Spitzer Redux  —  There will always be candidates for public office who are ethically compromised, temperamentally unsuitable and politically incompetent, but if they insist on running anyway, who has the right to tell them not to?  Campaigns sort out the good public servants from the bad.

White House Has Known For Months Obamacare Implementation Wouldn't Work  —  Last week, it scaled back several required provisions.  They aren't the first.  And probably won't be the last.  —  If you've been reading all the Obamacare stories lately, you might get the impression …

Michael McConnell: Obama Suspends the Law  —  Like King James II, the president decides not to enforce laws he doesn't like.  That's an abuse of power.  —  President Obama's decision last week to suspend the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act may be welcome relief to businesses affected …

U.S. Considers Faster Pullout In Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — Increasingly frustrated by his dealings with President Hamid Karzai, President Obama is giving serious consideration to speeding up the withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan and to a “zero option” …

Kill the Bill  —  We are conservatives who have differed in the past on immigration reform, with Kristol favorably disposed toward it and Lowry skeptical.  But the Gang of Eight has brought us into full agreement: Their bill, passed out of the Senate, is a comprehensive mistake.

Texas Republicans: Rick Perry Leaving Governorship to Run for President  —  Perry believes that a second White House bid will be more successful because he'll have more time to prepare.  —  Rick Perry is stepping down as the longest-serving governor in Texas history to clear the decks …

Rush Limbaugh tells caller not to watch Fox  —  Rush Limbaugh had a message for one of his callers: Stop watching Fox News.  —  “Tony from Tampa” called into Limbaugh's radio show on Monday to complain about the lack of outrage from the right over President Barack Obama's policies …

Leaked report shows Bin Laden's ‘hidden life’  —  Government report obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera reveals results of investigation into AQ chief's life on the run.  —  Former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was able to hide in Pakistan for nine years due to the “collective failure” …

Criticizing CNN: Goodbye to that  —  I used to say: I criticize because I care.  But I no longer do. … As of today, I have retired from criticism of CNN for falling short of some sort of journalistic standard that news providers should maintain.  That activity no longer makes sense.

Obama is faulted on leadership  —  Supporters and critics of President Obama are looking for leadership on many pressing issues from the White House, but many believe they are not getting it.  —  On Monday, Obama held a Cabinet meeting and spoke about his effort to modernize government databases.

The IRS Mistakenly Exposed Thousands of Social Security Numbers  —  Another day, another slipup by the Internal Revenue Service.  —  The incident involves the unwitting exposure of “tens of thousands” of Social Security numbers, according to a recent audit by the independent transparency and public-domain group Public.Resource.org.

SC Gov. Nikki Haley says she was abused as a child  —  GREENVILLE, SC — SC Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday said she was physically abused as a girl by a child-care provider, offering a rare, personal disclosure that she said was meant to underscore the challenge any community faces in protecting its children.

Crucial nuclear option decision arrives for Majority Leader Reid  —  The Nevada Democrat must decide whether to trigger a controversial tactic known as the nuclear option to strip from Republicans the power to endlessly debate presidential nominees.  —  The maneuver entails changing …

Florida Accidentally Banned All Computers, Smart Phones In The State Through Internet Cafe Ban: Lawsuit  —  When Florida lawmakers recently voted to ban all Internet cafes, they worded the bill so poorly that they effectively outlawed every computer in the state, according to a recent lawsuit.

Branstad campaign hires staffers for 2014 election  —  Gov. Terry Branstad's campaign committee on Monday announced it has hired four campaign staffers to strategize for his re-election in 2014.  —  “Over the coming weeks and months,” Branstad said in a mass email to supporters from his campaign account …

IRS supporters 0-for-3 on putting scandal to rest  —  Since it was revealed in May that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) improperly targeted the tax-exempt nonprofit status of conservative groups between 2010 and 2012, defenders of the beleaguered agency have offered three broad attempts …

North Carolina protest against abortion bill ends with 64 arrests  —  (Reuters) - North Carolina's “Moral Monday” protesters, now in their tenth week, objected to a bill that could limit abortion access - the latest move to counter a conservative shift by the state's first Republican-led government in more than a century.

Egypt braced for more killings after ‘massacre’  —  Muslim Brotherhood condemns killings in Cairo, which came hours before interim president set out election timetable  —  Egyptians are braced for new violence after at least 51 supporters of the deposed president Mohamed Morsi were killed …

Larry Rhoden: ‘I am in’ for U.S. Senate  —  A state legislative leader is about to challenge Mike Rounds for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination.  —  Larry Rhoden, a Republican state senator and former majority leader of the state House of Representatives, said he's planning to run …

Judge Orders U.S. to Release Aaron Swartz's Secret Service File  —  A federal judge in Washington, D.C. on Friday ordered the government to promptly start releasing thousands of pages of Secret Service documents about the late activist and coder Aaron Swartz, following months of roadblocks and delays.