Approval Ratings Drop for Obama on Health Care, Other Issues  —  Approval Rating on Health Care Falls Below 50 Percent  —  Obama's approval ratings on other front-burner issues, such as the economy and the federal budget deficit, have also slipped over the summer, as rising concern …

White House putting off release of budget update  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is being forced to acknowledge the wide gap between its once-upbeat predictions about the economy and today's bleak landscape.  —  The administration's annual midsummer budget update is sure to show higher deficits …

Financial Rescue I.G. Says Banks Funneled TARP Aid to Various Expenses  —  Many of the banks that got federal aid to support increased lending have instead used some of the money to make investments, repay debts or buy other banks, according to a new report from the special inspector general overseeing …

God, Guns, Guts, and CNN's Idiot Reporters  —  Greetings, Instapundit readers!  —  “You don't have a problem with God, do ya?”  —  This is a question posed to CNN reporter Carol Costello during a recent interview with Mark Muller, a Missouri car dealer whose company is offering an unusual incentive …

Corzine finds raising money uncomfortable  —  New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has been forced to raise money for his gubernatorial campaign for the first time in his political career.  And aides say that he is finding that the task does not come naturally.  “He kind of has a Midwestern …

Frank McCourt, Whose Irish Childhood Illuminated His Prose, Is Dead at 78  —  Frank McCourt, a former New York City schoolteacher who turned his miserable childhood in Limerick, Ireland, into a phenomenally popular, Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, “Angela's Ashes,” died in Manhattan on Sunday.

Governors Fear Medicaid Costs in Health Plan  —  BILOXI, Miss. — The nation's governors, Democrats as well as Republicans, voiced deep concern Sunday about the shape of the health care plan emerging from Congress, fearing that Washington was about to hand them expensive new Medicaid obligations without money to pay for them.

Morning Fix: Jindal Rises Again  —  Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) will wade into the national debate over health care this week by penning op-eds in Politico and the Wall Street Journal and appearing on a series of cable chat shows today and tomorrow.  —  “Governor Jindal has seen enough …

Race in 2028  —  During last week's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Republican senators kept bringing the conversation back to 2001 — the year when Sonia Sotomayor delivered the most famous version of her line about how a “wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences” might outshine a white male judge.

Video: Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl Full Hostage Video  —  Here is the entire video showing Private Bowe Berdahl in Taliban captivity.  The Taliban have threatened to murder him if the U.S. does not leave Afghanistan.  —  Until Bowe Bergdahl's captors are dead I will not rest.

TWO MILLION VISITORS!  —  About 3 p.m. today, The Other McCain recorded its 2 millionth visitor.  It took slightly more than 11 months to hit the 1-million mark on Feb. 13, and barely five months to knock down the next million.  —  We must therefore begin by thanking Carrie Prejean nude.

Subprime Brokers Resurface as Dubious Loan Fixers  —  LOS ANGELES — From the ninth floor of a downtown office building on Wilshire Boulevard, Jack Soussana delivered staggering numbers of mortgages to homeowners during the real estate boom, amassing a fortune.  —  By Mr. Soussana's own account, his customers fared less happily.

The U.S. Steers Left on Honduras  —  Why would Hugo Chavez expect Obama to help him?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  When Hugo Chávez makes a personal appeal to Washington for help, as he did 11 days ago, it raises serious questions about the signals that President Barack Obama …

The Chris Matthews Show: On Health Care Reform, Won't Someone Think About Us Rich People???  —  You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!  —  DOWNLOADS: (829)  —  PLAYS: (2560)  —  (h/t Heather)  —  Clearly, the Beltway Bubble operates …

“Rationing”  —  Thinking about the “rationing” question in health care it's worth trying to get clear.  Sometimes there are shortages of something relative to demand—think of a huge oil shock—and the government decides it wants to impose price controls.  That, in turn, leads to shortages.