Obama Is Considering Strategy Shift in Afghan War  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Qaeda there and in Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

Pelosi backs away from deal with Blue Dogs  —  Speaker Pelosi is backing away from a deal she cut with centrists to advance health reform, said a source familiar with talks.  —  Pelosi's decision to move away from the agreement that was made with a group of Blue Dogs to get the bill …

Conservatives Turn Their Sights On Health Care Reform's Most Obvious Provision  —  Democrats are bracing themselves for a new line of conservative attack against a provision in the health care legislation once considered so non-controversial that it was endorsed by several major Republican officials.

Palin slams Obama's spending in debut speech in Asia  —  Former US vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said the US government was wasting taxpayers' money and could aggravate poverty, said delegates at her first speech outside North America on Wednesday.  —  Palin, the former governor of Alaska …

Obama to Set Higher Bar For Keeping State Secrets  —  New Policy May Affect Wiretap, Torture Suits  —  The Obama administration will announce a new policy Wednesday making it much more difficult for the government to claim that it is protecting state secrets when it hides details …

Whoops: Anti-ACORN Bill Ropes In Defense Contractors, Others Charged With Fraud  —  Going after ACORN may be like shooting fish in a barrel lately — but jumpy lawmakers used a bazooka to do it last week and may have blown up some of their longtime allies in the process.

Poll Reflects Afghan War Doubts  —  Obama Slips on Foreign Policy, but Gains on Health-Care and Economic Fronts  —  President Obama during a meeting with China's President Hu Jintao in New York on Tuesday.  —  President Barack Obama faces significant doubts from the American public …

Glenn Beck becomes damaged goods  —  Editor's note: This is Part 2 in a three-part series on Glenn Beck's roots.  Read Part 1 here.  —  Glenn Beck, foreground.  In the background, the scene in Tripoli, Libya, on April 15, 1986, after an American attack.  —  Sept. 22, 2009 |

Election 2010: Missouri Senate  —  2010 Missouri Senate: Blunt 46%, Carnahan 46%  —  Democrat Robin Carnahan and Republican Roy Blunt are dead even in the first Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 survey of the hotly contested race for the U.S. Senate in Missouri.

Clinton ready to be deployed to Middle East if needed  —  A U.S. official provided something of a readout of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's take on today's meeting between Obama, Israeli and Palestinian leaders, where the process has been over the past few weeks, and where it's going.

Why Is Soda So Expensive in Europe?  —  I'm one of those “drinks a ton of Diet Coke” people, and thus every time I come to Europe I find myself dismayed at the cost of soda over here.  Does anyone have a good explanation of why it's so much more expensive than in the US?

Can't all conservatives at least agree that Glenn Beck is not the enemy?  —  Lots of strong reaction to yesterday's dust-up.  Yes, I know Dan Riehl is quoting Wehner, and yes, I know Mark Levin slammed Beck.  That's OK with me.  —  Unlike a certain deranged blogger who sees enemies everywhere …

Cantor To Uninsured Woman With Growing Tumors: Get ‘An Existing Government Program’ Or Find Charity  —  At the Richmond Times-Dispatch “public square” forum yesterday, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) fielded open questions from his constituents on the health reform debate for the first time this summer.

The UN loves Barack Obama because he is weak  —  It is not hard to see why a standing ovation awaits Barack Obama when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly today, writes Nile Gardiner.  —  Barack Obama's Gallup approval rating of 52 percent may well be lower at this stage …

Union Boss Campaigns for Obama, Runs Union... from his Federal Office  —  It seems that no matter where you turn, there are federal government workers pushing a partisan agenda with taxpayer dollars: from the NEA, to ACORN, to union bosses campaigning for Barack Obama while on the job:

State rules Montco pool discriminated by banning campers  —  A state investigation found that a Montgomery County swim club racially discriminated against 56 African-American and Hispanic children in June when it revoked an agreement to allow a Northeast Philadelphia day camp to use its pool after the children' first visit.

Even Obama ‘vulnerable’ to Clinton's charms  —  President Obama, speaking now at former President Bill Clinton's Clinton Global Initiative, opened with a tribute to his Democratic predecessor's raw political talent.  —  “Now, I think everyone knows what it's like when Bill Clinton asks you to make a commitment,” he said.

Delayed Foreclosures Stalk Market  —  Debra and Arthur Scriven were served notice in June 2008 that their mortgage lender, a unit of Citigroup Inc., was preparing to foreclose on their home.  Fifteen months later, the Scrivens are still in their home near Columbia, S.C., and battling to stay there …