Obama's Speech to the United Nations General Assembly  —  Following is a text of President Obama's speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, as released by the White House.  —  Good morning.  Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen …

Obama Considers Strategy Shift in Afghan War  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Qaeda there and in Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

Sen. Roberts: We Need To Give Health Insurance Lobbyists ‘At Least 72 Hours’ To Read The Bill  —  During the Senate Finance Committee's mark-up session of the health care reform bill today, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) — who has had a hard time staying awake during these meetings …

Palin Speaks to Investors in Hong Kong  —  HONG KONG — Sarah Palin, in what was billed as her first speech overseas, spoke on Wednesday to Asian bankers, investors and fund managers.  —  A number of people who heard the speech in a packed a hotel ballroom, which was closed to the media …

Carper Publicly Defends Secret PhRMA Pact; Deal Made in Exchange for Support Ads  —  In a stunning moment during the Senate Finance Committee markup Sen. Tom Carper defended a secret deal that the White House, Baucus, and PhRMA had reached.  The White House has long denied the deal.

STANDING ATHWART HISTORY.... There are plenty of discouraging poll numbers for Democrats that have been released lately, but there's little evidence that Republicans are capitalizing in any meaningful way.  The party is still less popular than the Democratic majority, and the GOP is still less trusted …

Triggering a Democratic Civil War  —  Media reports and insider buzz make it increasingly clear that key people at the White House have become obsessed with Olympia Snowe on health care, and are willing to do pretty much whatever she demands in order to get her on board.

Canada to walk out on Ahmadinejad's UN speech  —  Ahmadinejad warned Western powers it was too late to stop Iran's nuclear programme, amid ...  UNITED NATIONS — Canada will boycott Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the United Nations on Wednesday, saying his outbursts about the Holocaust and Israel are “shameful.”

Glenn Beck, Post-Modern Conservative  —  Buried in the cross-tabs of the new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is a question that takes a temperature reading of Glenn Beck.  Beck actually makes out pretty well.  While just 24 percent of Americans have a favorable view of him (13 percent strongly so) …

New poll: Democrat lead over GOP is smallest in five years; doubts about Obama continue to grow  —  The new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll asked respondents whether they would prefer to see next year's elections result in a Congress controlled by Democrats or a Congress controlled by Republicans.

Justice Dept. to Limit Use of State Secrets Privilege  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is preparing to impose new limits on the government assertion of the state secrets privilege used to block lawsuits for national security reasons.  The practice was a major flashpoint in the debate …

GOP Favors Public Option for Property, Not People  —  Atop the front page of The New York Times today is a color photo of Georgia homes flooded up to their rafters, an image that illustrates how when it comes to insurance our Congress applies two standards, separate and unequal, one for property and a lesser one for people.

Dancing Tom DeLay on Infighting in the ‘Leaderless’ GOP: ‘Even Rush and Hannity Are Doing It’  —  LOS ANGELES — Walking out of a restaurant in Los Angeles last week, the former House Majority Leader was stopped by a stranger.  —  “Aren't you Tom DeLay?” the man asked.  —  “Yes, I am.”

Khadafy booted from Camp Trump  —  W'chester foils Trump guest  —  Unwelcome Libyan thug Moammar Khadafy briefly found a comfy spot to rest his foul head yesterday — at Donald Trump's palatial estate in suburban Westchester.  —  But town officials in tony Bedford put the kibosh …

Election 2010: Missouri Senate  —  2010 Missouri Senate: Blunt 46%, Carnahan 46%  —  Democrat Robin Carnahan and Republican Roy Blunt are dead even in the first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 survey of the hotly contested race for the U.S. Senate in Missouri.