Dozens in Congress under ethics inquiry  —  House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July.

White House: 650,000 jobs saved, created by stimulus  —  Reports to be released Friday on the government Web site Recovery.gov are expected to show that the $150 billion in grants and loans made so far under the economic stimulus package have created or saved about 650,000 jobs, White House officials said Friday morning.

Lieberman Marching Further Right in 2010  —  Subway Series: Former Dem Veep Candidate Plans to Campaign for GOP  —  Sounding more like an independent than a Democrat, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., tells ABC News he will campaign for some Republican candidates during the 2010 midterm elections …

Deal Reached in Honduras to Restore Ousted President  —  MEXICO CITY — A lingering political crisis in Honduras seemed to be nearing an end on Friday after the de facto government agreed to a deal that would allow Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president, to return to office.

The Defining Moment  —  O.K., folks, this is it.  It's the defining moment for health care reform.  —  Past efforts to give Americans what citizens of every other advanced nation already have — guaranteed access to essential care — have ended not with a bang, but with a whimper …

ABC News Poll: More Americans Prefer Public Option to Bipartisan Bill  —  In our most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll respondents were asked:  —  “Which of these would you prefer - (a plan that includes some form of government-sponsored health insurance for people who can't get affordable …

Did White House pressure NYT into changing Dover story?  —  Originally, the New York Times reported on President Barack Obama's visit to Dover AFB and the arrival of fallen serviceman by explaining that the White House wanted Obama to be seen as concerned and aware of the sacrifices made in America's war policies:

Toward a General Theory of Democratic Disgruntlement, Part 2  —  Yesterday, I raised the question of why Democrats approve of the current Democratic-controlled Congress at lower rates than Republicans did when they controlled the Congress.  This asymmetry, particularly in the short term …

Pat Robertson on hate crimes bill: ‘The noose has tightened around the necks of Christians.’  —  Yesterday on the Christian Broadcasting Network, televangelist Pat Robertson aired a segment slamming President Obama for signing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.

The Pay Czar Is Unconstitutional  —  Kenneth Feinberg hasn't been confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Last week's announcement that “Pay Czar” Kenneth Feinberg slashed compensation for executives at seven large financial firms by an average of 50% stunned Wall Street …

The White House Stupidly Goes To War With Car Web Site Edmunds.com  —  It is an odd, and we'd say regrettable, pattern of this White House that it lets itself get dragged down into fights with specific media outlets.  —  George W. Bush experienced acrimony with the New York Times …

Charles Krauthammer on Obama's Afghanistan ‘drift’  —  Old Soviet joke:  —  Moscow, 1953.  Stalin calls in Khrushchev.  —  “Niki, I'm dying.  Don't have much to leave you.  Just three envelopes.  Open them, one at a time, when you get into big trouble.”  —  A few years later, first crisis.

Fox News Poll: Most Blame Bush for Economy  —  Here's a somewhat surprising result from the new Fox News poll.  Asked which president is “more responsible for the current state of the economy,” only 18 percent say President Obama.  Fifty-eight percent say former President George W. Bush.

The Tenacity Question  —  Today, President Obama will lead another meeting to debate strategy in Afghanistan.  He will presumably discuss the questions that have divided his advisers: How many troops to commit?  How to define plausible goals?  Should troops be deployed broadly or just in the cities and towns?

Jeb Bush: Obama trying to ‘attack capitalism’  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Since his brother left office in January, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has been mostly diplomatic when discussing the Obama administration.  —  On Wednesday, he took a sharper tone.  —  During remarks to a U.S. Chamber …

We're Governed by Callous Children  —  Americans feel increasingly disheartened, and our leaders don't even notice.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  The new economic statistics put growth at a healthy 3.5% for the third quarter.  We should be dancing in the streets.

Daily Show Heckled, Attacked For Airing Interview With Leader Of Palestinian Nonviolent Democratic Movement  —  This past Wednesday, The Daily Show aired an interview with Anna Baltzer, a Jewish American peace activist and author of Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories …

Chris Christie: Man, am I fat  —  I couldn't agree more with Cavuto: This is a brilliant piece of retail politics, turning Corzine's lame digs at his weight into a high-profile opportunity to charm voters.  The tone is exactly right and the jokes are actually funny, and he makes sure …

Running?  Really?  —  As you see, the news today is that Joe Lieberman says he'll campaign for Republicans in 2010.  And really, that's not too surprising since he did that in 2008.  And it's not like he's come back to the Dems in any real way since then.

Brutal ruling quashes birthers' suit  —  A federal judge in California has issued a brutal ruling dismissing a closely-watched “birthers'” lawsuit challenging President's Barack Obama's qualifications to be president.  —  In a 30-page ruling issued Thursday morning, Judge David Carter used …