The disturbing glee at Mark Sanford's downfall.  —  Mark Sanford is no longer missing, but he's obviously lost.  The South Carolina governor's press conference was excruciating: apology, followed by self-flagellation, followed by apology.  It was like watching a man light himself on fire.

Obama's Michael Dukakis moment  —  Barack Obama got ABC to move their news division into the White House in order to make the big pitch for his egalitarian, everyone-gets-treated-equally ObamaCare push.  Instead, Obama fumbled into a Michael Dukakis moment that exposed him as a hypocrite.

Bad taste award  —  I don't find anything funny about the Sanford affair.  It's the mom in me thinking about four handsome boys on Father's Day weekend abandoned by their stupid, selfish father, who was busy tanning with his mistress in Argentina.  Heart-breaking.  Yes.  Nauseating.  Yes.

The Cap and Tax Fiction  —  Democrats off-loading economics to pass climate change bill.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put cap-and-trade legislation on a forced march through the House, and the bill may get a full vote as early as Friday.

Supreme Court Says Child's Rights Violated by Strip Search  —  WASHINGTON — In a ruling of interest to educators, parents and students across the country, the Supreme Court ruled, 8 to 1, on Thursday that the strip search of a 13-year-old Arizona girl by school officials who were looking …

MPs ‘snub’ Ahmadinejad party  —  More than 100 MPs appear to have snubbed an invitation to celebrate Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election win, local press reports say.  —  All 290 MPs were invited to the victory party on Wednesday night but 105 did not turn up, the reports say.

Stunning pictures of the volcano that blew a hole in the sky as astronauts witness eruption from International Space Station  —  Framed by a circle of clouds, this is a stunning illustration of Nature's powerful force.  —  A plume of smoke, ash and steam soars five miles into the sky from an erupting volcano.

Palin blasts Alaska blogger over Trig photo  —  Sarah Palin is again responding forcefully to a perceived attack on one of her children, this time attacking an Alaska blogger who edited a picture of her and her baby son, Trig, to replace Trig's face with the image of a conservative Alaska talk show host, Eddie Burke.

Hillary Is Wrong About the Settlements  —  The U.S. and Israel reached a clear understanding about natural growth.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Despite fervent denials by Obama administration officials, there were indeed agreements between Israel and the United States regarding the growth of Israeli settlements on the West Bank.

Emanuel: Sanford needed a cigarette  —  Perhaps no one knows how to butter up reporters better than White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.  —  The longtime Washington insider is known for personally reaching out to reporters and always being cognizant of the media landscape.

Fox News set for best year yet  —  Viewership solid as rivals take post-election hits  —  Fox News is on track to have its most-watched year ever, showing significant ratings growth despite having just come off a highflying election year.  —  With the second quarter coming to a close …

Bush administration leaks bolstered Rick Renzi's reelection bid  —  In the fall of 2006, one day after the Justice Department granted permission to a U.S. attorney to place a wiretap on a Republican congressman suspected of corruption, existence of the investigation was leaked to the press …

Mir-Hossein Mousavi slams Iran's leaders  —  Mousavi speaks out after days of quiet, blasting the nation's supreme leader and state-controlled media.  He promises to continue his campaign to have Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's reelection annulled.  —  Reporting from Tehran — After days of relative quiet …

Bachmann's Latest Irrational Fear About The Census: It Was Used To Intern The Japanese  —  Last week, Rep. Michele “I'm not a kook” Bachmann (R-MN) boasted about breaking the law in refusing to complete the 2010 Census.  The Census is the perfect boogeyman for Bachmann in that it unites …

RALPH REED?.... Wait a second.  Ralph Reed believes he can show his face in public again?  He thinks he has the credibility to once again be a political player? … Now, as a substantive matter, the idea of yet another religious right group seems pretty silly.

Cantor Video: Number One Priority  —  It's a little long for my taste, but given that only 24 percent even know that cap and trade is environmental legislation, Republicans have some explaining to do if they want to build any real resistance to the measure.  Add to that the fact that video …

Dems see agenda slipping  —  There is a growing sense among Democrats that they will not be able to accomplish the entire agenda leaders set for 2009, pushing major policy debates into the midterm election year.  —  Concerns over the cost of overhauling the nation's healthcare system have served as a wake-up call to lawmakers.