The last U.S. soldiers left Iraq ten days ago, as the nine-year, $800 billion-dollar war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives ended quietly. Days later, the country's fragile government threatened to collapse and bombs allegedly detonated by an al-Qaeda affiliated organization killed at least 65 people in Baghdad. Considering the elusiveness of "victory" in the war, the country's enduring turmoil, and the current war in Afghanistan, should there be a parade for the veterans of the Iraq War? more ›

The United States has scrapped plans to leave as many as 5,000 troops in Iraq, and will stick to its year-end deadline to remove all combat and support troops. According to the AP, all but approximately 160 soldiers that are attached to the US Embassy will be removed. A senior military official told the news outlet that the withdrawal would allow for limited combat-training missions if requested by the Iraqi government. more ›

Just in time for President Obama's lowest approval rating since taking office (39 percent according to Gallup) the Republican presidential race is beginning to heat up! And by "heat up" we mean "crowd the field with über-conservative candidates that think evolution has 'never been proven' and who believe states can just secede from the Union." more ›

It's almost time for the Presidential torch to be passed, and, in keeping with tradition, President-elect Barack Obama and Michelle Obama met with President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush for the pre-Inauguration coffee at the White House. Michelle Obama, who is wearing a yellow Isabel Toldeo dress and coat with teal pumps (ooh), gave Laura Bush a gift—the NBC commentators did not recall seeing an incoming Presidential family giving the outgoing family a gift before. more ›

Who knew that Laura Bush and daughter Jenna Bush's children's book tour would prompt violence? The Post reports a wheelchair-bound girl was assaulted by a Bush protester after the Bushes' 92nd Street Y appearance on Tuesday. more ›

Yesterday, Senator John McCain was welcomed and endorsed by President Bush. Bush referenced McCain's doubters and past history, "John showed incredible courage and strength of character and perseverance in order to get to this moment. And that's exactly what we need in a President: somebody that can handle the tough decisions; somebody who won't flinch in the face of danger." more ›

Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off for the 20th time last night in Cleveland, Ohio, as they head towards the big March 4 primaries next week. The rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination "traded insults," as they accused each other of negative attacks regarding their health care policies. more ›

Doug Schoen, the pollster who has worked with Bill Clinton on his 1996 reelection and Mayor Bloomberg, is stirring the Bloomberg for President pot again. He tells the Sun that Ralph Nader's decision to enter the 2008 presidential race could help Bloomberg. more ›

Senators and rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama met at the University of Texas in Austin tonight for the CNN/Univision debate. The debate was less a showdown than an "agree to disagree" type affair. You can read a transcript here and clips will start to appear, but, per Austinist, here are some of best lines of the night:

“I have to confess, I was somewhat amused, the other night, when, on one of the TV shows, one of Senator Obama's supporters was asked to name one accomplishment of Senator Obama, and he couldn't.” -- Clinton more ›

President George Bush gave his final State of the Union address, sounding positive about his leadership but also noting that there's still more to do: "From expanding opportunity to protecting our country, we have made good progress. Yet we have unfinished business before us, and the American people expect us to get it done." (You can read the entire text here.) more ›

Over the weekend, Democratic and Republican caucuses were held in Nevada, bringing victory to Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney while John McCain won the South Carolina primary (the Democratic primary will be held next Saturday). more ›

In the vicious waters of the 2008 presidential campaign, everything is fair game. President Bill Clinton learned that (again!) after a remark he made has drawn the ire of black leaders. So Clinton called into the Reverend Al Sharpton's radio show to explain why used the term "fairy tale" while criticizing Barack Obama. more ›

An exhibit at the main branch of the New York Public Library is drawing outrage from Republicans because some of the work on display depicts former and current members of the Bush administration posing for fake mug shots. Each official in the visionary series, called “Line Up”, is seen holding a slate with a date of arrest corresponding to a date when the official said something about Iraq that was not “reality-based.” Matthew Walter,... more ›

MOVIE: BAM pays homage to the late Barbara Stanwyck tonight with a screening of Forbidden. The 1932 Frank Capra-directed film (which tells the tale of a librarian who has fallen for an unobtainable/married man) was supposedly influenced by his real-life affair with the leading lady. Critic and historian Elliott Stein will discuss the film after the 6:50 screening. 4:30, 6:50 and 915pm // BAM Rose Cinemas [30 Lafayette Ave., Fort Greene] // $11 Meanwhile, the... more ›

Kevin Drew (myspace) is one of the founding members by the wildly successful Canadian art-rock collective Broken Social Scene. The daring, inventive band boasts a fluctuating roster of artists who shift in and out of the line-up depending on their various other musical pursuits; another BSS member, Leslie Feist, is currently absorbed with her suddenly massive solo career, which exploded into mainstream America after her song “1 2 3 4” became an iPod commercial. As... more ›

Democratic presidential frontrunner and New York Senator Hillary Clinton is feeling bruised from the Tuesday night debate, where the big moment was when Clinton gave meandering support of Governor Eliot Spitzer's controversial driver's license plan for illegal immigrants. more ›

The City Council unanimously reappointed four commissioners and appointed a new one to the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday (via the NY Observer). Four of the five have ties to the outer boroughs. more ›

Lonely Play, by McMost. Tag yours with "gothamist" on Flickr if you want us to use them. more ›

House Calls more ›

The week’s vegetable is quite the workhorse around the world, providing a strong nutritional punch and plenty of flavor – despite what the first George Bush thinks of it. Vegetables can’t quite predict the future, but in hindsight one might think that this revelation into the Mommy issues the Bush family has should have warned us off from them for good. more ›

It's global leader week in the city, and many who work, live and travel through East Midtown know that as intense security and more traffic are evident (plea from the Mayor: "Take mass transit"), especially as the President will address the United Nations today. Yesterday, President George Bush and First Lady Laura attended a conference on global literacy sponsored by the White House at the New York Public Library, but the bigger question was whether or not the President would come face to face with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Since Bush refuses to discuss Iran's nuclear program at the United Nations until Iran suspends uranium enrichment (though French President Jacques Chirac suggested that Iran doesn't necessarily need to suspend its program yesterday), people were atwitter at the possibility of a run-in. more ›

that we want to kill anyone and everyone that makes a "something on a something" joke. But then we realized that there was no way we could ever win this fight, and, hell, if you can't beat them, we might as well join them. And with that, you have the theme of this weeks' Gothamist network post. more ›

Gothamist remembers many things about elementary school...paper airplane experiments, painting murals in art class, playing the clarinet (poorly). What would our education have been without all those exciting activities that reached beyond reading, writing and 'rithmatic? Well, it would have been an education under George Bush's No Child Left Behind policy (not so affectionately called 'Every Child Left Behind' by many educators). Nationwide, schools are cutting everything but the basics in order to satisfy the reading and math times called for by NCLB. Wait, let's clarify...schools that are testing low are making cuts. Yes, UWS and Park Slope, your kids are fine. more ›

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The mayoral election started to heat up yesterday as Freddy Ferrer released his first attack ad against Bloomberg. The 60-second radio spot set to country music emphasizes Bloombergs relationship with George Bush and according to the Times is running largely on radio stations with mostly African-American audiences (because they, studies find, dislike Dubya more than any other group). The ad also rolls out Freddy's new slogan: "Elect Freddy Ferrer mayor. He's not like Mike, he's more like you." more ›

This week in Washington, John Roberts was confirmed as the Chief Justice of the United States. While the media will focus on the big cases and the big personalities that decide them, it's easy to overlook the law that happens locally. New York City has a rich legal history full of important cases decided by some of the country's most respected and best loved judges. Local issues have turned into Supreme Court cases, and even city cases that were never appealed can be meaningful across the country simply because they happened here. In the grand scheme of things, Martha Stewart's trial affects you far less than many of the decisions made under the radar in state court. more ›

Gothamist loves that on any given night, the performers and writers who create shows like SNL, Conan and the Daily Show are performing live at other venues around the city. It’s just one of the many reasons we love living here and this week it seems like there are more opportunities to check them out than usual. more ›

- Paris Commune, the West Village eatery that moved into new space at 99 Bank Street last year, is celebrating its anniversary by opening the Rouge Wine Bar. Quaff wines from France, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and Chile while you wait for a table upstairs, or finish off your night by sipping on a glass of cognac while you gaze at the original fresco covering two walls. Look closely and you might see Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, and a certain editor of Vogue among the romantic couples, sulky gamines, and Paris Commune regulars worked into the mural. Rouge Wine Bar at Paris Commune, 99 Bank Street, the corner of Bank Street and Greenwich Street, 212-929-0509. more ›

Cindy Sheehan, the mother who camped outside of George Bush's "Western White House" to demand he discuss her son's death while serving in the Iraq War, had been in town since Sunday, giving anti-war speeches to hundreds of people. But yesterday, her planned speech at Union Square was cut short by the NYPD who seized the audio equipment of event organizer Paul "Zool" Zulkowitz. The police say that Zulkowitz didn't have a permit to use a sound device and was given a summons. According to Indymedia reports, 60-70 people chased the police and chanted, "Police out of the park" and "Who's f-cking park? OUR f-cking park!" Sheehan was hustled out of the park quickly. more ›

Yesterday morning saw the second debate of the Democratic mayoral hopefuls and as it was hoped, this debate featured more zesty repartee. The debate was on a CBS 2 News set, with all the candidates sitting next to each other, which was a more intimate setting and perhaps made some of the candidates feel more comfortable to jostle with each other more. Congressman Anthony "Stickball" Weiner was in pitbull mode, with City Council Speaker Gifford "Don't bring up my kids' schooling even though I bring them to events" Miller a close second. Former Bronx Borough President Fernando "Journeyman" Ferrer tried to take the higher road by just faulting what Bloomberg has done, and C. Virginia "What will my campaign workers do next to screw up" Fields actually patted Weiner's hand while he attacked her. Weiner played on the general feeling that the Democratic party in NYC is faltering by saying:

"One thing I'll say to my Democratic brothers and sisters, the campaign for 2006, 2008 starts today: We have to start articulating what the vision of our party is. It's not just enough to say, 'I'm a Democrat, vote for me,' or 'I'm not Mike Bloomberg' or 'I'm not George Bush.' We have to articulate a view."