Tea-Party Activists Complicate Republican Comeback Strategy  —  PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The rise of conservative “tea party” activists around the country has created a dilemma for Republicans.  They are breathing life into the party's quest to regain power.  But they're also waging war …

White House Says No to Antigay Referenda  —  In response to an inquiry from The Advocate, the White House sent the following statement regarding President Barack Obama's position on same-sex relationship recognition voter referenda in Maine and Washington.  —  “The President has long opposed divisive …

Compromise is a Two-Way Street  —  Al From has one of these op-eds where you urge liberals to drop hopes for a public option in the interests of being pragmatic and passing health reform.  I sort of agree with this—reform is worth doing even without a public option.

Don't Call Me a Slut  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Hours after The Daily Beast's Meghan McCain posted a self-portrait on Twitter it made national news and she was a pariah.  But she says it's the media who are the real boobs.  —  On Wednesday I posted a hastily-taken self-portrait on Twitter …

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT DNC FUNDRAISING RECEPTION  —  THE PRESIDENT: Nancy Pelosi!  Hello, San Francisco!  (Applause.)  Hey!  How are you?  Hello.  It's good to see all of you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Just a couple of quick special thank yous.  I love all of you.  (Applause.)

Interview Sets Off Skeptics of Balloon Drama  —  Updated |  10:45 a.m. It was, apparently, a heartwarming tale — the 6-year-old Colorado boy who was reportedly carried aloft in a wayward helium balloon on Thursday, only to turn up several hours later after a frantic, widely televised search.

John Edwards, Sarah Palin Both See Favorable Ratings Slide  —  Edwards' popularity down 27 points since January 2008  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Former presidential and vice presidential candidate John Edwards, embroiled in personal scandal, is rated favorably by 21% of Americans and unfavorably by 59%.

No Nobel Results From Obama Foreign Policy  —  About the only thing more comical than Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize was the reaction of those who deemed the award “premature,” as if the brilliance of Obama's foreign policy is so self-evident and its success so assured that if only the Norway Five …

Fox News Reportedly Fires Liberal Analyst Marc Lamont Hill  —  Yesterday, Accuracy in Media's Cliff Kincaid announced that at today's annual News Corp. meeting, he would urge Chairman Rupert Murdoch to fire Fox News analyst Marc Lamont Hill, whom he called a “left-wing cop-killer apologist.”

A strange, lonely and troubling death . . .  The news of Stephen Gately's death was deeply shocking.  It was not just that another young star had died pointlessly.  —  Through the recent travails and sad ends of Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and many others, fans know to expect the unexpected …

The Reality Moment  —  That which can't continue doesn't.  A nation can spend and spend, pile debt upon debt, but eventually there comes a reality moment when some leader emerges to say enough is enough and when decent people, looking around at themselves and their own best nature, respond by demanding a return to responsibility.

C.I.A. Is Still Cagey About Oswald Mystery  —  WASHINGTON — Is the Central Intelligence Agency covering up some dark secret about the assassination of John F. Kennedy?  —  Probably not.  But you would not know it from the C.I.A.'s behavior.  —  For six years, the agency has fought …

Ted Turner Passed Cash ‘Like a Joint,’ Now Feels ‘Like a Dummy’  —  Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) — Ted Turner, the cable television pioneer who became one of the richest Americans, recalls the pain of losing his job at Time Warner Inc., his wife, the actress Jane Fonda, and $7 billion of his fortune.

Christie's weight, Corzine's beard: Politics goes skin deep  —  By any standard, what David Rice said to Chris Christie took guts.  —  But Rice was glad afterward that he said it.  —  Ambling up to the Republican candidate for governor last week at an event in Monmouth Junction …

Barney Frank, Predatory Lender  —  Almost two-thirds of all bad mortgages in our financial system were bought by government agencies or required by government regulations.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Recent reports that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will suffer default rates …

Maddow Calls Out Americans for Prosperity President: ‘Parasite Who Gets Fat On Americans’ Fears'  —  In May, the Wonk Room first reported on the sordid history of Republican operative Tim Phillips — who now heads the front group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) — with respect to his long history …

Charlie Crist supporters worried  —  The most persistent rumor this week: Gov. Charlie Crist 44 percent Marco Rubio 30 percent in the race for U.S. Senate.  The poll allegedly is the Florida Chamber of Commerce's, but president Mark Wilson isn't calling us back.  —  Is it true?  We have no idea.

A Tea Party greets Obama in San Francisco  —  Even in San Francisco, Pres. Obama cannot escape protesters.  He held a fundraiser at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco tonight (Thursday) and a crowd turned out across the street on Union Square to let him know what they thought …

GOP 2012: Huckabee 29% Romney 24% Palin 18%  —  Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Republican voters nationwide say former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is their pick to represent the GOP in the 2012 Presidential campaign.  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds …