Poll Finds Voters Split on Candidates' Iraq-Pullout Positions  —  A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds the country split down the middle between those backing Sen. Barack Obama's 16-month timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and those agreeing with Sen. John McCain's position that events …

Ventura: I'm not running for Senate  —  (CNN) — Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has decided not to run for U.S. Senate in that state, he told CNN's “Larry King Live” Monday night.  —  Ventura, a former professional wrestler, had said last week he was weighing whether to run.

AP's Ron Fournier To Karl Rove: “Keep Up The Fight”  —  Via Talking Points Memo: the House Oversight Committee has unearthed a key quote from the 50-page report on Pat Tillman - the former Arizona Cardinals star killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan under circumstances that the military labored …

Want Obama in a Punch Line?  First, Find a Joke  —  What's so funny about Barack Obama?  Apparently not very much, at least not yet.  —  On Monday, The New Yorker magazine tried dipping its toe into broad satire involving Senator Obama with a cover image depicting the presumptive Democratic …

Suicide Bombers Kill 35 Iraqi Recruits  —  BAGHDAD — Two suicide bombers posing as army recruits struck an Iraqi base just east of Baquba on Tuesday morning, killing at least 35 Iraqi recruits and wounding 63, according to the Iraqi police and medical officials in Diyala Province.

President Bush Discusses Outer Continental Shelf Exploration  —  Fact Sheet: Allowing Offshore Exploration to Help Address Rising Fuel Costs  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon.  Across the country, Americans are concerned about the high price of gasoline.  Every one of our citizens who drives to work …

JAMIE GORELICK'S TIES TO FANNIE MAE AND WHAT SHE'S DOING NOW— In reading this article about Crony Capitalism at Fannie Mae (tip to Instapundit), I noticed that Jamie Gorelick was one of the Fannie executives who benefited from inflated bonuses based on Enron-style accounting.

Heedless Rush to Oil Shale  —  To hear Bush touting Western oil shale as the answer to $4 per gallon gasoline, as he did again yesterday in the Rose Garden, you would think it was 1908 . . . or 1920 . . . or 1945 . . . or 1974.  Every couple of decades over the past century …

Israel, Iran and the Bomb  —  Iran's test salvo of ballistic missiles last week together with recent threatening rhetoric by commanders of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards emphasizes how close the Middle East is to a fundamental, in fact an irreversible, turning point.

Hill Democrats miffed at Obama  —  After a brief bout of Obamamania, some Capitol Hill Democrats have begun to complain privately that Barack Obama's presidential campaign is insular, uncooperative and inattentive to their hopes for a broad Democratic victory in November.

District Gun Bill Goes to Council  —  Officials Anticipate More Legal Action On Weapon Types  —  Within weeks, District residents could legally keep handguns in their homes under emergency legislation that goes to the D.C. Council today, as officials try to comply with the Supreme Court ruling rejecting the city's handgun ban.