Among House Democrats in Rust Belt, a sense of abandonment over energy bill  —  When Democratic Rep. John Boccieri went home to Ohio early this year to talk with voters in his Canton-based district, he figured he would have to do battle with at least some constituents over his support for health-care reform.

Department of Defense can't account for 96 percent of money administered in Iraq reconstruction fund.  —  Yesterday, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) released its findings on how the money was spent from a special Iraq reconstruction fund set up by the Department of Defense (DOD) between 2003-2007.

NH looking more competitive  —  Kelly Ayotte's seen her appeal to moderate voters crumble in the wake of her endorsement by Sarah Palin and her lead over Paul Hodes has shrunk to its lowest level of any public polling in 2010- she has a 45-42 advantage over him, down from 47-40 in an April PPP poll.

Getting Lost in the Fog of War  —  ANYONE who has spent the past two days reading through the 92,000 military field reports and other documents made public by the whistle-blower site WikiLeaks may be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about.  I'm a researcher who studies Afghanistan …

Tensions increase after revelation of more leaked files  —  Read the full story as the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan trade angry accusations after documents reveal more attempts by coalition to cover up civilian casualties

Dems fear GOP oversight of Obama administration  —  Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. (Alex Brandon/AP)  —  Speaking to a group of left-wing activists at the annual Netroots Nation convention in Las Vegas, Democratic Sen. Al Franken painted a bleak picture …

What is Mr. Times saying?  —  In the Political Times article the Sunday before last, New York Times reporter Matt Bai regurgitated the hardy but convenient lie about the Tea Party movement: … On Sunday the Times published the following correction: … This is an interesting correction.

Obama Won't Speak In-Person at Boy Scouts' 100th Anniversary Celebration But Will Appear on ABC TV's ‘The View’  —  (CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama, the honorary chairman of the Boy Scouts of America, will not speak in-person before the group on Wednesday at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia …

The Long Strategy  —  I was a liberal Democrat when I was young.  I used to wear a green Army jacket with political buttons on it — for Hubert Humphrey, Birch Bayh, John F. Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt.  I even wore that jacket in my high school yearbook photo.  —  It's a magic green jacket.

Ed Rendell Criticizes Obama for Going on ‘The View,’ Compares it to Jerry Springer  —  Here's one thing Gov. Ed Rendell (D-Pennsylvania) and Pat Buchanan (R-everywhere) agree on: Pres. Obama should not go on ‘The View.’  —  Rendell: I think there's got to be a little bit of dignity to the presidency.

Rep. Barney Frank causes scene demanding discount  —  Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank caused a scene when he demanded a $1 senior discount on his ferry fare to Fire Island's popular gay haunt, The Pines, last Friday.  Frank was turned down by ticket clerks at the dock in Sayville …

Lawmakers Question Salaries at Nonprofits  —  State and federal officials are starting to take their knives to the pay of leaders of nonprofit groups they do business with to help share the pain of tighter budgets.  —  A provision in New Jersey's recently passed budget, for example …

The Partisan Tools At Journo-List And Trig  —  Remember all those liberals and lefties huffily denouncing this blog's attempts to make sense of Sarah Palin's bizarre stories about the pregnancy and birth of her alleged fifth child?  I was nuts, crazy, vile, disgusting, etc etc to indulge in what Dave Weigel …

Romanoff goes all in, sells house and loans campaign $325,000  —  Updated: Loan to campaign is $325,000.  —  Andrew Romanoff has officially gone all-in for his U.S. Senate campaign, selling his Washington Park house and loaning the effort $325,000.  —  Romanoff, the former Democratic speaker …

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attacks Octopus Paul  —  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian leader, says Paul the Octopus, the sea creature that correctly predicted the outcome of World Cup games, is a symbol of all that is wrong with the western world.  —  He claims that the octopus is a symbol of decadence and decay among “his enemies”.

Posting Record Loss, BP Confirms New Chief Executive  —  LONDON — BP named Robert Dudley as its next chief executive Tuesday and reported a record $17 billion loss in the second quarter as the company set aside billions of dollars to deal with the aftermath of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Paul Ryan Schools Chris Matthews on Tax Hikes, Budgets and Economics 101  —  Chris Matthews on Monday got a much-needed lesson from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) on how tax hikes impact the budget as well as the economy.  —  “Congressman Ryan, is there any tax role for reducing our $1.4 trillion …

Heroes of Journolist: Dan Froomkin, James Surowiecki, Jeffrey Toobin, Michael Tomasky — and founder Ezra Klein  —  The Daily Caller has highlighted some of Journolist's worst moments — such as when liberal members of the media plotted to kill important stories about the presidential campaign.

Veteran GOP operative brought in to help Angle and other Sen candidates  —  With the GOP's hopes for reclaiming the Senate seeming to hinge increasingly on their success in the west, the NRSC is bringing in a veteran press operative to help Republican Senate candidates in three key races against longtime Democratic incumbents.

Despite Tough Climate, Public Prefers Obama's Policies  —  Despite a tough year for President Obama, the public believes his administration's policies offer a better chance at improving the economy over the policies of his predecessor, former President George W. Bush.

Sestak: I'm not a liberal  —  Senate candidate casts himself as a pragmatist, Toomey as an ideologue.  —  HARRISBURG — Joe Sestak continued Monday to distance himself from Nancy Pelosi while at the same time tying his Republican opponent Pat Toomey to George W. Bush.

Bell council members cut salaries 90%; some will forgo pay  —  Council members agree to take $8,000 a year, and the mayor and vice mayor say they'll finish their terms without pay.  Meanwhile, attorney general subpoenas documents and D.A. continues its probe.

Former Body-Armor Executive on Trial for Fraud  —  Several years ago, David H. Brooks, the chief executive and chairman of a body-armor company enriched by United States military contracts, became fixated on the idea of a memory-erasing pill.  —  It was not just fanciful curiosity.

Why Elizabeth Warren Will Likely Be Confirmed  —  Administration, Hill, and industry sources do the math on what could be the summer's most contentious confirmation battle.  —  Last week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd aroused the ire of progressive activists …

Daughter urges Okla. voters to not vote for father  —  OKLAHOMA CITY - An Oklahoma judicial candidate is fending off a political attack from his daughter, who has taken out a local newspaper ad urging voters: “Do not vote for my dad!”  —  Mantooth said the bad blood stems from his 1981 divorce from his daughter's mother.