Dems Prep For SCHIP Redux

President Bush made a fresh entreaty to congressional Democrats on children’s health insurance, but the offer was too little, too late for party leaders prepared to vote Thursday on a new bill to expand the program.

The legislation (HR 3963) is identical to a measure Bush vetoed Oct. 3, except for a few changes designed to draw enough Republican support to win a second veto override vote. The House fell 13 votes short of an override Oct. 18.

US announces sanctions against Iran's Revolutionary Guards

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Thursday morning a set of sanctions against Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the most powerful arm of that country's fighting forces. Before the announcement, The Washington Post described the sanctions as an "unprecedented package" against a military group that US officials say are proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and supporters of terrorism.

[The sanctions plan] marks the first time that the United States has tried to isolate or punish another country's military. It is the broadest set of punitive measures imposed on Tehran since the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy, the officials said.

McCain vs. Clinton?

So here’s a puzzle. If Rudolph W. Giuliani is leading the Republican field in the national polls, and Mitt Romney is leading the field in the early states, why is John McCain running closer to Hillary Clinton than the rest of the pack?
All the Republicans would lose to Mrs. Clinton if the election were held today, according to the ongoing poll analysis by realclearpolitics.com. But Mr. McCain does better than anyone against her in the hypothetical one-on-one match-ups.
He loses to her by 3.3 points. Mr. Giuliani is very close — he would lose by 4 points, which is insignificant but enough for Mr. McCain to claim bragging rights. Mr. Romney would lose to Mrs. Clinton by 10.3 points. Fred Thompson would lose by 11.7 points.
And yet in national polls, Mr. McCain is basically tied for third with Mr. Romney, trailing Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Thompson.
What accounts for this? What advantages does Mr. McCain bring against Mrs. Clinton that he doesn’t bring in match-ups against his rivals?

Betrayal is the operative word for former CIA agent in 'Fair Game'

When former undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's identity was revealed by columnist Robert Novak in The Washington Post, she found herself at the center of a political and media maelstrom. Novak's July 14, 2003, column appeared a week after Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson, had attacked President Bush for faulty intelligence claims prior to the iraq invasion. Plame gets her book title from Karl Rove's assertion that Joseph Wilson's wife was "fair game." Plame meticulously describes the "smear campaign" orchestrated from the vice president's office intended to discredit her husband. Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, revealed Plame's identity to Novak and other media members, leading to Libby's indictment and a 30-month prison sentence. No charges were brought against Cheney or Rove, and on July 2 of this year President Bush used his executive power to commute Scooter Libby's 30-month prison sentence.

5 States Could Lose Half GOP Delegates

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican Party leaders on Monday recommended punishing five states for shifting their nomination contests earlier, moving to strip New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wyoming of half their delegates.

At least one state, South Carolina, is considering legal action in an effort to keep its delegates to next year's Republican National Convention.

Hu Jintao to lead China for five more years

Chinese President Hu Jintao has been named as head of the ruling Communist Party for a second term, an endorsement for him to lead the country for five more years.

The 64-year-old Mr Hu was named as party general secretary and head of the elite Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), which is the most powerful political body in the country.

"We are keenly aware of our difficult task and grave responsibilities," Mr Hu told reporters as the new leadership team appeared before the press.

Backers of Vetoed SCHIP Bill Say It's Misunderstood

President Bush has made good on his promise to veto a bill to expand a popular children's health insurance program, saying the bill could lead the nation toward a system of socialized medicine.

But backers of the measure, who are working to override the veto, say the president doesn't understand how the bill would actually work.

Sinking In A Swamp Full Of Blackwater

Members of the US-based Blackwater private security firm scan Baghdad city center from their helicopter in this 2005 file photo: "The Blackwater desperados are a sinister symbol of how little progress we've made in Iraq."

House Committee Slams Blackwater

The embattled private security firm Blackwater USA has fired 122 of its hired guns in Iraq for a laundry list of bad acts over the last three years, according to a report released on Monday by the Democratic staff of the House Oversight Committee.

The report, which was released the day before the committee is scheduled to hear from State Department officials and Blackwater founder Erik Prince about the use of private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, notes that among those terminated 28 were fired for weapons-related incidents, 25 for drug and alcohol violations and 16 for inappropriate or lewd conduct.

Obama Raises 19million In 2008 Chase

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. Barack Obama raised $19 million in the last three months in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, adding 93,000 new donors and bringing his total haul to $75 million, his campaign said on Monday