Republicans Against Science  —  Jon Huntsman Jr., a former Utah governor and ambassador to China, isn't a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination.  And that's too bad, because Mr. Hunstman has been willing to say the unsayable about the G.O.P. — namely, that it is becoming the “anti-science party.”

Is Rick Perry dumb?  —  Another Texas governor who drops his “g's” and scorns elites is running for president and the whispers are the same: Lightweight, incurious, instinctual.  —  Strip away the euphemisms, and Rick Perry is confronting an unavoidable question: is he dumb - or just misunderestimated?

Michele Bachmann rally draws over 1,000 in Sarasota, but some prefer Rick Perry  —  SARASOTA — Hurricane Irene bypassed the state and spared Michele Bachmann's first campaign foray in Florida this weekend, but now she has to contend with Hurricane Perry.  —  Even as the Minnesota congresswoman …

Labor Economist to Fill Key Post  —  President Barack Obama on Monday plans to nominate Princeton University's Alan Krueger to be chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, a White House official said.  —  If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Krueger, a labor economist …

Postal Service paying fewer workers to do nothing  —  The U.S. Postal Service, expecting $7 billion in losses this year amid slumping mail volume, is still paying thousands of its workers millions of dollars each year to do nothing.  —  But it's paying tens of millions of dollars less for …

Cantor: No Disaster Relief Funding For Hurricane Irene Without Budget Cuts  —  Despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene this weekend, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) today stood by his call that no more money be allocated for disaster relief unless it is offset by spending cuts elsewhere.

American Theocracy Revisited  —  During George W. Bush's presidency, many liberal and secular Americans came to regard religious conservatives not merely as their political opponents, but as a kind of existential threat.  The religious right, they decided, wasn't a normal political movement.

President Obama arrived back in Washington after his August vacation to deal with a hurricane, but Irene was only the first of many tests awaiting the embattled commander-in-chief.  —  With his approval ratings at the lowest point in his presidency, Obama returns to face a restless Congress …

Veteran and Military Spouse Dragged from Rumsfeld Book Signing  —  Yesterday Coffee Strong published a summary of the events that took place at the Donald Rumsfeld book signing on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  Below is the text from our official press release, sent to our media contacts this morning:

CNN Exclusive: Lockerbie bomber comatose, near death, family says  —  Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi is comatose, near death and likely to take secrets of the attack on Pan Am Flight 103 to his grave.  —  CNN found al-Megrahi under the care of his family …

Ugly?  You May Have a Case  —  Daniel S. Hamermesh, a professor of economics at the University of Texas, Austin, is the author of “Beauty Pays,” published this month.  —  BEING good-looking is useful in so many ways.  —  In addition to whatever personal pleasure it gives you …

George Will Slams Dick Cheney For Not Apologizing For Iraq  —  Damn it, I hate it when this happens.  I actually agree with George Will.  As I reel from worlds colliding, let's look at the astonishing admission of wrongness on behalf of a Republican to which George Will wants an apology:

A Hurricane of Hype  —  Irene fell far short of the media's dire warnings even before it was downgraded.  Howard Kurtz on the scaremongering by television and local officials.