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 ‘thank America last’ crowd  —  Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) issued a joint statement last night on the developments in Libya.  It's worth taking a look at the lede. … Remember hearing about the “blame America first” crowd?  Well, say hello to the “thank America last” crowd.

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 …

The Cult Of The Presidency In Action  —  Gene Healy has written about what he calls “The Cult of the Presidency,” and I've written about his concept as well.  It is a pervasive mentality that views the president as a kind of national father, responsible for everything that goes well or ill …

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.

Remarks by Vice President Biden on U.S.-China Relations  —  ON U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS FOLLOWED BY Q & A WITH STUDENTS  —  THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all, very much.  (Applause.)  Mr. President, thank you for your gracious introduction.  We have an expression in the United States Senate …

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.

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.

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 …

Attorney General of N.Y. Is Said to Face Pressure on Bank Foreclosure Deal  —  Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York, has come under increasing pressure from the Obama administration to drop his opposition to a wide-ranging state settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices …

In the Race to Succeed Weiner, a Surprising Anger at Obama  —  Of all the places to hear fulminations against President Obama, one of the least expected is the corner of 71st Avenue and Queens Boulevard, in the heart of a Congressional district that propelled Democrats like Geraldine A. Ferraro …

My Response To Buffett And Obama  —  Before you ask for more tax money from me, raise the $2.2 trillion you already collect each year more fairly and spend it more wisely.  —  Over the years, I have paid a significant portion of my income to the various federal, state and local jurisdictions …

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Libyan Draft Constitution: Sharia is ‘Principal Source of Legislation’  —  The dust has not yet settled over the Libyan capital of Tripoli since rebels took control over the weekend.  But already, a draft constitutional charter for the transitional state has appeared online (embedded below).

Messing With Texas  —  Gov. Rick Perry of Texas hasn't lost an election in 10 tries.  Among his vanquished opponents, this streak has inspired not only the usual mix of resentment and respect, but a touch of supernatural awe.  “Running against Perry,” one of them told Texas Monthly, “is like running against God.”

Climate Secret: NSF Quietly Closes Out Inspector General Investigation with Complete Vindication of Michael Mann  —  NSF Inspector General: “Finding no research misconduct or other matter raised by the various regulations and laws discussed above, this case is closed.”