For Obama, Decision to Remove General Came Quickly  —  WASHINGTON — By the time he woke up Wednesday morning, President Obama had made up his mind.  —  During the 36 frenetic hours since he had been handed an article from the coming issue of Rolling Stone ominously headlined “The Runaway General …

Prosecutor: Al Gore was focus of sex crime inquiry in Portland  —  The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office confirmed today that a woman who alleged unwanted sexual contact by Al Gore reported it to police in 2006, and the prosecutor's office was briefed by the Portland Police Bureau in late 2006 and January 2007.

Confidence Wanes in Obama, U.S. Outlook  —  Americans are more pessimistic about the state of the country and less confident in President Barack Obama's leadership than at any point since Mr. Obama entered the White House, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Liberal Dems' battle to cut defense spending reaches a turning point  —  A growing number of centrist Democrats say they're open to trimming Pentagon spending in the face of record budget deficits and mounting public debt.  —  Liberal Democrats for years have called for cuts to the massive defense budget to no avail.

Video: Cops arrest Christians for handing out gospel at Dearborn Arab festival?  Update: Pushback  —  Via Powerline, so insane is this that I'm paranoid there's a key detail missing somewhere that might explain the whole thing.  Could the Christians have been trespassing on private property, maybe?

Raining Oil in Louisiana?  Not Likely [Updated]  —  The Internet is swirling with rumors today that a gloppy mixture of oil and Corexit (the primary dispersant used in the BP disaster) is raining down on Louisiana.  Evidence is thin, and based almost entirely on the video below, but we have to wonder—is this even possible?

BP Is Pursuing Alaska Drilling Some Call Risky  —  The future of BP's offshore oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico has been thrown into doubt by the recent drilling disaster and court wrangling over a moratorium.  —  But about three miles off the coast of Alaska, BP is moving ahead …

Chicken Little-ing Lieberman's ‘Kill Switch.’  —  If you track tech politics closely, there's a good chance you can spot a Declan McCullagh column before you glance at the byline.  McCullagh, a reporter and commentator for CNET, has a tendency to hang any tech news of the day on an anti-government framework …

Harry Reid's son leaves last name out of first campaign ad  —  Nevada gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid (D) is on the air with his first campaign ad and it's missing one thing: his last name.  —  Reid, the son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), doesn't say his name at any point during the ad …

Sheldon Whitehouse: Thank ‘Republican Debt Orgy’ For Current Deficit  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A trio of Senate Democrats took the floor Tuesday evening to denounce the Republican party for its unwillingness to add the cost of extended unemployment benefits to the deficit.

The Emerging Republican Minority  —  The Center for American Politics' Ruy Teixeira, one of the top political demographers in the country, has a new paper out in which he examines the two major party coalitions, with a focus on the current and future prospects of the Republican Party.

Low Approval of Congress Points to High Seat Change in Nov.  —  President's party on average loses 29 seats when Congress approval is below 40%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans continue to give Congress low approval ratings this year, with 20% approving in the latest USA Today/Gallup poll.

Video-Rep. Kanjorski: ‘Finance bill will help good Americans, not minorities or defective people’  —  Connie Hair at Human Events has posted this shocking video of Rep. Paul Kanjorski, Pennsylvania Democrat, at a Wednesday conference committee hearing to merge the House and Senate versions …

General McChrystal's Twitters  —  Get short, timely messages from Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Twitter:  —  DAY 1  —  In Paris with my Kabul posse — Bluto, Otter, Boon, Pinto, Flounder.  Plus some newbie.  Guys call him Scribbles.  —  ∗  —  Suite's getting pretty crowded.