Lieberman: I'll block vote on Reid plan  —  Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Tuesday that he'd back a GOP filibuster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's health care reform bill.  —  Lieberman, who caucuses with Democrats and is positioning himself as a fiscal hawk on the issue …

NY-23 Poll: Hoffman +5  —  For the second time in two days, a poll released by a conservative group finds Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman leading the Nov. 3 special election race for New York's 23rd District.  Neighborhood Research polled the district for Minuteman PAC …

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 …

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 …

Exclusive: Final Battleground Virginia Poll  —  ARLINGTON, Va. - With one week until Virginia's gubernatorial election, an exclusive poll for WJLA-TV shows Republican Bob McDonnell retaining his commanding lead.  —  The SurveyUSA poll dated Oct. 27 shows McDonnell with a 17-point lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds, 58-41.

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 …

Obama: Grayson an outstanding member of Congress  —  Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) is drawing criticism from his congressional colleagues, but President Obama offered him some warm words at a Miami fundraiser for the Democratic congressional campaign committees last night.

Tax refugees staging escape from New York  —  New Yorkers are fleeing the state and city in alarming numbers — and costing a fortune in lost tax dollars, a new study shows.  —  More than 1.5 million state residents left for other parts of the United States from 2000 to 2008 …

Scalia: Some on court inventing rights  —  One of the most conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday his more liberal colleagues are trying to manufacture new constitutional rights that were never intended by the drafters.  —  “The fight is about the Supreme Court inventing …

MATTHEW CONTINETTI THINKS THERE ARE LITTLE TINY PEOPLE INSIDE HIS TV  —  Or maybe not, but the Weekly Standard writer, who was raised like a veal by Bill Kristol and other right-wing mentors, doesn't seem to understand the difference between TV characters and the people who play them.

Time to Repeal DOMA  —  The time has come to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  Enacted 13 years ago when the idea of same sex marriage was struggling for acceptance, the Act is a relic of a more tradition-bound time and culture.  —  Connecticut, Iowa, and Massachusetts …

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.

The Lethal Politics Of The Opt-Out Public Option  —  I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more attention.  But imagine for a moment that the opt-out public option passes and becomes law (I give it a 65 percent chance at this point).  Then what happens?  Well, there has to be a debate in every state …

What if Bush had done that?  —  A four-hour stop in New Orleans, on his way to a $3 million fundraiser.  —  Snubbing the Dalai Lama.  —  Signing off on a secret deal with drug makers.  —  Freezing out a TV network.  —  Doing more fundraisers than the last president.  More golf, too.