Bartlett: 'It's Never Been A Stay The Course Strategy'  —  On CBS this morning, White House Counselor Dan Bartlett claimed that the administration has "never" had "a stay-the-course strategy."  Watch it:  —  President Bush made the same claim over the weekend.  It's not true.

Open Secrets: Voting In The Blogosphere  —  Secret ballots are taken for granted in America these days, but it wasn't always the norm that it is now.  The first president elected by secret ballot was Grover Cleveland in 1892, so until Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, more presidents had been elected by open ballot than in secret.

Obama Says He'll Consider A 2008 Bid for The Presidency  —  Democratic Senator to Decide After Elections  —  Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) opened the door to a 2008 presidential campaign yesterday, saying he has begun to weigh a possible candidacy and will make a decision after the November elections.

Questions to Guide an Exit Policy  —  A realist with a wintry smile, James A. Baker III, who helped make George W. Bush's presidency possible, is seeking ways to salvage it.  After the 2000 election, Baker orchestrated the Bush campaign's lawyering against the Gore campaign's lawyering …

Washington Whispers  —  Calling President Bush's third and best treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, a different kind of bird than Washington is used to doesn't ruffle the feathers of the former Goldman Sachs chairman.  How could it?  A nature buff who got his start in birding at 26 …

State Department official: I misspoke on Iraq policy  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A senior State Department diplomat apologized Sunday for having told the Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera on Saturday that there is a strong possibility history will show the United States displayed "arrogance" and "stupidity" in its handling of the Iraq war.

Electronic Voting Machines Could Skew Elections  —  Researchers, Candidates Have Little Confidence in Machines Designed to Make Elections Easier to Call  —  Cheryl Kagan, a former Maryland Democratic legislator, was shocked when she opened her mail Wednesday morning.  —  Inside, she discovered three computer discs.

Follow-up questions for Byron Calame and the Times' Bush-bashing allies  —  Byron Calame: NYTimes' lapdog tucks tail  —  I am sure that the New York Times public editor, Byron Calame, is hoping we will all go away now.  —  Fat chance.  —  Three months after defending his paper's decision …

Mike McGavick for U.S. Senate  —  In Sen. Maria Cantwell and challenger Mike McGavick, Washington has two fully qualified choices for the Senate.  The better choice is the Republican, McGavick.  —  Some see this election as a referendum on George W. Bush.  If we did, we would be for a solid Democratic ticket.

We Can't Just Withdraw  —  I f only Iraq were like Vietnam.  After the 60-day siege of An Loc in the spring of 1972, where heavily outnumbered South Vietnamese troops and their American advisors rebuffed several North Vietnamese divisions, the Saigon government found itself …

Radical Islam finds US 'sterile ground'  —  Home-grown terror cells are largely missing in action, a contrast to Europe's situation.  —  NEW YORK - The Islamist radicalism that inspired young Muslims to attack their own countries - in London, Madrid, and Bali - has not yielded similar incidents in the United States, at least so far.

BEST GOP HOPE: SCARE 'EM SILLY  —  WITH only two weeks left 'til Election Day, Republicans won't save themselves with phony optimism - pathetic claims that, somehow, they're mounting a comeback.  They need to sound a note of alarm and fill the airwaves with specifics of exactly what will happen if the Democrats triumph.

In Balad, Age-Old Ties Were 'Destroyed in a Second'  —  Sectarian Battles Drive Out Sunnis, Create State of Siege  —  OUTSIDE BALAD, Iraq — At midweek, Shiite Interior Ministry commandos and their Shiite militia allies cruised the four-lane hardtop outside the besieged city of Balad …

Kean on Politics  —  New Jersey's Political Scion Aims to Make A Name for Himself in Washington  —  HACKENSACK, N.J. If there were a drinking game whose rules required a swig each time Tom Kean Jr. asserted that his Senate race opponent is "under federal criminal investigation," …

Columnist Settles in Propaganda Case  —  Columnist Armstrong Williams has reached a settlement with prosecutors regarding payments he received from the Education Department to promote President Bush's agenda.  —  Under the agreement, Williams admits no wrongdoing but will have to pay $34,000.