FOX-TV CHICAGO ORDERED NOT TO RUN ANTI-OLYMPICS STORY  —  A local TV station that reported on Chicagoans NOT wanting the Olympics has been told NOT to run the report again, insiders tell the DRUDGE REPORT!  —  The Chicago Olympic Committee told FOX Chicago that its broadcast “would harm Chicago's chances” to be awarded the games.

WaPo Columnist Has Undisclosed Conflict of Interest on Roman Polanski Matter  —  In an earlier post I noted substantial inaccuracies and omissions in a post by Washington Post pundit Anne Applebaum in support of Roman Polanski.  (For example, she said Polanski fled during his trial; in fact …

U.S. commander in Afghanistan talked with Obama only once  —  The military general credited with capturing Saddam Hussein and killing the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, says he has spoken with President Obama only once since taking command in Afghanistan.

Whitman, Fiorina reject California GOP ‘straw poll’  —  (CNN) - Two Republican statewide candidates in California are touting the results of a state GOP convention straw poll that showed conservative activists overwhelmingly rejecting the gubernatorial bid of former eBay CEO Meg Whitman …

Reid the Quarterback May Call on Obama to Referee  —  WASHINGTON — As the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, takes on the delicate task of melding two competing versions of major health care legislation, aides say he will lean heavily on President Obama to arbitrate …

SAUDIS WILL LET ISRAEL BOMB IRAN NUCLEAR SITE  —  INTELLIGENCE chief Sir John Scarlett has been told that Saudi Arabia is ready to allow Israel to bomb Iran's new nuclear site.  —  The head of MI6 discussed the issue in London with Mossad chief Meir Dagan and Saudi officials …

Secret Agent Editors  —  The Obama scandals bring a new era of opacity at the New York Times.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  (Editor's note: This is an abbreviated edition of Best of the Web Today.  We're on assignment, returning Thursday.)  —  Clark Hoyt, “public editor” …

The Limits of Charisma  —  Mr. President, please stay off TV.  —  If ubiquity were the measure of a presidency, Barack Obama would already be grinning at us from Mount Rushmore.  But of course it is not.  Despite his many words and television appearances, our elegant and eloquent president remains …

New Cheney Taking Stage for the G.O.P.  —  NASHVILLE — Liz Cheney looks nothing like her father, but it is clear who he is.  She was introduced as “our favorite vice president's daughter” at a recent gathering of conservative women here.  She kept invoking him in her speech …

Max's Mad Mandate  —  The Baucus health bill will break 50 state budgets via Medicaid.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The more we inspect Max Baucus's health-care bill, the worse it looks.  Today's howler: One reason it allegedly “pays for itself” over 10 years is because it would break …

Bank Pulls Back From Acorn Work  —  Already facing the loss of federal government funding, the community-organizing group Acorn also has run afoul of one of its big corporate partners, Bank of America Corp.  —  In response to questions from The Wall Street Journal, a spokesman for the banking company …

Huckabee in St. Louis: Get America Out of the U.N.  —  ST. LOUIS — Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.), speaking to a very friendly dinner crowd at the “How To Take Back America” conference, said that he'd “nearly had an Elvis moment” watching this week's United Nations general assembly sessions …

Cassandras of Climate  —  Every once in a while I feel despair over the fate of the planet.  If you've been following climate science, you know what I mean: the sense that we're hurtling toward catastrophe but nobody wants to hear about it or do anything to avert it.  —  And here's the thing: I'm not engaging in hyperbole.

One crucial B. McCaughey update  —  I have deliberately laid off the Betsy McCaughey theme for the past month-plus.  I had my say; she continues to have hers; people can make up their minds.  —  But revelations late last week by Tim Dickinson, of Rolling Stone, are at face value so important that they deserve to be underscored.

Silencing Dissent  —  Something is rotten in the state of Egypt.  —  The Obama administration's Arab-Israeli peace process is in more trouble than even the White House realizes.  To be sure, the Israelis and Palestinians are both dug in, and when the president sought baby steps …

New website can't track paths of federal stimulus grants  —  The goal was to build a reporting system that allows the public to follow the zigzagging paths of dollars awarded under the $787 billion federal stimulus package.  —  A financial GPS of sorts.  —  But despite federal lawmakers' pledge …

Obama the Gambler  —  Betting That Machismo Is Not Foreign Policy  —  At his United Nations debut, Barack Obama urged global cooperation to combat nuclear proliferation, climate change and other problems that go beyond the borders of any one country.  The speech was well received around the world …

Fred Thompson spurns GOP special election nominee  —  Former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson just announced he's backing the Conservative Party candidate in the special election in New York's 23rd district.  —  In the latest sign that GOP state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava …