EXPLOSIVE NEW AUDIO Reveals White House Using NEA to Push Partisan Agenda  —  **NEA conference call full audio and transcript here**  —  Should the National Endowment for the Arts encourage artists to create art on issues being vehemently debated nationally?

McChrystal: More Forces or ‘Mission Failure’  —  Top U.S. Commander For Afghan War Calls Next 12 Months Decisive  —  The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them …

Bush In 2008: “I'm Not Going To Tell Some Gay Kid In The Audience That He Can't Get Married”  —  Speechwriter Matt Latimer's new book trains its gaze on the lunacy of the late-era Bush White House.  And there was plenty of material.  —  Latimer, who first wrote speeches and congressional testimony …

Secret interviews add insight to Clinton presidency  —  BALTIMORE — The call from the White House usually would come in late afternoon.  President Clinton had a few hours open in the evening.  Could he come over?  —  Taylor Branch, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and civil rights historian …

Breaking news: ZELAYA BACK IN HONDURAS  —  According to Noticias 24 reports that deposed president Mel Zelaya is back in Honduras, staying at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa.  —  CNN reports that State Department spokesman Ian Kelly confirmed the news,

Americans More Likely to Say Government Doing Too Much  —  Belief that government is over-regulating business is at high for decade  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans are more likely today than in the recent past to believe that government is taking on too much responsibility for solving …

For President, Five Programs, One Message  —  No one shifted an armchair, moved a flower arrangement or asked an unexpected question.  —  President Obama gave five back-to-back television interviews broadcast on Sunday that were as tightly choreographed — and eerily similar …

Key Senator Says He Will Alter Health Proposal  —  WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, said Monday that he would modify his health care bill to provide more generous assistance to moderate-income Americans, to help them buy insurance.

U.S. racism ‘everywhere,’ says Dave Matthews  —  LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — Watching the Dave Matthews Band moments before they take the stage is like watching a football team bursting out of the locker room before a big game.  —  They slap hands.  Bump fists.

Obama Arrives to an Awkward Hug From Paterson  —  TROY, N.Y. — So what did he say?  —  President Obama walked down from Air Force One after his plane landed shortly before 11 a.m. Monday.  He and Gov. David A. Paterson exchanged a brief greeting.  They shook hands.

Jeb Bush on Rubio, Obama and running for president  —  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had plenty to say about a whole lot of different issues on Friday when he spoke to the Lakewood Ranch Republican Club.  —  I've already told you about his change of heart on oil drilling and his frustration …

The Feds' Attack on Freedom of Speech  —  Not the Fed, as in Bernanke, but the Feds, as in the federal government.  —  Here are excerpts from an AP news story that just came in: … And the most chilling two paragraphs: … One of the ways that governments try to “win” debates is to make debate by the other side illegal.

It's Coming!  —  It's official.  It's getting hot down here.  And if we don't stop burning oil and coal, the Big Apple will be cooked.  —  According to a high tech study commissioned by a concerned Mayor Bloomberg and generously funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, climate change caused …

Fed Rejects Geithner Request for Study of Governance, Structure  —  Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve Board has rejected a request by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for a public review of the central bank's structure and governance, three people familiar with the matter said.

TPM Expansion Update  —  A couple months ago I told you we were expanding (actually doubling the size of) our reporting staff at TPM.  So I wanted to give you a quick update.  —  Over the summer I asked TPM's Managing Editor David Kurtz to relocate from Missouri to Washington, DC to head up a new TPM DC office.

Reform or Bust  —  In the grim period that followed Lehman's failure, it seemed inconceivable that bankers would, just a few months later, be going right back to the practices that brought the world's financial system to the edge of collapse.  At the very least, one might have thought …

Iowa Poll: Iowans evenly divided on gay marriage ban  —  Iowans are almost evenly divided about whether they would vote for or against a constitutional amendment to end marriage for same-sex couples, according to The Des Moines Register's new Iowa Poll.  —  Forty-one percent say they would vote …