Obama's Trust Problem  —  According to news reports, the Obama administration — which seemed, over the weekend, to be backing away from the “public option” for health insurance — is shocked and surprised at the furious reaction from progressives.  —  Well, I'm shocked and surprised at their shock and surprise.

Bush Official, in Book, Tells of Pressure on '04 Vote  —  WASHINGTON — Tom Ridge, the first secretary of homeland security, asserts in a new book that he was pressured by top advisers to President George W. Bush to raise the national threat level just before the 2004 election in what he suspected was an effort to influence the vote.

Newspaper corrects 'Jackass'-Keith Olbermann mix-up  —  Thank goodness The Times is the forthright, ethical institution that it is.  —  And when a mistake happens, it rushes to set the journalistic record straight with an honest repair.  —  Here is an actual correction from Page A4 of today's print edition:

No Health Care Reform Without Legal Reform  —  President Obama's health care “reform” plan has met with significant criticism across the country.  Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system.  We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world …

Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Sobering Wall  —  The rich have been getting richer for so long that the trend has come to seem almost permanent.  —  They began to pull away from everyone else in the 1970s.  By 2006, income was more concentrated at the top than it had been since the late 1920s.

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 …

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 …

Idaho GOP leader who helped spur coup arrested  —  BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho Republican Party leader who helped oust the state GOP chairman in 2008 faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after an altercation escalated while he photographed a home with a delinquent mortgage.

REMEMBER, HE LOST.... Chris Cillizza let readers know this morning about what to watch on Sunday morning. … Cillizza described McCain's appearance as “Must Watch TV.”  I have no idea why.  —  First, let's note that John McCain is not a key senator right now.

Gun rights, control groups find fight in health debate  —  A Virginia-based gun rights group has taken issue with the Democrat-led healthcare proposals, saying that the proposed plans could strip citizens of their rights to own a gun.  —  The Gun Owners of America group …

Tort Reform Won't Fix Healthcare?, Ctd  —  A reader writes: … Another reader writes: … States have different laws, and punitive damages are capped in some states, but this lawyer isn't entirely correct.  The tort reform I know best is California's Malpractice Injury and Compensation Reform Act …

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.

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 …

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 …

Huckabee: Evangelicals more supportive of Israel than Jews  —  Mike Huckabee, a longtime Christian Zionist wrapping up a trip to Israel, tells CBN that he was struck by firmer support for Israel — as he sees it — from American Christians than from American Jews.

Reflections on a Year of Crisis  —  By the standards of recent decades, the economic environment at the time of this symposium one year ago was quite challenging.  A year after the onset of the current crisis in August 2007, financial markets remained stressed, the economy was slowing …

Who do the birthers love?  —  We decided to break down the birthers by their opinions of Barack Obama and the various leading 2012 contenders.  Here's what we found:  —Not surprisingly only 16% of them approve of Obama's job performance while 75% disapprove.

Ramadan Kareem  —  As the new crescent moon ushers in Ramadan, the President extends his best wishes to Muslim communities in the United States and around the world.  —  Each Ramadan, the ninth month on the lunar calendar, Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset for 29 or 30 days.

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.

Caught in fraud, dirty coal group dumps one of its Astroturf contractors.  —  The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is dumping Bonner & Associates, the Astroturf firm that forged letters to Congress attacking clean energy legislation on its behalf.