Grim Voter Mood Turns Grimmer  —  Pessimism Rises on Economy and War; Bad Reviews for Both Democrats and GOP  —  Americans are growing more pessimistic about the economy and the war in Afghanistan, and are losing faith that Democrats have better solutions than Republicans, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Six essential questions about the deficit, Wall Street and Washington  —  Fiscal expert Stan Collender points out that the bond market is not demanding deficit reduction — in fact, quite the opposite.  So where is the Washington establishment's obsession with the deficit coming from?

Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage Appears to Shift at Accelerated Pace  —  In April, 2009, when we last took a survey of gay marriage polls, we found that support for it had converged somewhere into the area of 41 or 42 percent of the country.  Now, it appears to have risen by several points …

Civil Unrest: The Death of Decorum in Washington?  —  Has Civility Reached an Historic Low in Congress?  —  There was an extraordinary moment during the final senate debate on Elena Kagan's Supreme Court confirmation.  While Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delivered remarks, Senator Al Franken …

Congressman Rangel's Party a Display of Defiance  —  It was a dramatic but fitting start to an evening that brimmed with political defiance.  About 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, as guests began strolling into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate Representative Charles B. Rangel's 80th birthday …

Huckabee Opposes Changing 14th Amendment, Setting Himself Apart From GOP Again  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Distinguishing himself once more from his GOP rivals when it comes to immigration policy, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said on Wednesday that he didn't back efforts to rethink …

Borrowers Refuse to Pay Billions in Home Equity Loans  —  PHOENIX — During the great housing boom, homeowners nationwide borrowed a trillion dollars from banks, using the soaring value of their houses as security.  Now the money has been spent and struggling borrowers are unable or unwilling to pay it back.

The First Wave of Weary Aides Heads for the Exits  —  WASHINGTON — Linda Douglass slept nearly 12 hours the day after she left her job as a communications aide at the White House.  And the day after that and the day after that.  It took two weeks until she finally felt rested.

The vulgarity of liberal female “comedians”  —  Left-wing female comedians are proving that they can be as crude and stupid as their male counterparts.  Who knew that striving for gender equality meant pursuing the dream that one day, someday, liberal women would be able to mock …

The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown  —  The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House.

George W. Bush makes surprise visit to U.S. troops  —  Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, made a surprise visit to U.S. troops this afternoon.  —  They showed up at the USO in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.  There they mingled with the returning soldiers, thanked them …

GOP plan to extend tax cuts for rich adds $36 billion to deficit, panel finds  —  A Republican plan to extend tax cuts for the rich would add more than $36 billion to the federal deficit next year — and transfer the bulk of that cash into the pockets of the nation's millionaires …

New claims for unemployment aid reach 484K  —  New applications for jobless benefits rise to highest since February as layoffs continue  —  Companies:  —  Related Quotes  —  SymbolPriceChange  —  CFN  —  22.70  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The employment picture is looking bleaker …

‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Imam Was A Bush-Era Partner For Mideast Peace  —  Tuesday, Reps. Peter King (R-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) called Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf — best known for his work with multicultural Cordoba Initiative to build a mosque and community center in Lower Manhattan …

Senate approves $600M border security bill  —  The Senate passed a $600 million border security bill during a rare recess session Thursday, sending it to President Obama for his signature.  —  Because Republicans and Democrats agreed to pass the legislation by unanimous consent …

In The Matter Of Robert L. Gibbs  —  There he goes again.  What gets me is how unprofessional the whole thing is.  —  Look, if you're a public figure of any kind, you're going to face a lot of criticism.  Much of it will seem unfair to you; some of the unfair criticism will come from people …

Netanyahu, the anti-Obama  —  Two photographs adorn the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.  Together they illuminate a portentous fact: No two leaders of democracies are less alike — in life experiences, temperaments and political philosophies — than Netanyahu …

U.S. bailouts benefited foreign firms, report says  —  The federal government's effort to stabilize the financial system in 2008 by flooding money into as many banks as possible resulted in a boon to many foreign firms and left the United States shouldering far more risk than governments …

Cohee at OneUnited, bank in Maxine Waters case, has checkered record  —  As chairman and chief executive of OneUnited Bank, Kevin L. Cohee has sought to build a company that is about more than just money.  He promoted the bank, now at the center of a House ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters …

Paterson Aide Charged With Assault  —  David W. Johnson, one of Gov. David A. Paterson's closest aides, surrendered to Bronx prosecutors Thursday morning to face misdemeanor assault charges, a person briefed on the matter said.  —  Mr. Johnson arrived at the office of the Bronx district attorney shortly …