It was, as President Bush put it, a "thumpin'" defeat. The verdict of the American people may be neatly summarized in Oliver Cromwell's lordly dismissal of the rump Parliament: "Depart, and let us have done with you!" Or in the blunt vernacular of the bleacher faithful: "Throw the bums out!"
Leave it to Art Buchwald to bring humor to hospice. Last February, the famed satirist was diagnosed with terminal kidney failure, given three weeks to live, and transferred to a hospice for a quiet goodbye. Then the unexpected happened. His kidneys almost miraculously started working again. The poisons in his blood that were supposed to carry him out in peaceful slumber washed out of his system, leaving instead a funny bone stunned and amused by the absurdity of the situation. It's not every day that someone flunks hospice. Seasoned author that he is, Buchwald turned the irony into a book. I spoke to him by phone from his home last week on the day Too Soon to Say Goodbye hit store shelves. He told me he was not completely well, but chalked it up as one of those things. "You're not out of the woods, but you're happy to be where you are."
AP - The Shiite prime minister promised Sunday to reshuffle his Cabinet after calling lawmakers disloyal and blaming Sunni Muslims for raging sectarian violence that claimed at least 159 more lives, including 35 men blown apart while waiting to join Iraq's police force.
AP - Responding to a humbling election, White House aides said Sunday that President Bush would welcome new ideas about the unpopular war in Iraq, even from Democrats he had branded as soft on terrorism.
AP - Republican Sen. John McCain said Sunday he is taking the initial steps for a White House bid in 2008, setting up a committee that allows a potential candidate to raise money and travel the country to gauge support.