yessiree, Rep. Broun, if there is one thing a country just cannot survive, its, um, health.

Police intervention in NY 23rd? Don't you mean Obama's "jack-booted thugs"?

A White House decision on the future of U.S. policy in Afghanistan is still "weeks" away.

Karzi's 'victory' puts the US and NATO in a very ugly position. Even uglier than it is in now. At some point in the near future their is going to a violent insurgency against Karzi's regime (if their isn't an ongoing one now). This won't be the Taliban or Al-Quaida, it's going to a real insurgency against a corrupt puppet gov't widely hated and believed illegitimate by a sizable percent of the population.

What the hell are we supposed to do then. Defend Karzi? Depose him and start over again? Stay the course? And how the hell are we supposed to tell the difference between hardcore Taliban and insurgents?

That's the elephant in the room that those demanding we stay in Afghanistan refuse to deal with. Do we really want to be in the middle of three or four way civil war?

"Senate Democratic leaders, including Harry Reid, were committed to getting health care reform done before the end of the calendar year. They're not saying that anymore, which is more than a little discouraging."

I read the article that Steve linked to, and it includes another classic quote from Harry Reid: "We're not going to be bound by any timelines..."

What an asshole.

"Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say."

Children in poverty, beee-atches -- they smell of Freedom!

USA! USA!

"Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps"

Those kids are just lazy. They should pull themselves up by their boot straps and get a job. No one ever got anywhere waiting for a government handout. This is what happens when you elect people from the democrat party.

A new poll shows a plurality of Nebraskans supporting a public option, 46% to 44%.

Even if that difference is statistically significant, it is still too insignificant to make Nelson take notice.

I have a question for any New York staters out there: I'm assuming that it was too late for Scozzafava's name to be removed from the ballot by the time she dropped out. What happens to votes that end up being cast for her? Or is there some provision in New York to somehow block people from being able to choose Scozzafava while they're in the voting booth?

Steve, don't know whether you read all the comments, but I told you Sunday night that Fox was reporting that she endorsed Hoffman. Clearly, the network is working on his behalf.

* Some Doug Hoffman supporters in New York's 23rd began harassing voters today, requiring police intervention. -- Steve Benen

Doubtless, it was a bunch of Black Panthers, in whiteface, sent there by Obama to make Hoffman look bad.

Mnemosyne, @19:06,

Don't know about NY, but do know about VA, since it had happened twice here (both times in primaries -- Edwards last year and one Dem candidate for Lt Gov, in June). What happened was that there were large signs, prominently displayed in the precinct, saying that the candidate had withdrawn after the ballots had gone to the printer. And that the votes cast for those candidates would not be counted. So, if you voted for the withdrawn candidate, your vote was null and void and altogether wasted. I expect something similar to be happening in NY-23.

* Probably not a good sign for diplomatic efforts: "Iran's supreme leader, spurning what he described as several personal overtures from President Obama, warned Tuesday that negotiating with United States was 'naive and perverted' and said Iranian politicians should not be 'deceived' into starting such talks."

Deprived of George Bush the younger, Iran's ruling clerics must now invent another of him. *sigh*

Congressman Paul Broun Jr. (GA-10) always puts himself ahead of the 17,000 children in his district without health insurance. Why? Because he believes he is "unbeatable".

A White House decision on the future of U.S. policy in Afghanistan is still "weeks" away.

They already made a thorough review of Afghanistan last spring, and appointed McChrystal to carry out the strategy that they decided on. When they make their next decision, how long until they review it again and make another decision?

must be nice to be Harry Reid or Joe Lieberman or any congressman or senator--you can take all the time in the world to debate and negotiate healthcare reform, and preen, since you don't have to worry about dying or going bankrupt without insurance.

I have a question also, about Merkel. She's considered a conservative, isn't she? Is there a political group in any country that behaves the way our Republicans do regarding taking action on global warming? (I mean, you know, closing their eyes, sticking their fingers in their ears, and crying "I can't hear you!" over & over. So mature of them.)

Marler wrote: They already made a thorough review of Afghanistan last spring, and appointed McChrystal to carry out the strategy that they decided on. When they make their next decision, how long until they review it again and make another decision?

Oh noes! An administration that -- in marked contrast to its incompetent predecessor, which Marler supported -- evaluates its actions to see if they're effective, and chances policy if it isn't.

Good Ford, Marler, you're usually dishonest -- no one familiar with your long history of carrying water for the GOP and their sweet, sweet tax cuts buys your occasional pretense as an honest commentator -- but you usually aren't this stupid. I know there's no honest way of defending the mendacity and incompetence of your Bush administration, but this effort was simply pathetic.

Jackass.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed a joint session of Congress today

The German Chancellor? There it is- proof that Obama's a Nazi! Or a socialist! Or a communist! Or a Muslim!

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-Z