A gaffetastic new Miss USA  —  She nearly tripped over her gown.  —  She called birth control a “controlled substance.”  —  She argued that contraceptives should be covered by health insurers because they are “expensive” — and then said you could get them for “free” from your OB/GYN's office.

The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment  —  In 2003, several prominent Jewish philanthropists hired Republican pollster Frank Luntz to explain why American Jewish college students were not more vigorously rebutting campus criticism of Israel.  In response, he unwittingly produced …

Answer the lesbian question, Ms Legal Eagle  —  The nominee to be the next justice of the Supreme Court has no opinion on anything.  Well, that's not entirely true.  She did believe in providing free coffee for students when she was dean of Harvard Law School.

Specter-Sestak Dem Primary Down To The Wire, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Onorato Leads Dem Governor Primary  —  The Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary goes down to the wire with U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak taking 42 percent of likely primary voters to Sen. Arlen Specter's 41 percent …

Obama's terms for financial overhaul remain mostly intact  —  The Senate this week could hand President Obama his second major legislative victory of the year, both on administration priorities that seemed in doubt not long ago.  —  Passage of a 1,400-page bill to overhaul …

Who is Michael Posner, and why is he apologizing to China?  —  Actually, I phrased the title question wrong.  —  Question: Who the hell is Michael Posner, and why the hell is he apologizing to China?!  —  Answer: Michael Posner is the former head agitator at the transnationalist Human Rights First …

Video: The greatest political ad ever?  —  It's not the greatest ad ever.  If he had roped a calf or branded a steer or something, then it would have been the greatest ad ever.  I watched it twice before googling around to see if it was some sort of stunt candidacy or “Funny or Die” parody.  Nope.

Newt Gingrich says President Obama is Nazi-Commie “threat to our way of life.”  —  Will Howard Kurtz ask Chris Wallace why FOX News decided to make Newt Gingrich's new book their number one segment of the day?  Then they followed it up by interviewing Laura Bush and proceeded into their wingnut panel discussion.

The amazing campaign ads of Alabama  —  Alabama Republicans have, for reasons that I don't understand but which I hope a reader will explain, produced a raft of strange and memorable television ads this cycle: Young Boozer's broadside; ‘This is Alabama.  We speak English’; the scornful attack on an accused evolutionist.

A Conservative's Case for Sarah Palin's Genius  —  I hadn't seen Sarah Palin speak in person since the 2008 elections.  If one just watched or read mainstream media accounts of her paid speeches and appearances since then, including some accounts that have been featured on this site …

Iran to ship uranium to Turkey in nuclear deal  —  TEHRAN, Iran — Iran agreed Monday to ship most of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in a surprise nuclear fuel swap deal that could ease the international standoff over the country's disputed atomic program and deflate a U.S.-led push for tougher sanctions.

Kentucky Senate Primary Is Vital Test for Tea Party  —  FLORENCE, Ky. — Rand Paul grabbed a microphone, climbed onto a short brick wall and told a gathering crowd of supporters to brace for an Election Day uprising on Tuesday.  —  Past Kentucky Coverage More on Tuesday's Races  —  Multimedia

Class Warfare: Hundreds Protest Outside Bankers' Houses In DC  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Huge raucous crowds converged outside bank employees' houses on Sunday afternoon to demand banks stop lobbying against Wall Street reform.  —  “Bank of America: bad for America!” …

Late deal segues into special session  —  Agreement on the budget came very late Sunday, then the Legislature went into a post-midnight special session to approve it.  —  In the end, lawmakers had to go into overtime.  They and Gov. Tim Pawlenty reached a deal late Sunday to conclude …

Going to Extreme  —  Utah Republicans have denied Robert Bennett, a very conservative three-term senator, a place on the ballot, because he's not conservative enough.  In Maine, party activists have pushed through a platform calling for, among other things, abolishing both the Federal Reserve and the Department of Education.