctuate his speeches.

Rising Convention Costs and Delays Worry Democrats  —  For all Senator Barack Obama's success at raising money and generating excitement among voters, he faces a daunting challenge as he prepares to claim the nomination in August: a Democratic convention effort marred by costly setbacks and embarrassing delays.

Americans' unhappy birthday: ‘Too much wrong right now’  —  Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line these days.  —  Eighteen members of the volunteer organization's Gilbert, Ariz., chapter have gathered, a few days before this nation's 232nd birthday …

Teaching Arabic and Propaganda  —  At Harvard, the star of Arabic A is a girl named Maha.  Maha Muhammed Abulaal, to be precise.  She's the pouty protagonist in the melodrama that runs throughout “Al-Kitaab,” the standard beginning text in Arabic classes at Harvard and other American universities.

John McCain: ‘I hate the bloggers’  —  John McCain, Town Hall Meeting, Merrimack, NH 12/29/07  —  Hey right wing bloggers.  I think he's talking about you too. … I'm giddy with the thought that he isn't very fond of me.

How Jesse Helms Made a Difference  —  If Ronald Reagan was the sunny and optimistic face of modern conservatism, the uncompromisingly defiant exemplar of it was Jesse Helms, who died yesterday at age 86.  —  While Reagan has undergone a revisionist makeover by many historians who now recognize …

Inside Mugabe's Violent Crackdown  —  Notes, Witnesses Detail How Campaign Was Conceived and Executed by Leader, Aides  —  HARARE, Zimbabwe — President Robert Mugabe summoned his top security officials to a government training center near his rural home in central Zimbabwe on the afternoon of March 30.

Obama and Clinton to Work Hard for the Money  —  Fresh from their love-in at Unity, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will collect cash together for his campaign and the Democratic National Committee in New York City next week.  —  Mr. Obama, who is in the midst of a spree …

Wesley Clark ‘moving on’  —  Four days after his controversial “Face the Nation” appearance, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark is taking a break from the presidential campaign — but many Democratic insiders think he has already been crossed off the list of Barack Obama's potential running mates.