Obama's Befuddling Afghan Policy  —  Why is the president hesitating on more troops to fight his ‘war of necessity’?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  I'm lost on President Barack Obama's Afghanistan policy—along with most of Congress and the U.S. military.

Protect Insurance Companies PSA  —  Credits: Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Masi Oka, Jordana Spiro, Linda Cardellini, Donald Faison  —  Produced by Chris Bruss, Lauren Palmigiano & MoveOn.org

Dukakis is the best choice to fill Senate vacancy  —  THE MASSACHUSETTS Senate could vote as early as today on a bill to let Governor Patrick name an interim replacement for Senator Edward Kennedy.  State senators should pass the measure, and Patrick should be ready to make an appointment quickly.

Right-Wing Radio Host Mark Levin Lashes Out At Glenn Beck: He's 'Mindless, ‘Incoherent,’ ‘Pathetic’  —  In an interview with Katie Couric for her new web-only show, Fox News pundit Glenn Beck said he thinks John McCain would have been a bad president because he's “this weird progressive like Theodore Roosevelt was.”

Steven Chu: Americans Are Like ‘Teenage Kids’ When It Comes to Energy  —  This post was updated Monday evening.  —  When it comes to greenhouse-gas emissions, Energy Secretary Steven Chu sees Americans as unruly teenagers and the Administration as the parent that will have to teach them a few lessons.

PM: Israel, PA agreed to begin talks without preconditions  —  Article's topics: Binyamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, Mahmoud Abbas  —  Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to relaunch peace negotiations without any preconditions, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday.

When Speechwriters Kiss and Tell  —  A man I hired was not the star he thought he was.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  When the sun rises over our capital city this morning, its denizens will awake to a truly novel tale: The aggrieved ex-staffer—wait for it!—disillusioned by Washington.

Whoops: Anti-ACORN Bill Ropes In Defense Contractors, Others Charged With Fraud  —  Going after ACORN may be like shooting fish in a barrel lately — but jumpy lawmakers used a bazooka to do it last week and may have blown up some of their longtime allies in the process.

Mike Ross Raises Eyebrows With Healthy Haul  —  Arkansas Rep. Mike Ross — a Blue Dog Democrat playing a key role in the health care debate — sold a piece of commercial property in 2007 for substantially more than a county assessment (PDF) and an independent appraisal (PDF) say it was worth.

Paterson blames weak Obama record for friction  —  Well, this is going to make David Paterson a lot of friends in the White House, as he tries to put himself in the president's shoes: … One of the things that has made the White House angriest at Paterson is his linking his woes to the president's.

Byrd admitted to hospital after fall  —  Ambulances and fire trucks were dispatched to the Northern Virginia home of Sen. Robert Byrd Tuesday morning, and the senator was later admitted to the hospital, where he is expected to be treated for a few days.  —  A neighbor of the 91-year-old …

Clinton on Gore: “I Thought He Was in Neverland”  —  On Monday, USA Today ran a front-page article on the soon-to-be-released book chronicling a series of secret interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch held with President Bill Clinton throughout the Clinton presidency.

To Explain Longevity Gap, Look Past Health System  —  If you're not rich and you get sick, in which industrialized country are you likely to get the best treatment?  —  The conventional answer to this question has been: anywhere but the United States.  With its many uninsured citizens …

F.D.I.C. May Borrow Funds From Banks  —  WASHINGTON — Tired of the government bailing out banks?  Get ready for this: officials may soon ask banks to bail out the government.  —  Senior regulators say they are seriously considering a plan to have the nation's healthy banks lend billions …

After ‘Inappropriate’ NEA Conference Call, White House Pushes New Guidelines  —  An August 10, 2009 National Endowment for the Arts conference call in which artists were asked to help support President Obama's agenda — a call that at least one good government group called “inappropriate” …

THEY'RE LAUGHING AT HIM, NOT WITH HIM.... We've seen plenty of examples of health care reform opponents trying to mislead the public at town-hall events.  We haven't, however, seen many examples these opponents getting mocked by their audiences.  —  In this video, Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) …

Condi: The should-be face of the GOP  —  She's smart.  She's experienced.  She's worldly.  Republican strategists worried about their party's future should take heed.

Prince Charles urges people to abandon car in favour of walking and public transport  —  The Prince of Wales is urging people to give up their cars in favour of walking and public transport to try to reduce carbon emissions.  —  The Prince, who has two Jaguars, two Audis …

The Rights of Corporations  —  The question at the heart of one of the biggest Supreme Court cases this year is simple: What constitutional rights should corporations have?  To us, as well as many legal scholars, former justices and, indeed, drafters of the Constitution …

The “Tenther” Smear  —  The American Prospect, The New Republic, and other left-of-center outlets are pushing the “Tenther” smear, aimed at lumping those who, horrors!, still take seriously the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in with the Obama birth certificate deniers and 9/11 truthers.

‘Fringe element’ could easily upend America's racial progress  —  When I invoked the Ku Klux Klan in my remarks supporting a resolution to rebuke Congressman Joe Wilson for his outburst during the president's health care address, I expected it to ignite a national debate.  And it did.

Gaddafi On Donald Trump Estate?  —  | Sam Stein, Marcus Baram, and Nico Pitney  —  Muammar Gaddafi is making preparations to stay at the Bedford, New York, estate owned by Donald Trump during the Libyan leader's visit to the United States this week, a source with direct knowledge of the arrangement tells the Huffington Post.

Walpin scandal update: Grassley blocks nomination, accuses administration of stonewalling  —  Republican Sen. Charles Grassley has blocked the ambassadorial nomination of Alan Solomont, currently chairman of the board of the government agency that oversees AmeriCorps, in retaliation …

Nothing to fear but Fears himself  —  We have not heard anything from Washington Post reporters Darryl Fears and Carol Leonnig in response to “Sliming James O'Keefe: A case study.”  I think it's fair to conclude that Fears and Leonnig have no quote from O'Keefe to support their imputation …