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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Reid puts House healthcare bill on Senate calendar  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) late Tuesday laid the groundwork for the Senate's healthcare reform debate to start next Tuesday.  —  Reid filed a motion to introduce the bill on Monday, Nov. 16.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Sens. squeeze Speaker over commission  —  Senators from both parties on Tuesday put new pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to turn the power to trim entitlement benefits over to an independent commission.  —  Seven members of the Senate Budget Committee threatened during a Tuesday hearing …

NEW YORK POST LAWSUIT: Shocking Allegations Made By Fired Employee  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  The New York Post editor fired after speaking out against a cartoon depicting the author of the president's stimulus package as a dead chimpanzee has sued the paper.

Dunn leaving White House, Pfeiffer takes over  —  White House communications director Anita Dunn will step down from her post at the end of the month and Dan Pfeiffer, her deputy, will take over, according to sources familiar with the move.  —  Dunn, a longtime Democratic media consultant …