Chirac Unfazed by Nuclear Iran, Then Backtracks  —  President Jacques Chirac said this week that if Iran had one or two nuclear weapons, it would not pose a big danger, and that if Iran were to launch a nuclear weapon against a country like Israel, it would lead to the immediate destruction of Tehran.

Senators Unite On Challenge to Bush's Troop Plan  —  Revised Warner Language That Protects Funds Is Embraced for Bipartisan Appeal  —  Democratic and Republican opponents of President Bush's troop-buildup plan joined forces last night behind the nonbinding resolution with the broadest bipartisan backing …

Biden Unwraps His Bid for '08 With an Oops!  —  In an era of meticulous political choreography, the staging of the kickoff for this presidential candidacy could hardly have gone worse.  —  Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who announced his candidacy on Wednesday with the hope …

A hearty F*** You to William Arkin  —  Update: Marc Danziger, the Armed Liberal over at Winds of change is much less hyperbolic about Arkin than I am and check on Fuzzy Bear's stuff too.  —  Apologies for the F bombs bursting in air, but...well just read on.

Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins dies at 62  —  Best-selling author, sharp-witted Texas liberal succumbs to breast cancer  —  Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins poses for a portrait at her home Sept. 22 in Austin, Texas.  She died Wednesday at 62 after a long battle with breast cancer.

MATIER AND ROSS  —  AIDE QUITS AS NEWSOM'S AFFAIR WITH HIS WIFE IS REVEALED  —  Campaign manager confronts mayor, who is 'in shock'  —  San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's re-election campaign manager resigned Wednesday after confronting the mayor about an affair Newsom had with his wife …

Request for Ideological Comment  —  "As in a church, everyone has an opinion how things ought to run.  Internet users express their opinions through meetings of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).  The IETF is another volunteer organization...  [Requests for Comment] RFCs are the documents that define the Internet.

Sanchez Accuses Democrat of Calling Her a 'Whore,' Resigns from Hispanic Group  —  Rep. Loretta Sanchez has quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accusing the chairman, Rep. Joe Baca, of telling people she's a "whore."  —  Baca denied the charge.  —  In an interview with The Politico Wednesday …

Now That a Penny Isn't Worth Much, It's Time to Make It Worth 5 Cents  —  How dumb do you have to be to mint money at a loss?  In the latest only-in-Washington episode, we find that the government may have lost as much as $40 million coining pennies and nickels last year.

Franken tells DFLers he's running for Senate  —  WASHINGTON - Comedian and radio talk show host Al Franken has begun calling Democratic members of Congress and prominent DFLers to tell them he will definitely challenge Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008, the Star Tribune has learned.

New York Times Reports 4Q Loss of $648M  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times Co. posted a $648 million loss for the fourth quarter on Wednesday as it absorbed an $814.4 million charge to write down the value of its struggling New England properties, The Boston Globe and the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Wherever a Senator's Question Leads, Kissinger Gamely Follows  —  So now it can be told: President Bush has a secret plan to end the war in Iraq.  —  Henry Kissinger, who as Richard Nixon's secretary of state learned something about secret plans, went before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday …

Audio: William Arkin supports the troops in his own funny little way  —  Here's the man of the hour, playing softball last night with Alan Colmes about the WaPo column heard 'round the blogospheric world.  Well, the right side of the blogospheric world, anyway.  —  N.B.: The clip has been heavily edited.

Bush Addresses Income Inequality  —  Economic Speech Touches on Executive Pay as Senators Move to Rein It In  —  President Bush acknowledged Wednesday that there is growing income inequality in the United States, addressing for the first time a subject that has long concerned Democrats and liberal economists.

Iraq Restricts Air, Land Passages to Syria, Iran  —  Iraq indefinitely halted all flights to and from Syria and closed a border crossing with Iran as the government prepares for a security crackdown, a parliament member and an airport official said Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.