Baucus and the Threshold  —  So Senator Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has released his “mark” on proposed legislation — which would normally be the basis for the bill that eventually emerges from his committee.  And serious supporters of health care reform will soon face their long-dreaded moment of truth.

Obama: Legalize illegals to get them health care  —  Republicans see a backdoor move toward ‘amnesty’  —  President Obama said this week that his health care plan won't cover illegal immigrants, but argued that's all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage.

Snowe: I Haven't Changed, My Party Has  —  It would be easy to over-interpret this statement from Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), but it would be a mistake to dismiss it.  —  “I've always been a Republican for the traditional principles that have been associated with the Republican party since …

Analysis: ‘Racist’ claims defuse word's power  —  With the word being used so often, it's harder to define its meaning  —  Everybody's racist, it seems.  —  Republican Rep. Joe Wilson?  Racist, because he shouted “You lie!” at the first black president.  Health care protesters, affirmative action supporters?

Indefensible  —  President Obama knows how to put a smile on faces in Tehran and Moscow: This morning, he announced the abandonment of plans to develop a small missile-defense system in Eastern Europe.  —  This overturns one of the major diplomatic and national-security achievements of the Bush years.

Washington Sketch: Michelle Obama Gets Her Farmers Market  —  Let's say you're preparing dinner and you realize with dismay that you don't have any certified organic Tuscan kale.  What to do?  —  Here's how Michelle Obama handled this very predicament Thursday afternoon:

Mandatory Insurance Is Unconstitutional  —  Why an individual mandate could be struck down by the courts.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Federal legislation requiring that every American have health insurance is part of all the major health-care reform plans now being considered in Washington.

Bankers Face Sweeping Curbs on Pay  —  Fed Plans to Limit How Lenders Can Structure Compensation for Executives, Traders, Loan Officers; 5,000 Firms Affected  —  Policies that set the pay for tens of thousands of bank employees nationwide would require approval from the Federal Reserve …

Latest Updates on Protests in Iran  —  To supplement coverage of new opposition protests on Friday in Iran by our Times colleagues Alan Cowell and Robert Worth, The Lede is tracking reports of the events online.  Readers who are in Iran or in touch with people there are encourage to use …

Olympic-sized boondoggle: What Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama are up to  —  In Culture of Corruption, I spotlight the intimate relationship between Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's crony lawyer Valerie Jarrett and First Lady Michelle Obama.  —  Jarrett's slum lord record in Chicago …

Tell Mike Ross and Blanche Lincoln to Act Like Democrats - Or We'll Find Someone Who Will  —  Blanche Lincoln says she opposes a public option because it's “too expensive.”  She doesn't mention that it will save individuals $2000 a year in medical costs.  —  Mike Ross says he opposes …

Memo to the DNC: What were you thinking?  —  The add essentially takes a non-issue for a vast majority of people and reminds the world how many czars Obama has.  Geez.  Talk about keeping a story alive.  The RNC should list the ad as an in-kind contribution.

Duo in ACORN Videos Say Effort Was Independent  —  Duo in Sting Video Say Their Effort Was Independent  —  The proposition was outrageous, outlandish, and right up James E. O'Keefe III's alley.  Hannah Giles was on the phone from the District, and she was asking him to dress like her pimp …

ACORN=SEIU  —  Same Physical Address 1024 Elysian Fields, New Orleans  —  SEIU President on ACORN Advisory Board (Andrew Stern)  —  anys12799  —  Maybe we'll see some of the SEIU-ACORN ties in response to the Louisiana Subpoena that requests ACORN and ALL affiliates turn over books and records, and ties to the Rathke guys.

CALLASHWAC  —  Such audacious payback to Immelt is stunning.  Typical.  We are going down the tubes, America.  —  GE own NBC too. . .the National Barack Channel.  —  Huge bailout dollars went to GE, and Immelt is on Obummer's financial advisory board.  Very corrupt!  —  Sep 17, 2009

See Video: Heckler Removed From Obama College Park Speech  —  Thousands of University of Maryland College Park students mixed with the general public inside the Comcast Center today to hear President Barack Obama put in another pitch for his health care reform proposal.

Most Americans Still Credit Obama for Bipartisan Efforts  —  Six in 10 say he is making a sincere effort to work with Republicans  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama may have failed to achieve much bipartisan agreement on his major policies since he took office, but Americans give him credit for trying.

The Acorn 75  —  The only way they'd defund the outfit is if it endorsed the war in Iraq or Afghanistan.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Yesterday the House voted 345-75 to ban all federal funding for the scandal-plagued advocacy group Acorn.  Coming on the heels of the Census Bureau's dissociation …

Andre Bauer to Mark Sanford: Offer to resign won't last  —  If governor doesn't step down, he says he'll start campaigning next month  —  Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer met with seniors in Greer on Thursday to talk about health-care reform, but the event soon turned to politics when Bauer said his offer …

Pelosi Chokes Up Warning Against Political “Violence”  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “I have concerns about some of the language that is being used because I saw ... I saw this myself in the late '70s in San Francisco,” Pelosi said, choking up and with tears forming in her eyes.

OBAMA '07 REVELATION: HEALTH CARE REFORM REQUIRES TAX HIKES — SAVINGS JUST A THEORY  —  “I've pushed people on the idea of paying higher taxes in order to implement the system.”