Growing Number of Americans Say Obama is a Muslim  —  Religion, Politics and the President  —  OVERVIEW  —  A substantial and growing number of Americans say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while the proportion saying he is a Christian has declined.  More than a year and a half into his presidency …

Weekly Jobless Claims Post Surprise Jump, Hit 500,000  —  New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed to a nine-month high last week, yet another setback to the frail economic recovery.  —  Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 500,000 …

Howard Dean: “Mosque” should move  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  Certain things are disappointing and surprising even for the most hardened cynics.  Hearing Howard Dean — the former liberal standard-bearer — join Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin by saying the following is definitely one of them:

The shame of New York  —  The real story of the Ground Zero mosque is that the project only became feasible because of the appalling and astonishing fecklessness of the officials who were charged with the reconstruction of the site and the neighborhood all the way back in 2001.

Operation Iraqi Freedom ends as last combat soldiers leave Baghdad  —  Lt. Col. Mark Bieger huddled his infantrymen in a darkened parking lot minutes before they were to depart Baghdad for the last time.  —  “This is a historic mission!” he bellowed, struggling to be heard over the zoom …

Sarah Palin Supports Dr. Laura In N-Word Controversy, Wants Her To ‘Reload’  —  Apparently Sarah Palin fully supports Dr. Laura, who announced Tuesday she would be quitting radio following controversy over her numerous use of the N-word on her show earlier this week.

Breaking: Blago Holdout Retired State Employee Who Once Handed Out Campaign Literature For Relative Seeking Office; NPR and Liberal Talk Radio Listener  —  Here's what Fox local news in Chicago reports: … Note that that is not yet confirmed.  It is now confirmed by CBS local news Chicago.

Sink Inching Up In Close Florida Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Crist Leads Three-Way Senate Race  —  Apparently bolstered by the civil war for the Republican nomination for Governor in Florida, State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democrat, is on the plus side …

NRSC: ‘The Next Time Democrats Call You Extreme, Show Them This Video.’  —  You see it here first, folks: the new web video from the NRSC about just whose views are “extreme” around here.  —  Their closing sequence, showcasing that the so-called extreme candidates are either leading or in dead heats …

Mosque a long shot to be built  —  When President Barack Obama turned the battle over a planned New York Islamic center into a national debate over religious freedom, he unwittingly allied himself and his party with an ill-planned, long-shot development project described by one of its most prominent allies as “amateur hour.”

The most powerful Republican in politics  —  Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is the most powerful Republican in American politics — at least for the next three months.  —  Barbour, who runs the Republican Governors Association, has more money to spend on the 2010 elections - $40 million - than any other GOP leader around.

Home Aquariums as Decorating Elements  —  KARIN WILZIG has a hard time choosing a favorite color from among the 64 that she and her husband can use to illuminate the 14 1/2- foot, 450-gallon aquarium in their TriBeCa town house.  The default is fuchsia, which turns the dozen koi a deep pink.

McCain says Bush administration deserves ‘some credit’ for Iraq troop exit  —  President George W. Bush deserves “some credit” for the last combat units leaving Iraq on Wednesday night, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said.  —  McCain, one of the foremost supporters of the war effort there …