McChrystal to resign if not given resources for Afghanistan  —  Within 24 hours of the leak of the Afghanistan assessment to The Washington Post, General Stanley McChrystal's team fired its second shot across the bow of the Obama administration.  According to McClatchy …

Biden on 2010: If GOP Succeeds, It's ‘The End of the Road for What Barack and I Are Trying to Do’  —  ABC News' Karen Travers reports:  —  Vice President Joe Biden said today that if Democrats were to lose 35 House seats they currently hold in traditionally Republican districts, it would mean doomsday for President Obama's agenda.

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 …

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.

Sen. Baucus's Health-Care Bill Would Ease Financial Burden on Middle Class  —  Seeking to lock down votes before Tuesday's meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, Chairman Max Baucus began reworking his health-care overhaul to ease the financial burden on middle-class Americans who would be required …

The Art of Corruption  —  There are all kinds of corruption.  Some are pretty easy to identify.  You can't miss it when a congressman sells the public's vote for money, say, or a husband sets his personal promises at nothing in order to score some extracurricular sex.

Obama Tells Letterman: I Was Black Before the Election  —  Posted by Brian Montopoli Addressing suggestions that recent criticism of his health care reform efforts has been grounded in racism, President Obama this afternoon quipped, “I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election.”

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.

Glenn Beck: Harmful to the Conservative Movement  —  Unlike others associated with Time magazine, David von Drehle is a skilled, careful, and perceptive writer.  So I was interested in his cover story on FOX News's Glenn Beck, who is considered to be a red-hot commodity these days.

A Pragmatist, Gates Reshapes Policy He Backed  —  WASHINGTON — On his tenth day on the job, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates signed off on an ambitious if politically charged plan to build a new missile shield in Europe.  Just two weeks later, he supported an even more wrenching decision …

Dobbs promotes website that hosts several pro-secession articles  —  On the September 17 broadcast of his radio show, Lou Dobbs hosted Tenth Amendment Center founder Michael Boldin and repeatedly “urge[d]” his listeners to visit the group's “very interesting” website.

Joe Wilson passes $2 million mark  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - South Carolina Republican congressman Joe Wilson has now raised over $2 million in campaign contributions since he shouted “You lie!” at the president earlier this month.  —  A campaign aide confirmed that Wilson surpassed the $2 million mark on Monday.

Debate due on naming Senate fill-in  —  GOP to end stalling tactics  —  Leaders of the state Senate expect to begin debate this morning on a bill that would let Governor Deval Patrick appoint an interim successor to Edward M. Kennedy, potentially paving the way for appointment of a new US senator later this week.

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.

The Lucrative Business of Israel-Bashing  —  The MacArthur genius grants are to be officially announced today, and along with deserving recipients such as Jerry Mitchell, a very brave journalist I know from my work on Preacher Killen, and Lynsey Addario, a very brave photographer …

Ambulances race to Byrd's home  —  Ambulances and fire trucks were dispatched to the Northern Virginia home of Sen. Robert Byrd Tuesday morning.  —  A neighbor of the 91-year-old West Virginia Democrat said several ambulances were outside his residence in McLean, Va., and a Byrd spokesman said the senator suffered a fall in his home.

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 …

U.S. charges Obama fund-raiser in $290 million fraud  —  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hassan Nemazee, a fund-raiser for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, has been indicted for defrauding Bank of America, HSBC and Citigroup Inc out of more than $290 million in loan proceeds, U.S. prosecutors said on Monday.

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.

The jihadi threat to rail security  —  The arrest of terror suspect Najibullah Zazi has re-focused Obama's homeland security officials on the ongoing jihadi threat to rail security.  —  Mass transit systems across the country are on renewed alert: … On September 11, I reported …

Strangers to Dissent, Liberals Try to Stifle It  —  It is an interesting phenomenon that the response of the left half of our political spectrum to criticism and argument is often to try to shut it down.  Thus President Obama in his Sept. 9 speech to a joint session of Congress told us to stop …