Obama Hits a New Low for Leadership, With Criticism on ISIS & Immigration Alike  —  Barack Obama's rating for strong leadership has dropped to a new low in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, hammered by criticism of his work on international crises and a stalled domestic agenda alike.

Ben Carson Defends Ray Rice: Don't Start ‘Demonizing This Guy’  —  Ray Rice hasn't found many media defenders on Monday after the Baltimore Ravens terminated his contract and and the NFL suspended him indefinitely following the release of surveillance video showing him punching out his then-fiancée Janay Palmer.

In first speech back, Reid blasts Koch brothers  —  It took Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) less than 10 minutes on Monday to mention conservative billionaires David and Charles Koch in his first floor speech after Congress's five-week August recess.

A President Whose Assurances Have Come Back to Haunt Him  —  WASHINGTON — When President Obama addresses the nation on Wednesday to explain his plan to defeat Islamic extremists in Iraq and Syria, it is a fair bet he will not call them the “JV team.”  —  Nor does he seem likely to describe Iraq as …

Rothenberg: Senate GOP Gains At Least 7 Seats  —  While the current Rothenberg Political Report ratings don't show it, I am now expecting a substantial Republican Senate wave in November, with a net gain of at least seven seats.  —  But I wouldn't be shocked by a larger gain.

Watergate's most lasting sin: Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, and the pardon that made us all cynics  —  Ford let Nixon off 40 years ago today.  That launched Iran-Contra, “too big to fail” — and proved power trumps law  —  When you've published a book about Watergate, your phone rings off …

The Twenty-Eight Pages  —  On the bottom floor of the United States Capitol's new underground visitors' center, there is a secure room where the House Intelligence Committee maintains highly classified files.  One of those files is titled “Finding, Discussion and Narrative Regarding Certain Sensitive National Security Matters.”

Steven Sotloff spokesman blasts White House handling  —  A spokesman for Steven Sotloff's family contends the slain American journalist was sold to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant by Syrian rebels and says the Obama administration “could have done more” to save him.

Udall: Beheaded American Journalists Would Have Wanted Cautious Approach to ISIS  —  The president has in recent days taken fire from members of his own party for taking a low-key approach to tackling the problem presented by the Islamic State, particularly as the images of two American journalists kidnapped …

2014 Is Not 1931  —  Robert Kagan accuses Obama of appeasement.  Where's his evidence?  —  Everyone has—or should have—a list of the commentators they disagree with fundamentally but nonetheless admire.  When it comes to foreign policy, Robert Kagan tops mine.

In D.C., a 13-year-old piano prodigy is treated as a truant instead of a star student  —  Avery Gagliano is a commanding young pianist who attacks Chopin with the focused diligence of a master craftsman and the grace of a ballet dancer.  —  The prodigy, who just turned 13 …

The Perils of Standing While Hispanic in the Bronx  —  Meet Santiago Hernandez, 23.  He lives in the Bronx.  On a Monday evening last month, he was standing in front of an apartment building at around 6 p.m. when two NYPD police officers appeared and demanded permission to frisk him.  He complied.

Nutter Agrees To Sign Bill Softening Marijuana Laws in Philadelphia  —  PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Mayor Nutter today agreed to sign into law a bill that essentially decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana.  But he says he'll sign it only after City Council tweaks certain details of the measure.

New KSN poll shows Roberts and Orman tied for U.S. Senate  —  WICHITA, Kansas — The Democratic candidate in the race for U.S. Senate, Chad Taylor, withdrawing last week from the race has created an interesting dynamic going forward, in the race to represent the state of Kansas on the Senate floor on Capitol Hill.

North Carolina's GOP Senate Candidate Won't Commit To Supporting McConnell  —  Thom Tillis says he wants to be an “independent” senator and won't commit to supporting Mitch McConnell for Republican leader.  —  AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool  —  WILSON, N.C. — Thom Tillis …