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 …

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.

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 Libya War argument  —  In April, 2003, American troops entered Baghdad and Saddam Hussein was forced to flee; six months later, the dictator was captured ("caught like a rat in a hole," giddy American media outlets celebrated) and eventually hanged.  Each of those incidents caused massive numbers …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

Jason Chaffetz is out, but Orrin Hatch isn't in the clear  —  After publicly dangling the prospect for months, GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz was set to announce Monday he won't challenge Sen. Orrin Hatch next year, removing a menacing threat to the six-term senator's reelection prospects.