In the past week or so, two online GOP operatives (neither of whom is David All) have separately suggested to me that the competition among the three Republican Internet fundraising websites is effectively over.

The global warming debate arrives in the Senate next week, and it’s about time. Finally, the Members will have to vote on something real, as opposed to their buck-passing to courts and regulators, and their easy trashing of President Bush.

Politicians have two ways of responding when they are caught doing something that outrages voters: They can stop the behavior or they can find a way to continue it in a manner that’s difficult for voters to observe.

Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama have taken strong stands against earmarks in an effort to portray themselves as fiscally responsible reformers, but they have also relied on fundraisers and advisers who have fueled the explosion in spending projects.

Last May, a fax arrived at the London office of the Arabic newspaper Asharq Al Awsat from a shadowy figure in the radical Islamist movement who went by many names.