The Best Speech Obama's Given Since...Maybe Ever  —  Today, at Ft. Hood.  I guarantee: they'll be teaching this one in rhetoric classes.  It was that good.  My gloss won't do it justice.  Yes, I'm having a Chris Matthews-chill-running-up-my- leg moment, but sometimes, the man …

D.C. Sniper John Allen Muhammad Put to Death  —  The D.C. Sniper Who Terrorized Americans in 2002 Was Executed Tonight in Virginia  —  Just after 9 p.m. this evening — seven years and 12 days after he was captured and later charged with orchestrating a cold-blooded shooting spree …

LIEBERMAN WON'T ‘WIGGLE’ ON PUBLIC-PRIVATE COMPETITION.... A couple of weeks ago, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) made it sound as if any kind of competition for private health insurers was completely unacceptable — even if competition is “triggered” years from now, based on key benchmarks.

Republicans Edge Ahead of Democrats in 2010 Vote  —  Registered voters prefer Republicans for the House, 48% to 44%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans have moved ahead of Democrats by 48% to 44% among registered voters in the latest update on Gallup's generic congressional ballot for the 2010 House elections …

Senior Official: More Hasan Ties to People Under Investigation by FBI  —  Alleged Shooter Had “Unexplained Connections” to Others Besides Jihadist Cleric Awlaki  —  A senior government official tells ABC News that investigators have found that alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan had …

Blackwater Said to Approve Iraqi Payoffs After Shootings  —  WASHINGTON — Top executives at Blackwater Worldwide authorized secret payments of about $1 million to Iraqi officials that were intended to silence their criticism and buy their support after a September 2007 episode …

Tampa police: Marine reservist attacked Greek priest he mistook for terrorist  —  TAMPA — A Marine reservist armed with a tire iron beat and chased a man he thought was an Arab terrorist and even called 911 to say he was detaining the man, police said.  —  But the man he assaulted was actually …

Top Obama Advisers Favor Adding Troops in Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are coalescing around a proposal to send 30,000 or more additional American troops …

Obama Receives New Afghan Option  —  ‘Hybrid’ Compromise Would Combine Troops, Trainers to Hold Back Taliban and Boost Local Military  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Wednesday will consider a new compromise plan for adding troops to Afghanistan that would deploy 30,000 to 35,000 new forces …

Clinton to Senate Dems: ‘We are winning’  —  Bill Clinton walks through Capitol Hill as reporters ask questions.  —  John Shinkle  —  With the issue he has positioned to be his crowning achievement as president at a crossroads, Barack Obama once again called on his former rival to help him follow through.

Exclusive: Audio From ACORN Claims Jerry Brown Will Whitewash Investigation  —  On October 15th, local ACORN spokesman David Lagstein was the special guest of the East County Democrat Club in El Cajon, CA.  Lagstein is ACORN's chief organizer in the San Diego area.

Pelosi's victory for women  —  Sure, her healthcare bill is a mess, but her gritty maneuvering shows her mettle.  Plus: Gainsbourg and Gaga  —  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi scored a giant gain for feminism last weekend.  In shoving her controversy-plagued healthcare reform bill …

Truth and consequences for Crist  —  Florida Gov. Charlie Crist hasn't done himself any political favors by feigning ignorance that President Obama was in his home state last month.  —  Desperately trying to distance himself from President Obama and his early support for the administration's stimulus …

Bear Juror Says U.S. Case So Weak She'd Invest With Defendants  —  Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) — Prosecutors missed the mark so widely in the fraud trial of Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin that a juror said after their acquittal she would invest with them if she had the money.

Stimulus job boost in state exaggerated, review finds  —  Errors, incomplete data, estimated positions go into federal report  —  Revere spent $485,500 in stimulus funds to install solar panels on the roof of the Beachmont School and claimed to have created 64 jobs on the project.  (Jim Davis/Globe Staff)

President Obama Announces USAID Administrator  —  WASHINGTON - Today, President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Rajiv Shah as Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  —  President Obama said, “The mission of USAID is to advance America's interests by strengthening our relationships abroad.

David Ignatius on saluting the military  —  In the aftermath of the Fort Hood shootings, some commentaries have examined the damage to the U.S. Army from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  A few have spoken about the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, as an extreme version of what can happen with an overstressed force.

‘Regular guy’ Thune is hot commodity in GOP circles  —  Washington (CNN) — He walks through Washington's Reagan National Airport, arriving as he does nearly every Monday from a weekend home in South Dakota.  He makes his way unnoticed.  —  But John Thune's anonymity may not last forever.