Leaderless: Senate Pushes For Public Option Without Obama's Support  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  President Barack Obama is actively discouraging Senate Democrats in their effort to include a public insurance option with a state opt-out clause as part of health care reform.

Afghan candidate says ‘dramatic’ surge needed, backs McChrystal  —  Afghanistan's opposition candidate backed Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recommendations for more troops Sunday, saying “the future of the country is at risk” without a “dramatic increase” in troop levels.

Veteran reporter's 5 lessons for Obama  —  Editor's note: Columnist and author Helen Thomas, 89, was a United Press International correspondent for 57 years and covered every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy.  Craig Crawford is a TV commentator and political writer.

Making someone else pay  —  Suppose that, besides being the Enemies of All Mankind, health insurers are actually right.  —  Some companies noted last week that Congress' plans to mandate that everyone buy health insurance include only weak penalties.  The plans also make insurers take on customers who are already sick.

WILL PUTS ON LEATHER JACKET, DONS SKIS, EYES SHARK.... When my friend Mustang Bobby emailed yesterday to tell me George Will had written an entire column praising Rep. Michele Bachmann, I thought he was kidding.  Will may be conservative, but he considers himself something of an intellectual and serious thinker.

White House on Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing—Can't Remember Who Murdered 241 Americans  —  [Please subscribe.  There's too much news from the Middle East to miss a single article; and too little good analysis in the media to miss a single analysis.]  —  By Barry Rubin

How an Insurance Mandate Could Leave Many Worse Off  —  AMERICANS seem to like the idea of broadening health insurance coverage, but they may not want to be forced to buy it.  With health care costs high and rising, such government mandates would make many people worse off.

GOP officials: We won't abandon Dede  —  The National Republican Congressional Committee remains committed to embattled GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava in the upstate New York House special election, even as many of the party's top names throw their support to Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman.

Democratic Party encounters ‘Obama hangover’ in state, local elections  —  The president hits the campaign trail on behalf of Democrats, but the electricity of 2008 is tough to recapture.  —  Reporting from Kennett Square, Pa. - As he is quick to point out, President Obama is presiding over two wars …

Geraldo Rips Lou Dobbs For Latino-Bashing Rhetoric, Says He ‘Is Not Coming To Fox News’  —  Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the Spanish newspaper El Diario La Prensa on Thursday, Fox News host Geraldo Rivera said, “One of the aspects of our reality in the United States now is the defamatory tone …

If Lenders Say ‘The Dog Ate Your Mortgage’  —  FOR decades, when troubled homeowners and banks battled over delinquent mortgages, it wasn't a contest.  Homes went into foreclosure, and lenders took control of the property.  —  On top of that, courts rubber-stamped the array of foreclosure charges …

Iraq Ministries Targeted in Car Bombings; Over 130 Dead  —  BAGHDAD — For the second time in two months, synchronized suicide car bombings struck at the heart of the Iraqi government, severely damaging the Justice Ministry and Provincial Council complexes in Baghdad on Sunday …

Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists  —  EVANSTON, Ill. — For more than a decade, classes of students at Northwestern University's journalism school have been scrutinizing the work of prosecutors and the police.  The investigations into old crimes, as part of the Medill Innocence Project …

Resolution Authority ASAP  —  Liberals will probably find a fair amount to disagree with in these remarks from Ben Bernanke, especially the lead elements that involve vague assertions about the “economic benefit of multi-function, international (financial) firms.”  That said, there's no reason whatsoever to disagree with this:

Campaign to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Picks a Number  —  Campaigners against global warming have drawn on an arsenal of visually startling tactics over the years, from posing nude on a Swiss glacier to scaling smokestacks at coal-fired power plants.  —  On Saturday, they tried something …