Gore Vidal: 'We'll have a dictatorship soon in the US'  —  The grand old man of letters Gore Vidal claims America is ‘rotting away’ — and don't expect Barack Obama to save it  —  A conversation with Gore Vidal unfolds at his pace.  He answers questions imperiously, occasionally playfully, with a piercing, lethal dryness.

Roman Polanski: backlash as Whoopi Goldberg says director didn't commit ‘raperape’  —  Whoopi Goldberg is facing a fierce backlash after saying that film director Roman Polanski didn't commit “rape-rape” when he had unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.  —  Goldberg, star of The Color Purple …

Where Did ‘We’ Go?  —  I hate to write about this, but I have actually been to this play before and it is really disturbing.  —  I was in Israel interviewing Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin just before he was assassinated in 1995.  We had a beer in his office.  He needed one.

Sarah's lectures a tough sell  —  SARAH Palinis said to have pocketed a $7 million advance for the 400-page memoir she turned in four months early, but she might not have such an easy time on the lecture circuit.  —  After quitting as governor of Alaska in July, Palin signed …

Grayson: GOP wants ‘you to die’  —  Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., warned Americans that “Republicans want you to die quickly” during an after-hours House floor speech Tuesday night.  —  His remarks, which drew angry and immediate calls for an apology from Republicans, were highlighted by a sign reading …

Reconciliation Myths.  —  “A Primer on Reconciliation,” put together by Ken Strickland of NBC at First Read does a nice job of explaining the arcane process and some of the limits that will make it both difficult and risky to push health reform through that process, despite the appealing feature …

Senators turn back ID requirement for immigrant healthcare  —  Senate Finance Committee Democrats rejected a proposed a requirement that immigrants prove their identity with photo identification when signing up for federal healthcare programs.  —  Finance Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley …

What Obama won't say about the Afghan war today, at least publicly  —  This is a messy time for the nation's politics.  And this seemingly serene autumn day is quietly crucial.  —  Despite all the excitement and promise of a fresh Barack Obama administration cleaning house from eight years …

Corzine Creeps Up On Christie In New Jersey Gov Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Favor Property Tax Cap 8-1  —  Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine has cut Republican challenger Christopher Christie's lead in half and now trails the former federal prosecutor 43 …

Bette Midler Warns Glenn Beck Could Set Off a Rwanda-Like Civil War in U.S.  —  It's just what the primetime cable news lineup needed - another hour-long program tilted toward left-of-center politics with character assassination on conservatives.  —  CNN Headline News debuted its …

Goldberg Calls Out Fox News Hosts ‘Pretending To Be Journalists’...On Fox News  —  Something happened on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor last night that rarely occurs in cable news - criticism of a network, on that network.  FNC Contributor and weekly Factor guest Bernie Goldberg was on with Bill O'Reilly …

Why Obama Bombed on Health Care  —  The public wasn't dumb enough to believe the public option would save money.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Someday this country will have a health-care debate that's not abject in its idiocy.  —  It will involve a term used by Congressional Budge …

Sarkozy Sees Obama As Incredibly Naive & Grossly Egotistical  —  Jack Kelly from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette told Greta Van Susteren that Sarkozy is furious with President Obama over his Iran speech and his misguided global disarmament obsession.  —  French President Sarkozy thinks President Obama …

Special Health Care for Congress: Lawmakers' Health Care Perks  —  Little Known Office on Capitol Hill Provides Quality Medical Care for Low Price  —  This fall while members of Congress toil in the U.S. Capitol, working to decide how or even whether to reform the country's health care system …

Sarah Palin, a Soon-to-Be Publishing Phenom  —  Barracuda goes rogue.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Sarah Palin may no longer be governor of Alaska, but she's certainly destined to become a best-selling author.  HarperCollins, her publisher, has announced the print-run of her memoir …

Court to rule on gun rights, terrorism law  —  Taking on a major new constitutional dispute over gun rights, the Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to decide whether to apply the Second Amendment to state, county, and city government laws.  In another major case among ten new grants …

Reid cancels October recess to focus lawmakers on healthcare  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has cancelled the Senate's Columbus Day recess so that lawmakers can focus on passing healthcare reform legislation during the week of Oct. 12.  —  Reid said the Senate would likely …

ACORN Founder Answers NRO's Questions — By: Mark Hemingway  —  Last night, ACORN founder Wade Rathke spoke at Busboys and Poets, a Washington coffeehouse and well-known lefty hangout.  Rathke was promoting his new book, Citizen Wealth: Winning the Campaign to Save Working Families.