1. 1. Robert J. Samuelson: "The Obama infatuation is a great unreported story of our time."
2. 2. Richard A. Clarke: "Yes, Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice may have been surprised by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — but it was because they had not listened."
3. 3. Suspect Held in Kansas Abortion Doctor's Slaying and The Pro-Life Insurrection.

Choire Sicha:

While the Pentagon was still burning, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld was in the White House suggesting an attack against Baghdad.

Tom Scocca:

Many in the White House feared that their inaction prior to the attacks would be publicly detailed before the next vote — which is why they resisted the 9/11 commission — and that a second attack would eliminate any chance of a second Bush term. So they decided to leave no doubt that they had done everything imaginable.

Tom Scocca:

Our political system works best when a president faces checks on his power. But the main checks on Obama are modest. They come from congressional Democrats, who largely share his goals if not always his means. The leaderless and confused Republicans don't provide effective opposition. And the press — on domestic, if not foreign, policy — has so far largely abdicated its role as skeptical observer.

Tom Scocca:

Obama has inspired a collective fawning.

Tom Scocca:

Many in the White House feared that their inaction prior to the attacks would be publicly detailed before the next vote — which is why they resisted the 9/11 commission — and that a second attack would eliminate any chance of a second Bush term. So they decided to leave no doubt that they had done everything imaginable.

Tom Scocca:

The infatuation matters because Obama's ambitions are so grand.

Tom Scocca:

Many in the White House feared that their inaction prior to the attacks would be publicly detailed before the next vote — which is why they resisted the 9/11 commission — and that a second attack would eliminate any chance of a second Bush term. So they decided to leave no doubt that they had done everything imaginable.

Tom Scocca:

"I don't think he was murdered. I believe he was absolutely stopped in his tracks and it was long overdue," Dinwiddie said in a telephone interview. She declined to say when she last spoke with Roeder.

Choire Sicha:

While the Pentagon was still burning, Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld was in the White House suggesting an attack against Baghdad.

Tom Scocca:

Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, called Tiller "a mass murderer" and added: "We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God."

Choire Sicha:

And their surprise led them to adopt extreme counterterrorism techniques — but it was because they rejected, without analysis, the tactics the Clinton administration had used. The measures they uncritically adopted, which they simply assumed were the best available, were in fact unnecessary and counterproductive.

Tom Scocca:

Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, is unabashed in saying that the murder could help the anti-abortion movement.... Terry complained about the timidity of his movement's leadership, and said he was about to unveil a 14-part television series with the Latin title, "Insurrecta Nex." "It means, 'insurrection against the slaughter of innocent people,'" says Terry.

Choire Sicha: