Journalistic Bomb

"Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) injected himself Tuesday into the forefront of a growing bipartisan call to reappraise American foreign policy in Iraq, saying the U.S. should begin a gradual withdrawal of its troops next year so Iraqis become empowered to take charge of their country's fate.

"As he scolded the White House for what he called 'shameful' attempts to silence dissent about the war, Obama urged President Bush to look beyond politics and admit that mistakes were made in Iraq."

Some of DeLay's friends haven't abandoned him:

"A campaign fundraiser for embattled Rep. Tom DeLay postponed by Hurricane Rita in September is being rescheduled for Dec. 5 with Vice President Dick Cheney as the headliner." ($4,200 buys you a prime spot and picture with the veep.)

DeLay, meanwhile, keeps paying the lawyers, as the Los Angeles Times reports:

"A judge heard arguments Tuesday over whether the money-laundering and conspiracy case against Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) should be dismissed -- with the defense asserting that the charges were flawed and the prosecution arguing that the powerful lawmaker should be held accountable for circumventing election laws."

The New York Post doesn't seem to like the latest Capitol Hill maneuver:

"In the rush to head home for Thanksgiving, U.S. senators quietly agreed late last week to give themselves a $3,100 pay raise -- a month after they voted against it.

"The below-the-radar decision to swell their salary to $165,000 annually came via voice vote -- sparing a chamber full of presidential hopefuls like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton from going on the record in favor of it."

Yeah! All those greedy senators like . . . Hillary!

Have you noticed all the great press that Mark Warner is getting since his Democratic lieutenant governor was elected to succeed him? The New Republic's Michael Crowley has:

"So, Virginia Governor Mark Warner visited New Hampshire last weekend to much fanfare. I don't have a great sense of the guy (although I must confess skepticism about anyone who uses the word 'incent' as a verb). But Monday's coverage reminded me of a striking conversation I had recently with a young Democratic operative who knows everyone around town. She told me that Warner is the 2008 Democrat all her friends want to work for, and that the buzz reminds her of how people felt about John Edwards back around 2001.