Liberals And Gut Hatred, Or, Why I'm Sorry I Wrote What I Wrote  —  Both Glenn Greenwald and Marcy Wheeler have written posts eviscerating me for contending that Bush-hatred, not anything else, drove skepticism among liberals about the terrorist threat warnings.

Pelosi Says She Can't Pass Bill Without Public Option  —  Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she won't be able to pass health-care legislation in her chamber if the measure doesn't include a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers.

Inside Cover  —  Zogby: Obama Hits Record Low in Poll  —  President Barack Obama's popularity has plummeted to a record low, with just 45 percent of voters now approving of his performance, according to the latest Zogby International poll.  —  Asked whether they approve or disapprove …

Obama fires back at political critics  —  US President Barack Obama launched a mocking counter-attack Thursday at pundits who believe the euphoric early promise of his presidency is evaporating amid bitter political warfare.  —  Obama, who has watched his poll ratings dip sharply over recent months …

Faith in Obama Drops As Reform Fears Rise  —  Health-Care Effort Is Major Factor, Poll Finds  —  Public confidence in President Obama's leadership has declined sharply over the summer, amid intensifying opposition to health-care reform that threatens to undercut his attempt to enact major changes …

Special Update from the Cook Political Report  —  For those of you not addicted to the 1:00pm EDT daily release of Gallup's three-night moving average tracking poll, President Obama's job approval rating in both their August 16-18 and August 17-19 averages was just 51 percent, the lowest level of his presidency.

Lawyers Showed Photos of Covert CIA Officers to Guantanamo Bay Detainees  —  Justice Dept. Looking Into Whether Attorneys Broke Law at Guantanamo  —  By Peter Finn, Page A01  —  The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs …

ABC's Charles Gibson to Cindy Sheehan: Thanks for your sacrifice.  Now get lost.  —  In an appearance August 18 on WLS radio in Chicago, ABC News anchor Charles Gibson was asked about anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan's plans to travel to Martha's Vineyard next week, where she will protest …

Obama would like you to see government as religion.  —  He addresses a group of religious leaders: … Bearing false witness?  Breaking the 9th Commandment?  So his opponents are sinners.  I'm trying to imagine the separation-of-church-and-state freakout if George Bush had taken this approach to arguing for one of his policies.

You won't win the healthcare debate by calling people stupid racists  —  The folks listening to them are mostly just scared  —  A man speaks at a town hall held by Democratic Reps. Vic Snyder and Mike Ross at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock on Aug, 5.

C.I.A. Said to Use Outsiders to Put Bombs on Drones  —  WASHINGTON — From a secret division at its North Carolina headquarters, the company formerly known as Blackwater has assumed a role in Washington's most important counterterrorism program: the use of remotely piloted drones to kill Al Qaeda's leaders …

New Poll: 77 Percent Support “Choice” Of Public Option  —  Read More: Poll Public Option, Public Option Poll.  Nbc Poll, Public Plan, Survey Usa, Survey Usa Poll, Politics News  —  More than three out of every four Americans feel it is important to have a “choice” between …

Jennifer MacMillan  —  New passport rules are keeping Americans at home, with June numbers showing that travel to Canada from the United States fell to its lowest level since Statistics Canada started tracking cross-border trips in 1972.  —  The number of same-day car trips from the United States …

The Madman Theory Of Political Bargaining: Part 4  —  Matt Yglesias does not like being equated with Blue Dogs: … I do not think Matt, or Ezra Klein, or Kevin Drum, or Paul Starr are closet Blue Dogs, but I DO think, in terms of political bargaining, they DO represent well why Democrats …

Key Senators Discuss Trimming Health Bill  —  President Calls Public Option a ‘Good Idea’ but Not Essential to Reform Effort  —  Senate health-care negotiators agreed late Thursday to ignore the increasingly strident rhetoric from Republican and Democratic leaders and to keep working toward …

An Anesthesiologist's Take on Health-Care Reform  —  Expect a two-tier medical system and needless ER deaths if Congress and the White House have their way.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Every medical student learns an old adage: You can skimp on some medicine, but you can't skimp on obstetrics or anesthesiology.

On Health Care, Democrats Lack Passion  —  Here's the least surprising news of the week: Americans are souring on the Democratic Party.  The wonder is that it's taken so long for public opinion to curdle.  There's nothing agreeable about watching a determined attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Righty bloggers slam MSNBC over ‘gun’ clip; network responds  —  Several conservative bloggers, including Hot Air, RedState, and NewsBusters, have taken MSNBC to task for not identifying a man with a gun at an Obama event as an African-American in a segment that discussed the “racial overtones” …

Bachmann: No Government Control Over My Body!  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), who is a a staunch champion of the religious right and an opponent of President Obama on all things under the sun, has a new line against the Democrats on health care: Keep the government off my body!

Looking for a Health Care Scapegoat: Networks Try to Marginalize Talk Radio  —  Media blame ObamaCare struggles on conservative stations, reminiscent of 2007 immigration reform failure.  —  Business & Media Institute  —  If you can't beat them, ban them.  That's the new model for CNN, “the most trusted name in news.”