From Maria Bartiromo’s interview of Condi Rice in the current issue of BusinessWeek:

MB: Would you consider a position in business or on Wall Street?

CR: I don’t know what I’ll do long-term. I’m a terrible long-term planner.

Maybe you had a life and weren’t able to stay up all night last night to watch the GOP filibuster on the Iraq withdrawal bill. But with the help of TPM Readers who did we’ve put together a highlight reel of some of the best or just, well, some of the choicest moments (there’s some really good stuff). At one point, right at the end of the segment, Sen. Inhofe (R-OK) gets so wound up about how good things are going in Iraq that he appears to waver momentarily in his opposition to gays in the military. Take a look …

Hillary campaign officially responds to Elizabeth Edwards’ criticism of her record on women’s-rights issues. That and other political news of the day in today’s Election Central Happy Hour Roundup.

That land deal involving Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) that TPMmuckraker’s Laura McGann broke on Monday just got a whole lot more interesting.

More shortly . . .

Wow. It really does defy comprehension sometimes how bad congressional reporters can be at reporting what’s going on in Congress. Check this out.

Late Update: Looking more closely at the question and answer I linked to in this post, I can see what the Post reporter was saying. I think it’s a strained reading, but my original criticism was too strong.

New evidence surfaces of more pro-choice lobbying by Fred Thompson. That and other political news of the day in today’s Election Central Morning Roundup.

Laura McGann has the rundown on the breaking news from Alaska regarding the sweetheart land deal for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Short version: Murkowski bought riverfront property on the Kenai River from a politically connected developer for $179,400, which just happened to be the assessed value of the property for property tax purposes. There are indications that the fair market value of the property may be nearly twice what Murkowski paid.

If only I could pick up real estate for the assessed value. Guess you have to be a U.S. senator for that kind of score.

Update: I’ve gotten a couple of emails–from readers in Massachusetts and Virginia, respectively–who would be happy to sell me property at the assessed value, saying that FMV is actually lower than their assessments. I’d be curious to know where else in the country this is the case.

In any event, our reporting shows that assessed value does trail FMV in the area where Murkowski’s property is located.

In today’s episode of TPMtv, we ask Afghan Ambassador Said T. Jawad about some of the more controversial aspects of the war in Afghanistan: from torture on Afghan soil to the spike in civilian casualties to the allegation that President Hamid Karzai’s brother is involved in the opium trade. His take on Iran’s influence in Afghanistan might surprise you. Take a look.

Sidney Blumenthal previews the next scene of the Iraq debacle:

Gen. Petraeus is promised as the dramatic hero who will stride to triumph in the last act. The author of a recent study of counterinsurgency who has not previously fought such a war, he has been thrust into the spotlight partly because his halo is yet untarnished. Bush’s unpopularity disqualifies him from the “Mission Accomplished” moment. So he pushes out his handpicked general and walks behind his chariot, hoping the cheering of the crowd will be also for him. In his July 12 press conference, Bush mentioned Petraeus 11 times, his name flourished as a talisman for “victory.” The generals with the greatest experience with the Iraq insurgency, who opposed Bush’s surge, such as Gen. John Abizaid, an Arabic speaker, have been discharged or reassigned. The burden on the ambitious general to produce a military solution is unbearable and his breaking inevitable. But for now, Petraeus’ tragedy foretold is being cast as the first dawn of a happy ending.

As Josh mentioned a few days ago, Bush still wants his parade.

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) is still the Southern regional chairman of the Giuliani for President camapign, and the DC Madam still wants to call Vitter as a witness at her trial.

If Vitter is forced to testify, he would have three options, the Times-Picayune observes:

A subpoena would present Vitter with an awkward choice, legal experts said. He could say he hired a prostitute. He could assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and say nothing. Or he could acknowledge that he hired an escort but that nothing illegal happened.

Fun choices.

Late update: CREW has filed an complaint against Vitter with the Senate Ethics Committee.