Iran's senior ayatollah slams election, confirming split  —  Mousavi supporters streaming down Vali Asr Street in Tehran Tuesday.  —  TEHRAN, Iran — Supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his main rival in the disputed presidential election, Mir Hossein Mousavi …

W.H.: Fired IG ‘confused, disoriented’  —  President Barack Obama removed a government agency's internal watchdog last week and plans to fire him in part because he was “confused” and “disoriented” at a meeting last month, the White House said in a letter to Congress Tuesday night.

Dems reel on healthcare  —  Congressional Democrats and the White House are scrambling to regain their footing after a series of setbacks has stalled political momentum to reform the nation's healthcare system.  —  Despite having a popular president in the White House and comfortable majorities in Congress …

Letterman protest draws more media than activists  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — A protest rally against David Letterman over a failed joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her daughter attracted more members of the media than protesters Tuesday afternoon.  —  A crowd of 15 protesters upset …

Out of Washington, Edwards Finds Worries Remain  —  John Edwards says he has few illusions.  He knows the picture many Americans hold of him is not a pretty one.  He also knows that even before he was engulfed in tabloid scandal, his electoral appeal had limits.

U.S. to Extend Its Job Benefits to Gay Partners  —  President Obama will sign a presidential memorandum on Wednesday to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees, administration officials said Tuesday evening, but he will stop short of pledging full health insurance coverage.

I'm pretty sure this is why Juan Williams isn't allowed to associate himself with NPR when he appears on The O'Reilly Factor  —  If folks didn't see this clip from Monday night, it's a beaut.  Not only does the reliable O'Reilly backstop Juan Williams eagerly assure the host that he was right …

Obama Blueprint Deepens Federal Role in Markets  —  Plan to Overhaul Financial Regulation Focuses on Consumer Protection, Risk  —  The Obama administration last night detailed a series of proposals to involve the government more deeply in private markets, from helping to steer borrowers …

Iran's soccer team wears symbolic green bands  —  TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) — Members of Iran's national soccer team wore green arm and wrist bands Wednesday during their World Cup qualifying match against South Korea.  —  The team does not normally wear green bands.

The Ensign affair vs. the Conyers case  —  Ugh.  What a wretched dog.  GOP Sen. John Ensign of Nevada cheated on his beautiful wife — the mother of his three children — with a campaign aide who was married to one of his Senate staffers.  He rode his high horse as a guardian of marriage and Promise Keepers.

Ahmadinejad's Millions of Photoshopped Supporters  —  With the world press confined to quarters, and only the Islamic Republic's propaganda station, Press TV reporting on what is happening, it is difficult to get a clear picture of whether there is any real support for the regime and Ahmedinejad's candidacy.

With a Hint to Twitter, Washington Taps Into a Potent New Force in Diplomacy  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration says it has tried to avoid words or deeds that could be portrayed as American meddling in Iran's presidential election and its tumultuous aftermath.

The Politics of Controlled Crisis  —  Longtime AI commenter John Thacker, at Marginal Revolution: … I have asked this question a number of times, less pithily.  Few wonks are even willing to acknowledge that expanding a program does not usually make it then easier to reform.

Please Don't Fire Sherri Goforth; She's Just Pus on a Festering Wound  —  It is easy, maybe proper, to call for the firing of Sherri Goforth after she sent a racist email from the office of Senator Diane Black.  Yes, it's hard to see your good tax money supporting a half-wit bigot.  But please don't fire her.

Health insurers refuse to limit rescission of coverage  —  Workers received high marks on performance reviews after policies were rescinded, documents show.  The health insurer denies the practice is a factor in evaluations.  —  Blue Cross of California encouraged employees through performance evaluations …

Obama takes aim at Fox News  —  (CNN) - Brushing off suggestions Tuesday the media is not critical enough of his administration, President Obama couldn't help but take aim at one cable news channel in particular.  —  “It's very hard for me to swallow that one,” Obama told CNBC when asked whether he thinks the media is too easy on him.

Nathan Bedford Forrest Has Beautiful Eyes  —  Of the many reckonings that black people of honest political consciousness must endure, the appointment with black slavery is the most agonizing.  I don't mean the appointment with the notion of white people as the enslavers of our ancestors …