After Washington rally, Glenn Beck assails Obama's religion  —  Conservative commentator Glenn Beck voiced sharper criticism of President Obama's religious beliefs on Sunday than he and other speakers offered from the podium of the rally Beck organized at the Lincoln Memorial a day earlier.

It's Witch-Hunt Season  —  The last time a Democrat sat in the White House, he faced a nonstop witch hunt by his political opponents.  Prominent figures on the right accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of everything from drug smuggling to murder.  And once Republicans took control of Congress …

John Bolton, Criticizer-in-Chief  —  Since assuming office, President Obama has garnered his fair share of high-profile critics.  But few have been as omnipresent and implacable as John Bolton.  From his near constant appearances on Fox News and HBO's “Real Time with Bill Maher” …

Crist walks back same-sex marriage remarks  —  (CNN) - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appeared to backtrack from statements he made regarding same-sex marriage during a CNN interview Sunday, saying in a statement that he does not support a Constitutional ban on the practice.

The World Trade Center Mosque and the Constitution  —  The plan to erect a mosque of major proportions in what would have been the shadow of the World Trade Center involves not just the indisputable constitutional rights that sanction it, but, providentially, others that may frustrate it.

59 percent think Palin lacks ability to be effective as president  —  Almost three out of five Americans believe former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) would not be an effective president, a new poll found Monday.  —  Fifty-nine percent of U.S. adults said they don't think Palin …

Germany's rebound is no cause for cheer  —  One of the weirder experiences for anyone who lives in the eurozone is a visit to a German supermarket.  I had the pleasure the other day, and found the general price level there to be a little over half of what it is in Belgium, Italy or Spain.

“leans Democratic” is the new “toss-up”  —  In this post from one month ago, I listed the 26 House seats currently held by Democrats that Larry Sabato rated as “toss ups” in a mid-July analysis.  I suggested that, because Sabato also identified 13 Democratic-held seats as “likely Republican …

Orange County Is No Longer Nixon Country  —  SANTA ANA, Calif. — Orange County has been a national symbol of conservatism for more than 50 years: birthplace of President Richard M. Nixon and home to John Wayne, a bastion for the John Birch Society, a land of orange groves and affluence …

Record number in government anti-poverty programs  —  WASHINGTON — Government anti-poverty programs that have grown to meet the needs of recession victims now serve a record one in six Americans and are continuing to expand.  —  More than 50 million Americans are on Medicaid …

Environmental groups face their future in climate-change debate  —  On Thursday, some of the country's most respected environmental groups - in the midst of their biggest political fight in two decades - sent a group of activists to Milwaukee with a message.  —  We're losing.

A Note to the President  —  When you speak to the troops tomorrow at Fort Bliss, and to the nation tomorrow night from the Oval Office, you speak, of course, as the president.  As our president.  —  You won't be speaking—not in these settings—as a once (and perhaps future) candidate for president.

What Can Obama Really Do?  —  A zombie argument is going around about why Obama hasn't accomplished liberal and progressive ends to the extent many would have liked him to: … This argument is misleading in one sense and incorrect in another.  It is misleading in that it misrepresents how things get done in Congress.

This I Believe  —  It's quickly mushroomed into the summer's hottest data point: A boatload of Americans believe Barack Obama's a Muslim.  —  Except that, maybe, they don't.  Consider this instead: They're just willing to say it.  —  This not-so-subtle difference is useful in understanding public opinion and its measurement.

Economy Puts Democrats' Senate Majority in Play: Albert R. Hunt  —  Forget conventional wisdom: Republicans have a real shot at taking control of the Senate, as well as the House, in the U.S. midterm elections.  —  “This is going to be a massive election like 1974, except it will happen …

Full transcript of the ‘NBC Nightly News’ interview  —  Obama said failures in the aftermath of Katrina made it clear that “the real protection for New Orleans and the coast are the wetlands,” lessons that he said provided important guidance in allowing his administration to respond quickly in the days after the oil spill.