Miller's Big Secret

"In the latest poll, that rating was 45%, up from 40% a week and a half ago. That was a low point he also hit shortly before Katrina, when bad news from Iraq intensified as he vacationed at his ranch in Texas.

"Bush's disapproval dropped from 58% a week and a half ago, the worst of his presidency, to 50%."

Here are the results .

Foxnews.com reports: "Voters are fed up. Majorities say they are tired of partisan fighting, high gas prices and the war in Iraq. A plurality thinks it would be better for the country if Democrats win next year's congressional elections, though President George W. Bush has the edge over Democrats for having a better plan for handling Iraq. In addition, the president's job approval rating is back up to its pre-Katrina level this week. These are just some of the finding of a new FOX News nation-wide poll of registered voters. . . .

"Bush's job approval rating is up four points from two weeks ago, and now 45 percent of Americans approve and 47 percent disapprove of the job he is doing as president."

Here are those results .

Who's Left Standing?

Bush has repeatedly said: "As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down." In fact that is pretty much all he has said about our exit strategy.

But apparently, it's the Iraqis who are standing down.

Josh White and Bradley Graham write in The Washington Post: "The number of Iraqi army battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one, top U.S. generals told Congress yesterday, adding that the security situation in Iraq is too uncertain to predict large-scale American troop withdrawals anytime soon."

Bush to Proceed Without DeLay

Agence France Presse reports: "The White House denied the fall of scandal-tainted political ally Tom DeLay would hamper President George W. Bush's bid to ram an ambitious second term agenda through Congress. . . .

"Bush spokesman Scott McClellan, pressed repeatedly by reporters to say whether DeLay's departure to fight conspiracy charges would hurt the president, finally said simply: 'No.' "

Et Tu, Jeb?

Florida Governor and First Brother Jeb Bush writes in a Washington Post op-ed: "As the governor of a state that has been hit by seven hurricanes and two tropical storms in the past 13 months, I can say with certainty that federalizing emergency response to catastrophic events would be a disaster as bad as Hurricane Katrina."

A stab in the back? Not necessarily. Maybe just a clever move in the blame game. Note his big finish:

"Before Congress considers a larger, direct federal role, it needs to hold communities and states accountable for properly preparing for the inevitable storms to come."

Froomkin Watch

I'm taking a breather for a few days. The column will resume on Tuesday, Oct. 11. Note to Patrick Fitzgerald: You had better not indict anyone while I'm gone.

For those of you who are -- how shall I put this? -- addicted to my column, I apologize. Here are a few ways to keep yourselves occupied in the interim.

* Check out the new White House salary list. I finally Web-published it last week. You can sort it by salary , last name or job title . You can even compare it to the 2004 staff list and the 2003 staff list.

* Check washingtonpost.com's Politics section and nytimes.com's Washington section at least once a day.

* Read Howard Kurtz's Media Notes column and William Arkin's astonishing new Early Warning blog, on washingtonpost.com.

* Spend some time in washingtonpost.com's exciting, recently relaunched Opinions section. Don't miss Toles vs. Toles , which features Tom Toles' latest Washington Post editorial cartoon and his latest online-only sketch.

* Visit some of my fellow aggregators: Slate's Today's Papers ; Slate's Today's Cartoons ; ABC News's The Note , and NBC's First Read .

* If you're not already familiar with these blogs -- just a few of the essential Washington political blogs -- then get to know them: Daily Kos , Talking Points Memo , Eschaton , Political Animal , The Corner , Redstate.org , Wonkette , the National Journal's Beltway Blogroll , Think Progress and Taegan Goddard's Political Wire , among many others.

* Do you enjoy my occasional bouts of media gossip and criticism? Check out Romenesko , FishbowlDC , Media Matters for America , Media Research Center , The Daily Howler , CBSNews.com's Public Eye , and Pressthink .

* Bush lovers will enjoy Blogs for Bush , Captain's Quarters and Powerline .

* Bush haters will get a kick out of Americablog , TalkLeft , Carpetbagger Report , Hullabaloo , Whiskey Bar and First Draft .