Clinton's Unwise Trip to North Korea  —  The Obama administration characterized Bill Clinton's unexpected visit to Pyongyang to secure the release of two American reporters, held unjustifiably by North Korea for nearly five months, as a private, humanitarian mission.

Young GOPers Gaga Over Gingrich  —  ABC News' Devin Dwyer reports:  —  Before an energetic and enthusiastic young Republican crowd, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich weighed in today on the upcoming Senate confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and made predictions for health care reform legislation this fall.

CNN Poll: Americans split on Obama's health care proposals  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Americans appear split over President Barack Obama's health care reform proposals, according to a new national poll.  —  Fifty percent of those questioned in CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday morning …

Russian Subs Patrolling Off East Coast of U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — A pair of nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines has been patrolling off the eastern seaboard of the United States in recent days, a rare mission that has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and intelligence agencies …

Tea Party-bashers gone wild  —  Creators Syndicate  —  The activist Left can't stand competition.  Last week in Long Island, NY, opponents of the Democrats' government health care takeover legislation outnumbered Obama supporters ten to one.  The Tea Party activists toted American flags …

Obama: ‘Left-wing groups’ should back off.  —  OBAMA WAVES OFF LIBERALS: On the same day that MoveOn.org announced a new wave of ads to pressure centrist ...  ... Democrats on health care reform, President Obama told Senate Democrats he wished “left-wing groups” would back off.

Russ Carnahan rattled at Cash for Clunkers presser  —  Carnahan held a press conference at McMahon Ford in south St. Louis city.  Constituents who showed up to politely and peacefully voice their concerns were both barred from entering the lobby where Carnahan was fielding press inquiries …

Mass. bashers take note: Health reform is working  —  PUNDITS and politicians who oppose universal healthcare for the nation have a new straw man to kick around - the Massachusetts reform plan that covers more than 97 percent of the state's residents.  In the myth that these critics have manufactured …

Obama's Domestic Policies Are Having Immediate Effects on Race for Va. Governor  —  Some Voters Who Backed President Disillusioned Over Economic Pledges  —  The coffee was still brewing when Chris Ann Cleland got her first reminder of the day that voting for Barack Obama might have been a mistake.

Preemptive dodging  —  Apparently Glenn Beck was either forced, or decided, to tell the maniacs that form a large portion of his audience NOT TO KILL OTHER PEOPLE.  So he's preemptively washed his hands.  —  But let's face the great lie of American history and the on-going threat to the nation's first black President.

Hey, Mister Postman  —  Art Laffer (why is he, of all people, on my TV?) asks what it will be like when the government runs Medicare and Medicaid.  —  But I'd raise a further question: he warns that when the government takes over these, um, government programs, they'll be like the Post Office and the DMV.

Buffett's Betrayal  —  When I was 14, Warren Buffett wrote me a letter.  —  It was a response to one I'd sent him, pitching an investment idea.  For a kid interested in learning stocks, Buffett was a great role model.  His investing style — diligent security analysis, finding competent management …

Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder  —  A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia.

Palin calls divorce report ‘made up’  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin tells POLITICO that widespread blogosphere reports about a possible divorce from her husband, Todd, are “made up.”  —  In a brief telephone interview on Tuesday night, Palin quipped that she loves finding out “what's goin' on in my life from the news.”

Impossible Promises  —  I keep reading about health-care “reform,” but I have yet to see anyone explain how the government can make it easier for more people to obtain medical services, control the already exploding cost of those services and not interfere with people's most intimate decisions.

Hezbollah stockpiles 40,000 rockets near Israel border  —  Richard Beeston on the Israel-Lebanese border and Nicholas Blanford in Beirut  —  Three years after Israel fought a bloody war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, there are fears that hostilities could erupt again — this time with the militant group better armed than ever.

Reid Pushing Senate to Move on ‘Cash for Clunkers’ Program  —  A top congressional leader is pushing to get the Senate to decide whether to extend the U.S. government's popular “Cash for Clunkers” program.  Senate Republicans appear unlikely to block $2 billion in additional funding, probably clearing the way for its passage this week.

Gov't insurance would allow coverage for abortion  —  WASHINGTON - Health care legislation before Congress would allow a new government-sponsored insurance plan to cover abortions, a decision that would affect millions of women and recast federal policy on the divisive issue.