Credibility, Chutzpah And Debt  —  To understand the furor over the decision by Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, to downgrade U.S. government debt, you have to hold in your mind two seemingly (but not actually) contradictory ideas.  The first is that America is indeed no longer the stable, reliable country it once was.

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A Self-Fulfilling Euro Crisis?  (Wonkish)  —  There will probably be big action in the euro zone tomorrow; so, some quick analytical notes.  —  The big question, I believe, is whether the Italian and maybe Spanish crises are the kind of thing that might be brought under control by ECB bond purchases.

Explosive Jackie O tapes ‘reveal how she believed Johnson killed JFK and had affair with movie star’  —  Jackie Onassis believed that Lyndon B Johnson and a cabal of Texas tycoons were involved in the assassination of her husband John F Kennedy, ‘explosive’ recordings are set to reveal.

The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks  —  Sigh.  Seriously, Tina Brown?  —  Yes, I'm talking about you, Oxford University-educated Newsweek/Daily Beast editor Tina Brown.  —  You've resorted to recycling bottom-of-the-barrel moonbat photo cliches …

Wis. Dem memo: Victory predictions “dangerous”  —  MADISON Wis. — Democrats on the ground here are increasingly confident they will pick-up two state Senate seats, but are warning that winning the third necessary for a takeover is a tenuous prospect.  —  Despite hype from some in the party apparatus …

No Chance of Default, US Can Print Money: Greenspan  —  Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Sunday ruled out the chance of a US default following S&P's decision to downgrade America's credit rating.  —  “The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that.

Voters Want a Change Politicians Can't Deliver  —  WASHINGTON — Here is the bad news for President Obama and incumbents in both parties: it can get worse — and stay that way for a long time.  —  That might sound like catastrophic thinking after Mr. Obama's nerve-jangling birthday week …

Duncan to issue ‘No Child’ waivers  —  Seeing “no clear path” toward reauthorizing the “No Child Left Behind” education law, the Obama administration will unilaterally issue waivers to states, exempting them from some of the law's regulations.  —  “Today we're less than a month from the start …

Second Recession in U.S. Could Be Worse Than First  —  If the economy falls back into recession, as many economists are now warning, the bloodletting could be a lot more painful than the last time around.  —  Given the tumult of the Great Recession, this may be hard to believe.

Pawlenty changes his approach on health care  —  He favored exchanges and was ‘open to’ mandates.  Then he ran for president.  —  WASHINGTON - In his presidential campaign autobiography, “Courage to Stand,” former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty recalls a man in a wheelchair who approached him at an airport in Mankato.

A.I.G. to Sue Bank of America Over Mortgage Bonds  —  The American International Group is planning to sue Bank of America over hundreds of mortgage-backed securities, adding to the surge of investors seeking compensation for the troubled mortgages that led to the financial crisis.

Mark O. Hatfield, Republican Champion of Liberal Causes, Dies at 89  —  Mark O. Hatfield, a liberal Republican who challenged his party's positions on the Vietnam War and on a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution during his 30 years as a Senator from Oregon, died on Sunday.  He was 89.

S.&P. Downgrade Is Seen as Adding Urgency to Debt-Cutting Panel  —  WASHINGTON — The downgrade of the United States government's credit rating by Standard & Poor's is almost sure to increase pressure on a new Congressional “supercommittee” to mute ideological disagreements and recommend …

Geithner tells Obama he will remain as Treasury secretary  —  Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has told President Obama he plans to remain in his job through the fall of 2012, keeping in place Obama's longest-serving economic adviser after the first-ever U.S. credit downgrade and renewed fears of a second recession.