You may have seen over at Election Central that among the day’s 9/11 commemorations is one hosted by Sean Hannity and featuring, among others, Oliver North, Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, and Ann Coulter. Now, Coulter has had some less than sympathetic things to say about some of the 9/11 widows, at one point remarking, “I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much.” So it seemed a little odd that Rudy would be appearing at the same 9/11 event as Coulter given that his links to the attacks have been a featured part of his presidential campaign. Now the DNC is calling out Guiliani, demanding that he denounce Coulter’s earlier remarks.

Does my headline pretty much get it right?

The AP is slugging this story: “Officials: Bush to announce troop cut”

You have to read the details to see that it’s a troop cut next summer and whether it actually happens will depend on “continued progress.”

In case you missed it, Gen. Petraeus came back later and revised his “I don’t know” response to the question of whether being in Iraq had made us safer.

From the AP …

During a secret meeting to discuss what prosecutors say was a dirty deal to keep Alaska oil taxes low, two oil contractors said they had a powerful ally coming to town who could help build support for the plan: Sen. Ted Stevens.

The FBI played a videotape of the 2006 meeting Tuesday in a corruption trial against former Alaska House Speaker Pete Kott, who is accused of taking gifts and favors in exchange for supporting oil interests.

In the grainy video, VECO Corp. executives Bill Allen and Rick Smith can be heard talking about how to ensure passage of an oil tax bill. If approved, the bill would increase chances that a natural gas pipeline would be built, a deal that could mean huge profits for VECO.

Now, note that name: Bill Allen. And remember that criminal investigation Stevens is already the subject of? The one where the oil services executive renovated Stevens’ home for him? Yeah, same guy: Bill Allen.

Here’s our report from early June on the house renovation scandal …

Public Approval numbers in Pakistan for a few international political figures …

Osama bin Laden (46%)

Pervez Musharraf (38%)

George W. Bush (9%)

Sen. Craig’s I’m-not-guilty-after-all court date set for September 26th — four days before his self-imposed resignation deadline.

Ex-prostitute spills the beans on Sen. Vitter (R) in press conference outside senator’s DC office.

In case you’re keeping track, this was a NOLA based hooker, not the one the DC madam hooked him up with.

From the Times …

A city employee in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province, vividly described his ambivalence.

“The withdrawal of the occupation forces is a must because they have caused the destruction of Iraq, they committed massacres against the innocents, they have double-crossed the Iraqis with dreams,” said the worker, Ahmad Umar al Esawi, a Sunni. “I want them to withdraw all their troops in one day.”

Dropping his voice, he continued: “There is something that I want to say although I hate to say it. The American forces, which are an ugly occupation force, have become something important to us, the Sunnis. We are a minority and we do not have a force to face the militias. If the Americans leave, it will mean a total elimination of the Sunnis in Iraq.”

Mr. Esawi added, “I know I said I want them to leave, but if we think about it, then I have to say I want them to stay for a while until we end all the suspicions we have of each other and have a strong national government.”

Check out the rest of the article. It’s worth your time to read.

Conservative super-lawyer Ted Olson is the front-runner to be President Bush’s pick for attorney general. Senate Dems are less than thrilled, but if last week’s 4th Circuit nominee is any indication (oh, and the last 6 1/2 years), the White House will not be offering a consensus-building nominee. We already know that Senate Democrats are threatening to slow down the nomination until they get responses from the Department of Justice and White House to some of their oversight requests, but will Senate Dems fight this nomination on its merits?

Yesterday we brought you part I of our interview with 2008 Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. We caught up with the former Senator following a major policy address on counterterrorism that he delivered in New York City last Friday, September 7. In today’s episode of TPMtv we bring you Part II of our interview, in which we talk to the former Senator about how soon he would drawn down US troops in Iraq, what he thinks of the Petraeus progress report, and how he has evolved as a presidential candidate …