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 …

Washington Sketch: Senate Democrats Spar With One Another During Health-Care Debate  —  Let the fratricide begin!  —  Michael Moore, in town for the premiere of his new movie, stopped by a rally at the offices of Public Citizen on Tuesday to deliver a stark warning to any congressional Democrats …

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 …

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 …

High Court to Examine Local Handgun Laws  —  The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will decide whether the right to own guns for self-defense, announced by the court last year when it struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns, also covers states and other cities with gun-control laws.

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 …

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.  —  Update at bottom (2:03 p.m.): Beck fires back  —  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.

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 …

Olympia Snowe: The Political Problems of Stopping Health Care Reform  —  Olympia Snowe enjoys broad support in her home state, but she faces significant political problems if she opposes President Obama's health insurance reform.  A Snowe vote against health insurance reform results …

Sex, scorn and videotape  —  When John Edwards returned to North Carolina in the course of his long quest for the presidency, Andrew Young always met him at the airport in Edwards's big black Chevy Tahoe.  Young drove, and Edwards rode shotgun, silently raising his left hand whenever he wanted a Diet Coke …

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 …

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 …

Nike to quit Chamber post  —  Nike will relinquish its spot on the board of directors at the Chamber of Commerce to protest the business lobby's opposition to climate-change legislation.  —  “We believe that on the issue of climate change the Chamber has not represented the diversity …