Obama and the Bureaucratization of Health Care  —  The president's proposals would give unelected officials life-and-death rationing powers.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Writing in the New York Times last month, President Barack Obama asked that Americans “talk with one another …

Obama to Endorse Public Plan in Speech  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, in a high-stakes speech Wednesday to Congress and the nation, will press for a government-run insurance option in a proposed overhaul of the U.S. health-care system that has divided lawmakers and voters for months.

Too late for Obama to turn it around?  —  Plus: The left's visionaries lost their bearings on drugs — but the GOP is led by losers  —  What a difference a month makes!  When my last controversial column posted on Salon in the second week of August, most Democrats seemed frozen in suspended animation …

Times Reporter Is Freed in Afghan Raid That Kills Aide  —  Stephen Farrell, a New York Times reporter held captive by militants in northern Afghanistan, was freed in a military commando raid early Wednesday, but his Afghan interpreter was killed during the rescue effort.

'We're pinned down:' 4 U.S. Marines die in Afghan ambush  —  Smoke billows up Tuesday after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the military entrance to Kabul's airport, killing at least three.  Read the story.  (Photo by Hal Bernton of the Seattle Times.)

Obama Speech Aims To Reenergize Effort  —  Senate Finance Chair Holds Out Hope That Bipartisan Accord Can Be Reached  —  President Obama will seek to rally Congress to pass health-care reform in a prime-time address Wednesday, even as lawmakers continue struggling to reach broad consensus on some of the toughest issues in the debate.

Obama Exclusive: ‘We Intend to Get Something Done’ on Health Care  —  President to Provide a More Detailed Health Care Plan in Speech Before Congress  —  In his highly anticipated address to Congress today, President Obama told ABC News that he would provide a much more detailed health care plan …

Unmentionable: Best-Selling Conservative Books and the Networks that Ignore Them  —  Research reveals a glaring imbalance in network coverage of liberal best-sellers and comparable conservative titles.  —  Culture and Media Institute  —  The most coveted real estate in the publishing industry …

‘Doctors told me it was against the rules to save my premature baby’  —  Sarah Capewell begged them to save her tiny son, who was born just 21 weeks and five days into her pregnancy - almost four months early.  —  They ignored her pleas and allegedly told her they were following national guidelines …

After Thesis Uproar, McDonnell's Strongly Worded Comments on Gays Resurface  —  ‘Homosexual Conduct’ Comments ‘Irrelevant’ to Campaign, He Says  —  In January 2003, then-Del. Robert F. McDonnell helped gavel in one of the most extraordinary judicial reappointment hearings in Virginia history …

Rep. Jean Schmidt Tells Birther: ‘I Agree With You’  —  Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) spoke at the Voice of America tea party this Labor Day weekend outside of Cincinnati, OH.  Following a tense Q&A session — during which, the congresswoman was booed for acknowledging that the Constitution …

Senate race taking twists  —  GOP's Mihos and founder of City Year may run; Meehan out  —  Republican Christy Mihos said last night that he is on the verge of dropping his campaign for governor to run for the US Senate, adding to a frenzied day of political activity as the field of contenders …

Attacks on Sunstein Frustrate Conservative Fans  —  On January 8, The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Harvard Law School Professor Cass Sunstein would be nominated to run the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.  It was a surprising choice for a job, created in 1980 …

NSA-Intercepted E-Mails Helped Convict Would-Be Bombers  —  The three men convicted in the United Kingdom on Monday of a plot to bomb several transcontinental flights were prosecuted in part using crucial e-mail correspondences intercepted by the U.S. National Security Agency, according to Britain's Channel 4.

Group wants to chalk Capitol steps with entire healthcare bill  —  The 1,018-page House healthcare bill may soon be scrawled up in neon chalk on the steps of the Capitol.  —  “Those steps need a little color,” said Eric Yaverbaum, a public-relations specialist and co-founder …

Chambliss: Obama Better Show Humility In Speech To Congress  —  Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said today that, because of angry town hallers and the like, President Obama should show “humility” when he speaks to Congress Wednesday night.  —  “What you're seeing is folks on my side anxious …

Olbermann Flip-flops, Tells Kossacks NOT to Dig Up Dirt on Beck  —  Want to know just how unstable MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is?  —  Within the course of 48 hours, he asked Daily Kos readers to send him everything they could dig up about Fox News host Glenn Beck, and then called off the dogs.

On the status of health reform  —  Notes on the eve of the President's address  —  The election of Obama raised expectations for sweeping health reform sky high.  But in spite of several self-imposed deadlines, Senate and House health reform bills were not ready by the time of the August …

‘Inside the Mind of Mark Foley’: Disgraced Congressman Turned Talk Radio Host  —  Foley, Brought Down by Sexually Explicit Messages to Underage Pages, Tapes First Show  —  Nearly three years after then-Congressman Mark Foley, R-FLA, saw his political career crumble following the revelation …