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Approval Ratings Drop for Obama on Health Care, Other Issues — Approval Rating on Health Care Falls Below 50 Percent — Obama's approval ratings on other front-burner issues, such as the economy and the federal budget deficit, have also slipped over the summer, as rising concern …
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White House putting off release of budget update — WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today's bleak landscape. — The administration's annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits …

Obama Heads to the Front to Do Battle on Health-Care Reform — Six months into his presidency, Barack Obama may have no greater test of his ability to translate personal popularity into a successful legislative agenda than the upcoming two weeks. — With skepticism about the president's …


Pelosi: Make millionaires pay — Trying to sell a historic health bill to a balky caucus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told POLITICO in an interview that she wants to soften a proposed surcharge on the wealthy so that it applies only to families that make $1 million or more.
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The Atlantic Business Channel, Washington Monthly, Eye of Polyphemus, WSJ.com and The Page

Governors Fear Medicaid Costs in Health Plan — BILOXI, Miss. — The nation's governors, Democrats as well as Republicans, voiced deep concern Sunday about the shape of the health care plan emerging from Congress, fearing that Washington was about to hand them expensive new Medicaid obligations without money to pay for them.

Feingold Hits Obama's Intel Chief: You're Wrong, CIA Officials May Have Broken Law — I told you last week that it was a big deal when Obama's top intelligence guy defended that secret, controversial CIA program as legal, because it's bound to result in a standoff between Congressional Dems and the White House.

Kristol: Kill It, and Start Over — With Obamacare on the ropes, there will be a temptation for opponents to let up on their criticism, and to try to appear constructive, or at least responsible. There will be a tendency to want to let the Democrats' plans sink of their own weight …


Morning Fix: Jindal Rises Again — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) will wade into the national debate over health care this week by penning op-eds in Politico and the Wall Street Journal and appearing on a series of cable chat shows today and tomorrow. — “Governor Jindal has seen enough …
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God, Guns, Guts, and CNN's Idiot Reporters — Greetings, Instapundit readers! — “You don't have a problem with God, do ya?” — This is a question posed to CNN reporter Carol Costello during a recent interview with Mark Muller, a Missouri car dealer whose company is offering an unusual incentive …

Financial Rescue I.G. Says Banks Funneled TARP Aid to Various Expenses — Many of the banks that got federal aid to support increased lending have instead used some of the money to make investments, repay debts or buy other banks, according to a new report from the special inspector general overseeing …
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The Other McCain, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Piece of Work In Progress, The Page and The Hill

India to Resist U.S. Pressure on Carbon Emission Caps — India will resist pressure from the Obama administration to accept legally binding caps on its carbon emissions, the South Asian nation's environment minister told visiting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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Meeting Shows U.S.-India Split on Emissions
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Frank McCourt, Whose Irish Childhood Illuminated His Prose, Is Dead at 78 — Frank McCourt, a former New York City schoolteacher who turned his miserable childhood in Limerick, Ireland, into a phenomenally popular, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, “Angela's Ashes,” died in Manhattan on Sunday.
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CNN, Runnin' Scared, Change.org's Blog Network, Liberal Values and And So it Goes in Shreveport

Corzine campaign showing signs of obvious desperation — Gov. Jon S. Corzine's campaign continues to make even Democrats think the governor is desperate, the latest installment being his adding a “reality show” winner to his list of lieutenant governor candidates.
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RedState
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Race in 2028 — During last week's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Republican senators kept bringing the conversation back to 2001 — the year when Sonia Sotomayor delivered the most famous version of her line about how a “wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences” might outshine a white male judge.


Subprime Brokers Resurface as Dubious Loan Fixers — LOS ANGELES — From the ninth floor of a downtown office building on Wilshire Boulevard, Jack Soussana delivered staggering numbers of mortgages to homeowners during the real estate boom, amassing a fortune. — By Mr. Soussana's own account, his customers fared less happily.

Video: Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl Full Hostage Video — Here is the entire video showing Private Bowe Berdahl in Taliban captivity. The Taliban have threatened to murder him if the U.S. does not leave Afghanistan. — Until Bowe Bergdahl's captors are dead I will not rest.


The U.S. Steers Left on Honduras — Why would Hugo Chavez expect Obama to help him? — Printer — Friendly — When Hugo Chávez makes a personal appeal to Washington for help, as he did 11 days ago, it raises serious questions about the signals that President Barack Obama …