Obama in Close Race Against Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Paul  —  Romney has slight edge over Obama, Bachmann slightly lags  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama is closely matched against each of four possible Republican opponents when registered voters are asked whom they would support …

FCC finally kills off fairness doctrine  —  The FCC gave the coup de grace to the fairness doctrine Monday as the commission axed more than 80 media industry rules.  —  Earlier this summer FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski agreed to erase the post WWII-era rule, but the action Monday puts …

What could Obama have done?  —  (Andrew Harrer - Bloomberg) As Jon Chait says, the New York Times tried to run a feature in which they “asked a range of Americans who don't labor in politics or the media what they'd do if they were president” and returned with a feature in which an range …

The right's bizarre response to Libya events  —  With the regime of Libyan dictator Moammar Ghadafi seemingly toppled by the rebels, the Obama administration is feeling vindicated in its decision to intervene.  But the right can't decide whether to be happy Ghadafi is gone or miserable that Obama had something to do with it.

Libya, End Zone Taunting, and the Success Curse  —  Tacking onto Nick Gillespie's post below about the Center for American Progress' end zone taunting and premature “Mission Accomplished!” declaration about Libya, here is something for the debased (but thankfully dwindling) …

Enigmas and Lies in Libya  —  As rebel forces enter Tripoli, the big question is what will happen to the Qaddafi regime.  Most of the pundits expected Qaddafi to go months ago.  It looked as though the end were truly nigh when Musa Kusa, his former head of intelligence and the power behind the throne …

Joe Biden: ‘I Fully Understand’ China's One Child Policy  —  Good news, reproductive rights advocates and neo-Malthusian environmentalists!  Vice President Joe Biden has no problem with the government forcibly sterilizing people and compelling abortions.  From his remarks at Sichuan University …

Recapture the Lockerbie Bomber  —  Just over two years ago, Scottish authorities released Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi after he had served 3,123 days, just over 11 days per victim he murdered.  The Scottish move reportedly surprised the Obama administration.

Goldman CEO hires high-profile defense attorney  —  (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein has hired Reid Weingarten, a high-profile Washington defense attorney whose past clients include a former Enron accounting officer, according to a government source familiar with the matter.

Opinion: Subsidizing Netflix  —  One of the success stories of the Internet era has been Netflix, the company that provides movies and TV shows to home viewers.  In its earlier years, Netflix was a snail-mail-only service.  You ordered a movie.  It showed up in your mailbox.

AFL-CIO seeks to boost clout with super PAC  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The AFL-CIO hopes to boost its clout by launching a new political action committee that could raise unlimited amounts of money, part of the federation's goal of building a year-round political organizing structure.

Prosecutor Asks Court to Drop Charges Against Strauss-Kahn  —  Prosecutors in the office of Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, have filed papers requesting that all charges be dropped against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund.

National debt has increased $4 trillion under Obama  —  The latest posting by the Treasury Department shows the national debt has now increased $4 trillion on President Obama's watch.  —  The debt was $10.626 trillion on the day Mr. Obama took office.  The latest calculation from Treasury shows the debt has now hit $14.639 trillion.

US Military Intervention in Libya Cost At Least $896 Million  —  ABC News' Luis Martinez (@LMartinezABC) reports: The cost of U.S. military intervention in Libya has cost American taxpayers an estimated $896 million through July 31, the Pentagon said today.

South Carolina Tea Party Chair Posts Joke About Killing The Obamas On Facebook  —  Shery Lanford Smith, the chairwoman of Sumter Tea Party in South Carolina is under fire after posting a joke about killing President and First Lady Obama on her Facebook profile last Thursday.

In LD8, Delany derailed by wife's email to Lewis  —  Former Assemblyman Pat Delany abruptly resigned last month from his post representing the 8th district after his wife sent a racially tinged email to senate challenger Carl Lewis, the former Olympic Gold medalist.

Freeman to POTUS: ‘Get pissed off’  —  When President Obama jumped on the back nine of the celebrity-clogged Vineyard Golf Club course on Sunday, he ran into none other than Morgan Freeman, Oscar winner and Obama backer.  —  Freeman, it turns out, was as free with advice for Obama …

Just One Week Into His Campaign, Rick Perry Disavows His Nine-Month-Old Book  —  Last November, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) published Fed Up, a 240-page ode to tentherism, which argues that everything from child labor laws to the Clean Air Act to Medicare violates the Constitution.