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.

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.

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 …

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.

Baucus Bludgeons Humana  —  A preview of coming political health-care attractions.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Political intimidation has always been part of the current Congress's health-care strategy: “If you're not at the table, you're on the menu” is tattooed on every lobbyist and industry rep in Washington.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

The Waning Demographics of Suburbia  —  I'm not sure how much success Fayetteville, Georgia will have in “retrofitting suburbia” but this point about demographics is dead-on: … Insofar as the great appeal of suburbia is that people like to raise children in suburbs, then it makes sense …

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 …

Obama defends U.S. on climate change  —  President Barack Obama downplayed congressional delays in climate change legislation as he worked to win over world leaders who are skeptical of America's commitment to the issue.  —  Addressing the U.N. Climate Change Summit in New York on Tuesday …

41% of Minnesota Voters Give Franken Positive Ratings  —  Democrat Al Franken has been a U.S. senator for less than three months, but 41% of Minnesota voters think he is doing a good or excellent job.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports finds that 31% of voters in the state say Franken …

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 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 …

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 …