Leahy: No need to interrogate bin Laden  —  If the U.S. captures Osama bin Laden, there's no need to interrogate him, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday.  —  Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman of that committee, said that arguments raised by Republican senators …

FDL Statement on Senate Combined Health Care Bill  —  The Senate Health Care Reform Bill (photo by roemerman)  —  It is encouraging that Senator Reid respected the will of the American people and included a public option in the merged Senate bill.  However, the addition of a state opt …

Hoffman: ACORN, unions, Dems tampered with NY-23 election  —  With his prospect of winning the 23rd Congressional District race now almost zero, Conservative Party candidate Douglas L. Hoffman suggested Wednesday in a letter that “ACORN, the unions and the Democratic Party” “tampered” with results to deny him victory.

Giuliani Is Said to Have Decided Not to Run for Governor  —  Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has decided not to run for governor of New York next year after months of mulling a candidacy, according to people who have been told of the decision.  —  His decision is a blow to many Republican leaders …

FOX rolls wrong video, heads may roll  —  by Mark Silva and updated with FOX apology  —  FOX has done it again, and this time, once again, FOX says its misplay of the wrong crowd video was another regrettable mistake.  —  Today, FOX News host Gregg Jarrett was talking …

Election 2010: California Governor Election  —  2010 California Governor: Brown 41%, Whitman 41%  —  State Attorney General Jerry Brown is the only major Democrat still running for governor of California next year, and now he's tied with Republican hopeful Meg Whitman at 41% each …

House Dem: ‘Growing’ liberal consensus to dump Geithner  —  A Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) member said there's “growing consensus” among liberals that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should step down.  —  {mosads}Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said Wednesday that he and other liberal House members …

Reid's fuzzy math  —  ‘Reform’ bill's true cost is twice advertised price  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is touting the Senate's newest health-care bill as costing $849 billion over 10 years.  But this uses the same accounting trick as past versions: 99 percent of the costs don't kick …

American Voters Like Obama, But Not His Policies, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For Public Option, But Not Overall Health Plan  —  Three-quarters of American voters - 74 percent - like President Barack Obama as a person, but only 47 percent like most of his policies …

To Our Readers, An Update  —  This Dish will resume as normal tomorrow morning.  We apologize for the lacuna.  And I suppose some will say we've gotten this book and the issues it raises out of perspective.  But since the last campaign, we have raised many questions about Palin …

Hasan's Supervisor Warned Army In '07 … text sizeAAA  —  Two years ago, a top psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center was so concerned about what he saw as Nidal Hasan's incompetence and reckless behavior that he put those concerns in writing.  NPR has obtained a copy of the memo …

White House aides: No Afghan decision before Thanksgiving  —  SEOUL — President Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said Thursday.  —  The news came as the president greeted 1,500 troops at Osan Air Base in South Korea …

The Senate's Health Care Calculations  —  CRITICS of the health care reform plan often refer to it derisively as “ObamaCare.”  On the policy merits, this is highly questionable: the White House has taken a hands-off approach toward the legislation that recently passed in the House and the version that is being worked out in the Senate.

Major tax increases in the Reid health care bill  —  The following is from the Joint Tax Committee estimate of the revenue effects of the Reid bill.  I have listed provisions with major revenue effects (+$20 B / 10 years) and a few others that have significant policy or political impacts.