Time for the U.S. to Get Out of Afghanistan  —  “Yesterday,” reads the e-mail from Allen, a Marine in Afghanistan, “I gave blood because a Marine, while out on patrol, stepped on a [mine's] pressure plate and lost both legs.”  Then “another Marine with a bullet wound to the head was brought in.

Glenn Greenwald  —  Twice in the past month, my private communications have been splashed about the internet.  That such a thing would happen is unfortunate, and dishonorable, but sadly inevitable, I suppose.  I ignored the first case, in which a rather pathetic woman acolyte of Greenwald's published …

The Obama Slide  —  Two tides swept over American politics last winter.  The first was the Obama tide.  Barack Obama came into office with an impressive 70 percent approval rating.  The second was the independent tide.  Over the first months of this year, the number of people …

YOU CAN'T KEEP A BAD MAN DOWN  —  SPITZER IS EYEING A COMEBACK  —  Disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been privately talking with friends about a possible comeback, and is considering a run for statewide office next year, several sources told The Post.

Torture's Ugly Dialogue  —  Call him Ishmael.  —  Call him a terrorist or a suicide bomber or anything else you want, but understand that he is willing — no, anxious — to give his life for his cause.  Call him also a captive, and know that he works with others as part of a team …

Most Americans Confused by Health Reform  —  CBS News Poll Finds Two Thirds of Population Scratching Heads Over Proposed Changes to Health Insurance System  —  (CBS) Most Americans find the health care reforms being discussed in Congress confusing and say President Obama has not clearly explained …

Thesis Thrusts Va. Gubernatorial Candidate's Past Views Into Spotlight  —  The Virginia governor's race ignited Monday over Republican Robert F. McDonnell's 20-year-old graduate thesis: Democrats assailed him in e-mail blasts and interviews for what he wrote about working women, homosexuals and …

Justice Dept. to Recharge Enforcement of Civil Rights  —  WASHINGTON — Seven months after taking office, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is reshaping the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division by pushing it back into some of the most important areas of American political life …

GOP readies wave of objections to stall healthcare bill in Senate  —  Sen. Judd Gregg has hundreds of procedural objections ready for a healthcare plan Democrats want to speed through the Senate.  —  Gregg (N.H.), the senior Republican on the Budget Committee, told the Hill in a recent interview …

Bachmann: ‘Slit our wrists, be blood brothers’ to beat health care reform  —  U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican, chats with a supporter at an Independence Institute fundraiser in Denver on Aug. 31.  (Photo/Ernest Luning)  —  DENVER — In a fiery speech …

Why Does Nancy Pelosi Have a Problem With Patriotic Music?  —  If you've ever been stuck on hold with a congressional office in the past, at least you've been able to enjoy some good patriotic music, as opposed to the lilting tones of generic smooth jazz that have been driving elevator users insane for decades.

Obama's Looming Health Care Disaster: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places  —  “For the first time in American history, he wants to tax your health benefits.  Apparently, Senator McCain doesn't think it's enough that your health premiums have doubled.  He thinks you should have to pay taxes on them, too.”

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Obama HCAN Organizer Instructs Supporters How to Shout Down Opponents & Take Over Meetings  —  More Hope and Change—  A Health Care for America Now (HCAN) organizer is caught on tape outside the meeting instructing supporters on how to shout down opponents who get up to ask …

‘This Week’: Talk Without The Discourse  —  Tom Shales On TV is a new weekly column by the Pulitzer-winning critic.  He'll write not only on all things television but also about our culture and the forces that shape it.  Look for him on Tuesdays.  —  As philosopher and pianist Chico Marx might …

The New, Scary Mike Huckabee  —  I miss the old Mike Huckabee.  No, not the circa-1998 porker who could have given John Madden a run for his money in a turducken eating contest; I mean the Mike Huckabee of 2007—the charming, warm-hearted country preacher who, it seemed …

HYPOCRITE CHARLIE: PUNISH TAX SLIP-UPS  —  WASHINGTON — Even as he fends off accusations about his own failure to pay taxes and fully disclose his financial dealings, Rep. Charles Rangel had quietly slipped into the health-care bill broad new provisions cracking down on taxpayers in proceedings with the IRS, The Post has learned.

Montana Court to Rule on Assisted Suicide Case  —  HELENA, Mont. — Robert Baxter was by all accounts a tough man.  Even in the end, last year, as lymphocytic leukemia was killing him, Mr. Baxter, a 76-year-old retired truck driver from Billings, Mont., fought on.