Harkin says he has the votes to pass public option bill in the Senate  —  The Senate has the votes to pass a healthcare reform bill including a public option, a key Senate chairman said Tuesday.  —  Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa.), the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) …

NEWLY DISCOVERED: COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS APPEAR TO ‘PRAY’ TO PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA  —  The Gamaliel National Clergy Caucus held “a New Orleans style funeral procession as they deliver a casket symbolizing the death of old ways of providing health care and pray for a new day for health care in America.”

GOP Rep. Trent Franks Calls Obama “An Enemy Of Humanity”  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A Republican member of the House of Representatives accused President Barack Obama of being “an enemy of humanity” during a conservative values forum this past weekend.  —  In a speech Saturday …

Polanski Seeks Release From Swiss Jail  —  PARIS — Roman Polanski, the Oscar-winning movie director arrested in Switzerland as a fugitive from American justice, filed an application Tuesday with a Swiss court seeking his release, news reports said.  —  The United States has been seeking …

Start making your case.  —  Use the entry form to send us a short opinion essay (400 words or less) pegged to a topic in the news and an additional paragraph (100 words or less) on yourself and why you should win.  Entries will be judged on the basis of style, intelligence and freshness of argument …

Nelson wants health reform in 2 parts  —  SCOTTSBLUFF - Sen. Ben Nelson said Monday he'd prefer a health care reform package that centers on cost savings this year, leaving extended insurance coverage for a later date.  —  Such a scenario would give 2010 voters an opportunity to weigh in on …

Did ACORN Elect Al Franken?  —  Robert Samuelson scorns the egomaniacal “quest for glory” of Congressional Democrats who are trying to pass health care reform.  But of course the quest for glory may be the only reason a worthwhile reform could still pass.  It ain't going to pass it because it's popular!

Europe's Socialists Suffering Even in Downturn  —  PARIS — A specter is haunting Europe — the specter of Socialism's slow collapse.  —  Even in the midst of one of the greatest challenges to capitalism in 75 years, involving a breakdown of the financial system due to “irrational exuberance …

Time for Obama to Act Like a President  —  Sooner or later it is going to occur to Barack Obama that he is the president of the United States.  As of yet, though, he does not act that way, appearing promiscuously on television and granting interviews like the presidential candidate he no longer is.

S.D. ghostwriter mum on Sarah Palin memoir  —  One San Diegan knows all the details of Sarah Palin's soon-to-be released memoir, but don't ask her about it.  She can't tell.  —  Lynn Vincent, Palin's ghostwriter, has signed a non-disclosure agreement.  She has been hard at work on the book …

EXCLUSIVE: Porn surfing rampant at U.S. science foundation  —  Number of cases overwhelms watchdog, costs taxpayers  —  Employee misconduct investigations, often involving workers accessing pornography from their government computers, grew sixfold last year inside the taxpayer-funded foundation …

First lady says ‘gloves are off’ in bid for Olympics  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — First lady Michelle Obama vowed Monday to “take no prisoners” as she and her husband launch an unprecedented bid for Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid.  —  “It's a battle — we're going to win — take no prisoners,” …

400 Pages In Four Months  —  That's Sarah Palin's achievement for Jonathan Burnham, who runs the marketing company, Harper Collins.  Several questions naturally arise.  Did she actually write those 400 pages?  Please.  Her peregrinations in the couple of months since she quit her “day-job” …

U.S. to Israel: Probe alleged Gaza war crimes to advance peace  —  The United States called on its close ally Israel on Tuesday to conduct credible investigations into allegations of war crimes committed by its forces in Gaza, saying it would help the Middle East peace process.

Public Support For Health Reform Increases in September, Reversing Summer Declines as Congress Takes Up Legislation  —  Survey Finds Support For New Proposals For Fees And Taxes on Insurance Companies to Help Pay For Overhaul  —  MENLO PARK, CA — Public support for health reform ended its summer slide …

Morning Fix: Attack Dog Needed?  —  AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dawn Majors  —  The national debate over President Obama's health care plan has exposed a weakness in the Democratic Party apparatus: it lacks a high profile surrogate to push back — hard — against the rhetorical arguments put forward by Republicans.

The Neocons Make a Comeback  —  Neocons are back because Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il and Vladimir Putin never went away.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The other day I was asked by a writer for a mainstream French newspaper to say something about the “return” of the neoconservatives.

Why Medical Malpractice Is Off Limits  —  A few thousand trial lawyers have a lock on Democrats, who refuse to consider any legal reform.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Eliminating defensive medicine could save upwards of $200 billion in health-care costs annually, according to estimates …