Liz Cheney Joins The Michael Steele Should Resign Chorus  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Another prominent neoconservative has called for RNC Chairman Michael Steele to resign in the wake of his calling the Afghanistan war a largely un-winnable conflict of President Obama's choosing.

Biden Visits Iraq, Offering Diplomacy Amid Impasse  —  BAGHDAD — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. landed here on Saturday evening for a visit that signaled a desire by the United States to step deeper into a four-month political stalemate that has become a backdrop to the drawdown of American forces this summer.

Illinois Stops Paying Its Bills, but Can't Stop Digging Hole  —  CHICAGO — Even by the standards of this deficit-ridden state, Illinois's comptroller, Daniel W. Hynes, faces an ugly balance sheet.  Precisely how ugly becomes clear when he beckons you into his office to examine his daily briefing memo.

Jefferson changed ‘subjects’ to ‘citizens’ in Declaration of Independence  —  “Subjects.”  —  That's what Thomas Jefferson first wrote in an early draft of the Declaration of Independence to describe the people of the 13 colonies.  —  But in a moment when history took a sharp turn …

Spend or Scrimp?  Two Sides in White House Debate  —  WASHINGTON — Not since the first years of the Clinton administration has a White House had to debate whether to give precedence to stimulating the economy or reducing budget deficits.  Now, as the recovery shows signs of faltering …

Gates Tightens Rules for Military and the Press  —  WASHINGTON — Nine days after a four-star general was relieved of command for comments made to Rolling Stone magazine, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates issued orders on Friday tightening the reins on officials dealing with the news media.

29% Say Stimulus Plan Helped the Economy, 43% Say It Hurt  —  Just 25% of voters nationwide believe the economic stimulus package created jobs and voters are counting on decisions made by business owners more than government officials to create the jobs needed by the nation.

Moynihan, as Nixon aide, warned of global warming  —  YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Documents released Friday by the Nixon Presidential Library show members of President Richard Nixon's inner circle discussing the possibilities of global warming more than 30 years ago.

Study of Waterboarding Coverage Prompts a Debate in the Press  —  A study released this week of the four biggest newspapers in the United States said that in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, there was “a dramatic shift in coverage away from nearly a century of practice recognizing waterboarding as torture.”

Clinton Defends Byrd's KKK Ties: “He Was Trying To Get Elected” “He once had a fleeting association with the Ku Klux Klan, what does that mean?  I'll tell you what it means.  He was a country boy from the hills and hollows from West Virginia.  He was trying to get elected,” former President Bill Clinton said of Sen. Robert Byrd.

Petraeus Assumes Command of Coalition Forces in Afghanistan  —  On Deadly Day in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus Arrives in Kabul to Take Control of War  —  As Gen. David Petraeus arrived in Kabul today to take control of the long Afghanistan war, a pre-dawn attack on an American aid organization …

Debt agony  —  Every few days Pakistan makes the worst kind of headlines: bombings in markets and mosques, battles with the Taleban.  But, much less widely reported, the daily lives of millions of Pakistanis are consumed by another problem.  They have to cope with desperate poverty.

Economy lags as job growth remains weak  —  The economic expansion is sputtering.  —  Private employers added only 83,000 jobs in June, the government said Friday, too few to keep up with growth in the working-age population.  And the unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent from 9.7 percent …

Worse Than 1982?  —  If you've already lost your job, your prospects for finding a new one are looking dismal.  Especially if you lost your job a long time ago.  —  Private-sector job growth has slowed.  The workweek also shrunk in June, and wages fell.  —  The labor market is recovering …

CNN: The feds are trying to block media coverage of how bad the oil spill is  —  Via Cubachi, a good one from last night's AC 360.  I don't think this is an “Obama problem” as much as it is a “government problem,” but of course the bold, fresh Hopenchange climate of transparency was supposed …

Are Democrats setting themselves up for failure in 2011 by not passing a budget?  —  The most important job news of the days was not the June jobs numbers.  It was a mostly ignored vote in the House of Representatives last night.  By a vote of 215 to 210, the House passed a …