Gore Vidal: 'We'll have a dictatorship soon in the US'  —  The grand old man of letters Gore Vidal claims America is ‘rotting away’ — and don't expect Barack Obama to save it  —  A conversation with Gore Vidal unfolds at his pace.  He answers questions imperiously, occasionally playfully, with a piercing, lethal dryness.

Roman Polanski: backlash as Whoopi Goldberg says director didn't commit ‘raperape’  —  Whoopi Goldberg is facing a fierce backlash after saying that film director Roman Polanski didn't commit “rape-rape” when he had unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.  —  Goldberg, star of The Color Purple …

Where Did ‘We’ Go?  —  I hate to write about this, but I have actually been to this play before and it is really disturbing.  —  I was in Israel interviewing Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin just before he was assassinated in 1995.  We had a beer in his office.  He needed one.

Sarah's lectures a tough sell  —  SARAH Palinis said to have pocketed a $7 million advance for the 400-page memoir she turned in four months early, but she might not have such an easy time on the lecture circuit.  —  After quitting as governor of Alaska in July, Palin signed …

Washington Sketch: Senate Democrats Spar With One Another During Health-Care Debate  —  Let the fratricide begin!  —  Michael Moore, in town for the premiere of his new movie, stopped by a rally at the offices of Public Citizen on Tuesday to deliver a stark warning to any congressional Democrats …

Grayson: GOP wants ‘you to die’  —  Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., warned Americans that “Republicans want you to die quickly” during an after-hours House floor speech Tuesday night.  —  His remarks, which drew angry and immediate calls for an apology from Republicans, were highlighted by a sign reading …

What Obama won't say about the Afghan war today, at least publicly  —  This is a messy time for the nation's politics.  And this seemingly serene autumn day is quietly crucial.  —  Despite all the excitement and promise of a fresh Barack Obama administration cleaning house from eight years …

Court to rule on gun rights, terrorism law  —  Taking on a major new constitutional dispute over gun rights, the Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to decide whether to apply the Second Amendment to state, county, and city government laws.  In another major case among ten new grants …

Senators turn back ID requirement for immigrant healthcare  —  Senate Finance Committee Democrats rejected a proposed a requirement that immigrants prove their identity with photo identification when signing up for federal healthcare programs.  —  Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley …

Olympia Snowe: The Political Problems of Stopping Health Care Reform  —  Olympia Snowe enjoys broad support in her home state, but she faces significant political problems if she opposes President Obama's health insurance reform.  A Snowe vote against health insurance reform results …

Goldberg Calls Out Fox News Hosts ‘Pretending To Be Journalists’...On Fox News  —  Something happened on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor last night that rarely occurs in cable news - criticism of a network, on that network.  FNC Contributor and weekly Factor guest Bernie Goldberg was on with Bill O'Reilly …

Reconciliation Myths.  —  “A Primer on Reconciliation,” put together by Ken Strickland of NBC at First Read does a nice job of explaining the arcane process and some of the limits that will make it both difficult and risky to push health reform through that process, despite the appealing feature …

Bette Midler Warns Glenn Beck Could Set Off a Rwanda-Like Civil War in U.S.  —  Update at bottom (2:03 p.m.): Beck fires back  —  It's just what the primetime cable news lineup needed - another hour-long program tilted toward left-of-center politics with character assassination on conservatives.

Corzine Creeps Up On Christie In New Jersey Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Favor Property Tax Cap 8-1  —  Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine has cut Republican challenger Christopher Christie's lead in half and now trails the former federal prosecutor 43 …

Reid cancels October recess to focus lawmakers on healthcare  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has cancelled the Senate's Columbus Day recess so that lawmakers can focus on passing healthcare reform legislation during the week of Oct. 12.  —  Reid said the Senate would likely …