In Edwards Scandal, a Chapter Winds Down  —  CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The story of the spectacular rise and fall of John Edwards, with its sordid can't-look-away dimensions, is moving slowly but deliberately to its conclusion here in North Carolina.  —  Mr. Edwards, the one-term senator …

Media Matters: This right-wing frenzy is reminiscent of Dallas 1963  —  Uh huh.  And we all remember what happened when a certain radical right-winger — who defected to the Soviet Union, married a Russian woman, and tried to assassinate a far-right anti-communist American general — got JFK in the crosshairs in Dallas.

Remembering Irving Kristol  —  I didn't know Irving Kristol well, but I knew him for a long time.  There are many people who can say the same thing.  He was the central figure in the post-Watergate revival of conservatism and the Republican Party.  Sadly, the “movement” that he created, neoconservatism, is pretty well dead.

Brezinski Calls for Obama to Shoot Down Israeli Jets; “A Liberty in Reverse”  —  In a little noticed interview with the Daily Beast (presumably little noticed because serious people don't read the Daily Beast), Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that Barack Obama do more than just refuse to support …

G.O.P. Checks for a Pulse, and Finds One  —  WASHINGTON — Less than a year after an election that nearly wiped them out politically, conservatives are showing signs of life.  —  They are still searching for new leaders and new ideas.  Their victories have been more about taking advantage …

Senate jockeying begins on Baucus bill  —  Members of the Senate Finance Committee filed more than 500 amendments to Chairman Max Baucus's health care reform bill, setting the stage for a markup next week that will lay bare differences between the parties on overhauling the health care system.

The futility of American deaths in Afghanistan  —  In Afghanistan, the US is heading towards futility if not defeat mainly because no policy maker in Washington or its allied European capitals is willing to notice the bull in the china shop obvious to others.

Are You A Racist?  —  These days it's hard to tell.  If you think government-run medicine is a bad thing, former President Jimmy Carter and many other Democrats say you're most likely a racist.  So Missourah.com explains everything in this handy chart; click to enlarge:

Memories of the Carter Administration  —  One of John Updike's novels was titled Memories of the Ford Administration; needless to say, it wasn't about Gerald Ford — basically it was about sex, because Updike remembered the Carter years as the golden age of extramarital affairs.

Governor Romney's address to the 2009 Values Voters Summit  —  Thank you all very much.  Tony, I appreciate your very kind words.  And my thanks to all of you for the warm welcome.  It's good to see so many friends and leaders of the conservative movement from across America.

Huckabee takes first in straw poll  —  Mike Huckabee cruised to an easy victory in a presidential straw poll taken among attendees at a social conservative conference, beating a group of four other Republican contenders by an over two-to-one margin.  —  Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor …

Papers Show Insurers Limited Coverage for Acne, Pregnancy  —  A proposal to make preexisting health conditions irrelevant in the sale of insurance policies could help not just the seriously ill but also people who might consider themselves healthy, documents released Friday by a California-based advocacy group illustrate.

Weekly remarks: Sue Myrick on healthcare costs, options; Obama on financial reforms  —  Weekly remarks by President Obama, as provided by the White House  —  Leaders of the world's largest economies will gather next week in Pittsburgh for the second time this year.

White House gets a trilateral  —  Despite a failure to reach agreement on the conditions required to begin negotiations, Israeli and Palestinian leaders will offer the White House's peace efforts a symbolic boost and offer President Obama the kind of feel-good international moment that has been hard to come by:

ACORN scaling back or shutting down in many cities  —  The community activist group is taking no new clients while it investigates its operations, which have been dragged down by the poor economy and recent scandals.  —  Reporting from Los Angeles and Chicago - Stung by the recession …