Durbin: Progressives Forced Our Hand On Public Option  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Democratic leaders were forced to include a national public health insurance option as part of health care reform by progressive Democratic senators who refused to support anything less, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said on Monday.

The future of the GOP is outside the Beltway  —  Bien-pensant conservative elites and establishment-friendly Republican big shots yearn for a more moderate, temperate and sophisticated Republican Party.  It's not likely to happen.  And probably just as well.

U.S. official resigns over Afghan war  —  When Matthew Hoh joined the Foreign Service early this year, he was exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was looking for to help expand its development efforts in Afghanistan.  —  A former Marine Corps captain …

Nielsen: Fox News ratings up almost 10% since WH declared war  —  It's a nine-percent bump in the two weeks since Anita Dunn's whine heard 'round the world — in terms of overall audience.  Among the coveted 25-54 demographic?  A 14-percent bump.  Good work, Barry.

Biden's popularity plunges; lower than Cheney's  —  Vice President Joe Biden's favorable rating has fallen to 42 percent in a new Gallup poll, down from a high of 59 percent just after last year's election.  Biden's unfavorable rating in the new poll is 40 percent, up from 29 percent last November.

Ex-A.I.G. Chief Is Back, Luring Talent From Rescued Firm  —  Maurice R. Greenberg, who built the American International Group into an insurance behemoth with an impenetrable maze of on- and offshore companies, is at it again.  —  Even as he has been lambasting the government for its handling …

Bush's first stand on a new podium  —  FORT WORTH — After nine months of being nearly invisible — a big outing has been to a Dallas hardware store for flashlights — George W. Bush made his debut Monday in his latest incarnation: motivational speaker.  —  Nearly 15,000 people heard …

Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet  —  People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.  —  In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said …

CNN Poll: 6 in 10 back ‘cap and trade’  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Six in 10 Americans support a “cap and trade” proposal to cut pollution, according to a new national poll.  —  Sixty percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey say they favor “cap and trade,” …

J Street branch drops pro-Israel slogan  —  J Street's university arm has dropped the “pro-Israel” part of the left-wing US lobby's “pro-Israel, pro-peace” slogan to avoid alienating students.  —  That decision was part of the message conveyed to young activists who attended a special weekend program …

Grayson goes too far for colleagues  —  Republicans and Democrats slammed Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) for calling Linda Robertson, an adviser to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, a “K Street whore” in a month-old radio interview that circulated on Capitol Hill Monday night.  —  “There's no call for that language.

Rocco's Modern Life  —  Rocco Landesman is President Obama's handpicked chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.  Last week he gave the keynote address to the 2009 Grantmakers in the Arts Conference.  Those of us concerned about the politicization of life and art in the Age of Obama …

MacFarlane special loses Microsoft  —  Company yanks sponsorship of Fox show  —  Microsoft has yanked its sponsorship from Fox's upcoming Seth MacFarlane comedy/variety special over content concerns.  —  Fox still plans to air “Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show” …

Dismal special election record hampers GOP's 2010 comeback  —  The GOP could lose its fifth of five big special elections in two years — a development that has Republicans asking why the irregular races continue to bedevil their party, even as it rebounds in other ways.