51 Vote Rules May Force a Public Option Too Liberal for Some Dems  —  As Senate leaders begin work on a Democrat-only health care bill, they're finding themselves confronted with an unexpected irony: Though the caucus has reached an uneasy consensus around a public option that's modeled …

Glenn Greenwald  —  Twice in the past month, my private communications have been splashed about the internet.  That such a thing would happen is unfortunate, and dishonorable, but sadly inevitable, I suppose.  I ignored the first case, in which a rather pathetic woman acolyte of Greenwald's published …

Time for the U.S. to Get Out of Afghanistan  —  “Yesterday,” reads the e-mail from Allen, a Marine in Afghanistan, “I gave blood because a Marine, while out on patrol, stepped on a [mine's] pressure plate and lost both legs.”  Then “another Marine with a bullet wound to the head was brought in.

The Obama Slide  —  Two tides swept over American politics last winter.  The first was the Obama tide.  Barack Obama came into office with an impressive 70 percent approval rating.  The second was the independent tide.  Over the first months of this year, the number of people …

Thesis Thrusts Va. Gubernatorial Candidate's Past Views Into Spotlight  —  The Virginia governor's race ignited Monday over Republican Robert F. McDonnell's 20-year-old graduate thesis: Democrats assailed him in e-mail blasts and interviews for what he wrote about working women, homosexuals and …

Something New On Health Care: Deal-Breakers From The President  —  This time, the President is going to be specific.  Next week, President Obama is going to give Democrats a health care plan they can begin to sell.  —  He plans to list specific goals that any health insurance reform plan …

Justice Dept. to Recharge Enforcement of Civil Rights  —  WASHINGTON — Seven months after taking office, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is reshaping the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division by pushing it back into some of the most important areas of American political life …

YOU CAN'T KEEP A BAD MAN DOWN  —  SPITZER IS EYEING A COMEBACK  —  Disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been privately talking with friends about a possible comeback, and is considering a run for statewide office next year, several sources told The Post.

Torture's Ugly Dialogue  —  Call him Ishmael.  —  Call him a terrorist or a suicide bomber or anything else you want, but understand that he is willing — no, anxious — to give his life for his cause.  Call him also a captive, and know that he works with others as part of a team …

Grassley: The ‘Only Way To Get A Bipartisan Agreement Is To Defeat A Democratic Proposal On The First Hand’  —  Over the August recess, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), one of the three Republicans engaged in the “Gang of Six” health care negotiations, has repeatedly made public statements …

CAUGHT ON TAPE: Obama HCAN Organizer Instructs Supporters How to Shout Down Opponents & Take Over Meetings  —  More Hope and Change—  A Health Care for America Now (HCAN) organizer is caught on tape outside the meeting instructing supporters on how to shout down opponents who get up to ask …

POGO Letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding U.S. Embassy in Kabul  —  Dear Secretary Clinton:  —  As you know, last month eight rockets were fired into Kabul, two landing near the U.S. Embassy.1 Not long after, at least seven people were killed and 91 wounded, including children …

Sources: Meehan Won't Run for Teddy's Seat  —  Updated with interview with Marty Meehan below.  —  Former Rep. Marty Meehan (D) will not run in the special election for Edward Kennedy's former Senate seat, according to two well-placed sources in Massachusetts.

Bachmann: ‘Slit our wrists, be blood brothers’ to beat health care reform  —  U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican, chats with a supporter at an Independence Institute fundraiser in Denver on Aug. 31.  (Photo/Ernest Luning)  —  DENVER — In a fiery speech …

Obama's Team Crosses the Rhetorical Line  —  (Update: The website cited below has been suspended by barackobama.com.  The screenshot to the right is the original page, but the embedded links will no longer work.  Click on the picture to the right for a full-screen view.)

Jindal uses taxpayer money for a helicopter to shuttle him to church.  —  A report by The Advocate in Louisiana finds that state taxpayers have been paying for Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) to go to church...in a helicopter: … Last week, Jindal said that he “visits a church when he receives an invitation” …