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The career of another senator-turned-president offers valuable lessons. Lyndon B. Johnson transformed the ties between the legislative and executive branches. ’If it’s really going to work,’ LBJ said, ’the relationship between the president and the Congress has got to be almost incestuous.’

The Justice Dept. inspectors general recently released two reports on the department’s illegal politicization under former Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales. Today’s

When Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) jumped ship on the Republican Party this week, he was quick to note that, at the request of donors, he’d return contributions to

As congressional lawmakers debate whether America’s automakers deserve an emergency cash infusion, a central point of contention has been the relationship

Tim Pawlenty has been touting his record of oppositoin to abortion and funding for Planned Parenthood, but this hard-line on abortion is somewhat new. One acquaintance of Pawlenty’s says that his “pro-life” stance is faked, and a report by Mother Jones on Thursday demonstrates that Pawlenty approved a “dizzying increase” funds for Planned Parenthood and other family planning agencies — according to a local paper at the time — during his two terms as governor, as well as cutting abstinence-only programs

The Bank of America logo (Pic via blog.firstfoodbank.org) CNN Money is reporting that Bank of America is reconsidering its controversial decision to impose $5 debit card fees. The national bank’s decision to levy a new fee was met with outrage from all over the country

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has appointed a former attorney for the anti-abortion rights group Operation Rescue to a position that would have him regulating abortion providers

State Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando (Pic by Minority Office, via flsenate.gov) The Anti-Defamation League expressed disappointment with yesterday’s vote by the Florida Senate Pre K-12 Education Committee “in favor of an amended version of a divisive and constitutionally defective statewide school prayer bill.” According to a summary of the bill , it would “authorize district school boards to adopt resolutions that allow prayers of invocation or benediction at secondary school events.” The Anti-Defamation League, a group that fights anti-Semitism in public policy, says the amended bill voted for yesterday is actually more problematic than the original

Despite recent reports to the contrary, Spain’s attorney general has now reportedly decided not to prosecute the Bush Six -- the top legal officials in the Bush

The National Institutes of Health in Washington D.C. announced Thursday that a study of the impact of anti-retroviral medications on the infectiousness of those infected with the virus found the medications cut infections by 96 percent. The study confirmed a determination by the Swiss High Court several years ago

The Iranians have so far greeted every Obama administration overture to them with tepid-to-hostile reactions. Without reading too much into it -- Mahmoud

CNN picks up on a mostly overlooked component of the mortgage crisis that TWI has been following: Growing numbers of trashed and abandoned bank-owned foreclosed

Hey, remember earlier this week when we discussed how to read a troop-increase announcement? The troop numbers that are typically announced are combat troops

Some more good stuff from yesterday’s conference call with Defense Secretary Bob Gates and Gen. James Cartwright, the Joint Chiefs vice chairman. Noah Shachtman

Today the Commission on Presidential Debates launched an online toolset through MySpace, in a dedicated portal called MyDebates.org. Organizers say this is

Over at The National Review, Josh Barro has a good blog post on extending the unemployment insurance system during sustained periods of high joblessness. I am

By curbing the practice of dumping waste in valleys, the move represents the most significant administrative action ever taken to address mountaintop removal coal mining, according to one environmental group.

Incredibly, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain changed his surprise mortgage plan this week to make it even easier on lenders, Politico