Dean: If I Were A Senator I'd Vote For Opt-Out Public Option  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  One of the most respected progressive voices on health care reform said on Thursday that he could live with and even support a compromise to the public plan that would grant states the right to reject the option entirely.

Calling 'Em Out: The White House Takes on the Press  —  There was never a single moment when White House staff decided the major media outlets were falling down on the job.  There were instead several such moments.  —  For press secretary Robert Gibbs, the realization came in early September …

American Voters Oppose Obama Health Care Plan, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; GOP Gets Lowest Grades Since Obama Elected  —  American voters oppose 47 - 40 percent President Barack Obama's health care reform plan, and don't want an overhaul that only gets Democratic votes …

Corzine Points a Spotlight at His Rival's Waistline  —  It is about as subtle as a playground taunt: a television ad for Gov. Jon S. Corzine shows his challenger, Christopher J. Christie, stepping out of an S.U.V. in extreme slow motion, his extra girth moving, just as slowly, in several different directions at once.

McDonnell Widens Lead in Virginia Governor's Race  —  Republican Withstands Rival's Attacks on Conservative Social Views  —  Republican Robert F. McDonnell has taken a commanding lead over R. Creigh Deeds in the race for governor of Virginia, as momentum the Democrat had built with an attack …

French minister in ‘boy sex’ row  —  France's Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand is facing intense pressure over a book he wrote that described paying for “young boys” in Thailand.  —  The book was written four years ago, before he joined the government, but is back in the headlines following …

House GOP leaders voting against defense bill  —  House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence (R-Ind.) are voting against the House/Senate fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill — because it contains hate crimes provisions designed to protect gays and lesbians.

Americans Following Health Care, Economic News  —  Many Aware of Swine Flu Vaccine Arrival  —  The public continued to closely track news about health care reform last week, while the media divided its attention across a range of foreign and domestic stories.

ROMAN POLANSKI BACKERS GAVE $34K TO BARACK OBAMA, DNC  —  Movie industry types calling for the release of director Roman Polanski last year gave $34,000 to Obama's presidential campaign and the Democratic Party, FEC records show.  —  Polanski's arrest late last month by Swiss authorities …

Civilian, Military Officials at Odds Over Resources Needed for Afghan Counterinsurgency  —  In early March, after weeks of debate across a conference table in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the participants in President Obama's strategic review of the war in Afghanistan figured …

In First Lady's Roots, a Complex Path From Slavery  —  WASHINGTON — In 1850, the elderly master of a South Carolina estate took pen in hand and painstakingly divided up his possessions.  Among the spinning wheels, scythes, tablecloths and cattle that he bequeathed to his far-flung heirs …

REPORT: ‘We Will Overthrow The Government’ — Calls For Violence Repeatedly Stoked By Conservative Voices  —  Last week, the right-wing media outlet Newsmax — which receives 4 million unique monthly visitors and 130,000 print subscribers — published a column by conservative author John Perry arguing …

O'Reilly to Bachmann: You ‘drive the far-left crazy’ because you're ‘good looking.’  —  Last night, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly discussed why she is “second to Sarah Palin in far-left angst,” setting off a conversation between the two about why Bachmann faces …

Health Care Speechwriter for Edwards, Obama & Clinton Without Insurance Now  —  For the first time in my life, I am without health insurance and it is a terrible feeling.  —  In the past, I paid attention to the health care debate as a speechwriter who prepared speeches, talking points …

American troops in Afghanistan losing heart, say army chaplains  —  Martin Fletcher at Forward Operating Base in Wardak province, Afghanistan  —  American soldiers serving in Afghanistan are depressed and deeply disillusioned, according to the chaplains of two US battalions that have spent nine months …

Burr looking better  —  There is probably no politician in the country whose fate better exemplifies the shift in the national political climate over the last four months than Richard Burr.  —  His approval this month comes in at a very mediocre 36% with an almost equal 35% disapproving of his work in the Senate.

Independents  —  I was listening to all the gasbags drone on all day yesterday about how the “independents” are all unhappy with Obama and are probably going to vote for the Republicans again when just a couple of years ago they were all unhappy with Bush and voted with the Democrats.

Asian Central Banks Intervene as Dollar Tumbles  —  SINGAPORE — The U.S. dollar continued to tumble against most Asian currencies Thursday, prompting a wave of foreign-exchange intervention by central banks in South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand seeking to limit damage to their export industries.

The FTC's Mad Power Grab  —  The commission's preposterous new endorsement guidelines.  —  If you're a blogger and you write about goods or services—and what blogger doesn't write about books, movies, music, theater, restaurants, home theaters, laptops, manicures, clothing, tutoring …

Army Officers Criticize Rebuke of Gen. McChrystal  —  Army officers gathered at a convention in Washington this week said senior White House officials should not have rebuked Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, for saying publicly that a scaled-back war effort would not succeed.

Intelligence Fiasco Footnote  —  The authors of the 2007 Iran NIE have some explaining to do.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  When it comes to politicized intelligence in the Bush years, the critics may finally have a point.  Perhaps the work of America's intelligence agencies was manipulated …

THE UNAMBIGUOUS MEANING OF A CROSS.... Thee U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in a case called Buono v. Salazar, the year's big church-state case.  The controversy surrounds a large white, wooden cross, built to honor the war dead of World War I, given special congressional status on federal land.

Is health on the way?  —  Jonathan Chait may be tempting fate a bit here, but it is increasingly looking as if reform has weathered the storm.  —  The key point about health care is that the Democrats have the votes if they hang together.  Against that, there are clearly some Democratic senators …

Little Soldier Girl “Didn't Want to Let Go”  —  Four-year old Paige didn't want to say goodbye to her daddy before he was shipped off to Iraq  —  A family photo that shows a little girl beside her father and his fellow soldiers in uniform as they prepare to go to war has resonated well beyond the tight knit Bennethum clan.