It's time to embrace American royalty  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  We're obviously hungry to live with royal and aristocratic families so we should really just go ahead and formally declare it: … They should convene a panel for the next Meet the Press with Jenna Bush Hager …

Cheney calls the Dems soft on defense  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday called Democrats soft on national defense while standing up for his administration's actions in the war on terrorism.  —  In a pre-recorded interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace from his home in Wyoming …

Ridge backpedals on pressure to raise terror alert level  —  WASHINGTON — Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge, speaking for the first time about accusations made in his new book, says he did not mean to suggest that other top Bush administration officials were playing politics …

Boston Globe: Now That Ted's Out of the Way, Hurry Up With That Cape Cod Wind Farm  —  On the very day Ted Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery near his two brothers, a Boston Globe editorial argued to undo part of his legacy.  —  The pertinent portion of Mr. Kennedy's legacy …

Tea Party Express cruises through Nevada  —  ELY, Nevada (CNN) — Hundreds of people turned out for a series of weekend events as the Tea Party Express cruised across northern Nevada.  —  The caravan of tour buses, RVs, cargo trucks and SUVs kicked off a cross-country tour Friday in Sacramento …

Experts see double-digit Dem losses  —  After an August recess marked by raucoustown halls, troubling polling data and widespread anecdotal evidence of a volatile electorate, the small universe of political analysts who closely follow House races is predicting moderate to heavy Democratic losses in 2010.

Keep your self-righteous fingers off my processed food  —  By demanding we all pay more to fund their agendas in these harsh economic times, foodie snobs and lefty social critics may as well tell us to eat artisanal cake.  —  Just in time for the worst economic downturn since the Depression …

Sarah Palin plans first trip to Asia  —  Former Alaska governor set for initial commercial speaking engagement  —  HONG KONG - Former U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, once questioned about her lack of foreign policy experience, will make her first trip to Asia in September.

Senate field hinges on Kennedy decision  —  With Massachusetts having paid its final respects to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the politics of succession begins in earnest this week - candidates will emerge, a race will take shape, and the Kennedy clan will have to reveal whether it wants to keep the seat in the family.

Fighting Health Care Overhaul, and Proud of It  —  SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Senator Jim DeMint, the South Carolina Republican who predicted that President Obama's effort to overhaul the health care system would become his “Waterloo,” is doing his best to make that happen.

Cruel September  —  T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruelest month, because it mixes hope with desire.  For Democrats, April was easy, washed away in the Obama spending tsunami.  —  September will be the cruelest month for Democrats because their hope to pass Obamacare and cap-and-trade …

As Big Banks Repay Bailout Money, U.S. Sees a Profit  —  Nearly a year after the federal rescue of the nation's biggest banks, taxpayers have begun seeing profits from the hundreds of billions of dollars in aid that many critics thought might never be seen again.

CQ Transcripts: Remembering Kennedy on CBS's ‘Face the Nation’  —  CQ Transcriptwire  —  SPEAKERS: BOB SCHIEFFER, HOST SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ. SEN. ORRIN G. HATCH, R-UTAH SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, D-CALIF. REP. BARNEY FRANK, D-MASS.  —  [*] SCHIEFFER: Today on FACE THE NATION, the legacy of Senator Ted Kennedy.

Video: Shea-Porter has constituent arrested at town-hall forum  —  This is a curious re-election strategy, especially for a Representative who made her name by bird-dogging her former Congressman at his town-hall forums.  Consistency isn't Carol Shea-Porter's strong suit, apparently …

Tax Reform's Lesson for Health Care Reform  —  THE chance of bipartisan agreement on health care seems to be waning as August draws to a close and ideologues mount increasingly vitriolic attacks on President Obama's health care initiative.  The debate is beginning to sound …