A G.O.P. Leader Tightly Bound to Lobbyists  —  WASHINGTON — House Democrats were preparing late last year for the first floor vote on the financial regulatory overhaul when Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio and other Republican leaders summoned more than 100 industry lobbyists …

Palin Welcomes Murkowski to Alaskan Election Race, Calls Effort ‘Futile’  —  Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said she would welcome a write-in ballot bid by Senator Lisa Murkowski, while predicting it would be a “futile” effort.  —  “Joe Miller is going to win the general,” …

Saudi diplomat seeking asylum: ‘My life is in danger’  —  Envoy says he fears persecution if he leaves the U.S. and returns home  —  A ranking Saudi diplomat told NBC News that he has asked for political asylum in the United States, saying he fears for his life if he is forced to return to his native country.

If the ‘Mosque’ Isn't Built, This Is No Longer America  —  What's Your Reaction:  —  I am opposed to the building of the “mosque” two blocks from Ground Zero.  —  I want it built on Ground Zero.  —  Why?  Because I believe in an America that protects those who are the victims of hate and prejudice.

Gingrich: Obama's ‘Kenyan, anti-colonial’ worldview  —  Citing a recent Forbes article by Dinesh D'Souza, former House speaker Newt Gingrich tells National Review Online that President Obama may follow a “Kenyan, anti-colonial” worldview.  —  Gingrich says that D'Souza has made a …

2 Local Men Burn Quran Despite Protest  —  Local Religious Leaders Follow Through With Plans  —  SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. — Despite multiple pleas to reconsider, two local religious leaders held a private Quran burning in a Springfield backyard Saturday afternoon.

When Peggy Left Barry  —  How did the first president of color become so colorless?  —  And how can Obamicans can Obama?  —  The president is everywhere, trying to get more aggressive and recapture some of his “Yes we can” mojo in an effort to fend off the rebuke that's barreling toward him from voters this fall.

Clinton claim in Whitman ad is false, state says  —  The California Department of Finance says overall state taxes went down when Brown was governor, not up.  Whitman campaign says it won't halt the ad featuring video of the former president.  —  A claim in a Meg Whitman television ad …

Six Christians rip pages from Koran in White House stunt  —  WASHINGTON (AFP) - A small group of conservative Christians tore some pages from a Koran in a protest outside the White House Saturday to denounce what they called the “charade of Islam” on the anniversary of 9/11.

Florida Republicans get political on 9/11 anniversary  —  Rick Scott is the Republican nominee for governor in Florida.  —  Sarasota, Florida (CNN) - Saturday marked the ninth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, typically a day when politics are put aside to honor the memory …

US poverty on track to post record gain in 2009  —  WASHINGTON - The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty.

Obama: U.S. not at war with Islam; ‘sorry band of men’ hit us on 9/11  —  President Obama stressed that America was not at war with Islam as he decried the “sorry band of men” who attacked the nation nine years ago in memorial ceremonies at the Pentagon on Saturday.

Time for This Big Dog to Bite Back  —  NO, he can't.  President Obama can't reverse the unemployment numbers by Election Day.  He can't get even a modest new stimulus bill past the Party of No, and even if he could, there would be few jobs to show for it until (maybe) 2011.