Clinton tacks right at left-leaning forums

Obama warned drive could offend Iowans

State of the States: They're neck and neck

Clinton seizes opportunity after crisis

Latest Paul money bomb looks like dud

Ron Paul on track to be biggest fundraiser

Today On The Presidential Campaign Trail
Guardian Unlimited, UK - 31 minutes ago
From AP By AP Poll: Clinton strong, but Iowa raises doubt ... Romney to speak on religion, says Iowans interested ... Giuliani assails Huckabee's tax plan . ...
Perspective Check: Clinton's Not Plummeting In The Polls
Atlantic Online - 1 hour ago
Hillary Clinton's campaign points out two new polls showing Clinton with leads exceeding five points in Iowa. At this point in the cycle, you can pick and ...
Clinton leads in new polling
MSNBC - 1 hour ago
A new AP-Pew poll shows Clinton ahead nationally and in the three early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. ...
Clinton vs. Obama
Washington Post, United States - 1 hour ago
Goodness me, a lot of our Readers Who bothered to Comment this morning don't like Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (DN.Y.). As Anne E. Kornblut reports, ...
What's new: Romney to address religion issue; poll shakes up Iowa race
USA Today - 1 hour ago
• USA TODAY -- Romney will address the religion issue: "Much as John F. Kennedy once confronted skeptics of his Catholic faith, Republican presidential ...
US presidential front-runners overtaken in Iowa Poll
Xinhua, China - 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Illustrating the fluid nature of the 2008 US presidential race, front-runners of both parties' candidates have been overtaken ...
The Frontrunners and the Wingmen
Yahoo! News - 2 hours ago
Not for the first time in the current Presidential election cycle, the momentum appears to have shifted in each party's race. ...
Clinton, Obama Take Gloves Off in What Could Be 'Fun' Fight to ...
FOX News - 2 hours ago
Barack Obama's surge over Hillary Clinton in Iowa marks a new turn in the race that Clinton is describing as the "fun" part — the month before voting begins ...
With One Month to Go, the Battle Lines Are Drawn
New York Times, United States - 2 hours ago
By ADAM NAGOURNEY DES MOINES, Dec. 3 — There has probably never been a presidential campaign quite as challenging to track as the 2008 race, given the sheer ...
ELECTION NOTEBOOK Obama, Huckabee gain ground
MarketWatch - 3 hours ago
By William L. Watts, marketwatch WASHINGTON (marketwatch) -- With a month to go until Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has ...
Clinton Leads Obama, Edwards in NH
The Associated Press - 3 hours ago
THE RACE: The presidential race for Democrats in New Hampshire ___ THE NUMBERS Hillary Rodham Clinton, 38 percent Barack Obama, 19 percent John Edwards, ...

Hillary: Rove Wants Obama to Win It

AP Poll: Hill On Top in 3 States Obama Unveils Hillary Site


Waxman Asks Mukasey for Plame Docs

<li>"An Unusual Landmark"

Waiting for Camp David, the Sequel
Leon T. Hadar on the Middle East peace talks in the Orange County Register.

Obama's Social Skills
Michael D. Tanner on Barack Obama and social security in National Review (Online).

Unnatural History
Patrick J. Michaels on Katrina and climate change in the American Spectator.

Romney's JFK moment By Jonah Goldberg Washington is atwitter. Mitt Romney will give a "JFK speech" accounting for his Mormonism the way then-Sen. John F. Kennedy dealt with his Catholicism. Political junkies just love Kennedy nostalgia. So profound is the Kennedy cargo cult that Michael Dukakis -- who was as much a reincarnation of JFK as Weird Al Yankovich is of Frank Sinatra -- tapped Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen as his 1988 running mate because he believed it would revive the "Boston-Austin" axis of the JFK-LBJ ticket. Recalling the electricity and verve of that Democratic ticket, who among us can deny Dukakis' wisdom?

Romney's JFK Moment - Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times
Mitt Romney's Big Speech - John Dickerson, Slate
Will Clinton's Obama Attacks Backfire? - Jay Newton-Small, Time
Huckabee's Rise: Why and What it Means - Dean Barnett, Weekly Standard
1984 Redux - With a Twist - David Yepsen, Des Moines Register
Blow to Bush's Tehran Policy - Peter Baker & Robin Wright, Washington Post
Dark Suspicions About the NIE - Norman Podhoretz, Commentary
A Dangerous Fantasy - Oliver Kamm, The Guardian
Murtha Eats Crow On Iraq - Jack Kelly, RealClearPolitics
Why Bush's Troop Surge Won't Save Iraq - Juan Cole, Salon
Congress' Inexcusable Failure - Sens. McCain & Lieberman, NH Union-Leader

Editorials
A Bombshell on Iran - Chicago Tribune
Venezuelans Tell Chavez 'No' - Daily Telegraph
The Vote Was Not Free or Transparent - St. Petersburg Times
TrustHuckabee Calling - Washington Post

Political News & Analysis
'Now the Fun Part Starts' in Iowa - Chicago Tribune
Mormonism Not Focus of Romney Speech - Los Angeles Times
Huckabee Chafes at 'Front-Runner' Label - Washington Post
Vulnerable Democrats See Fates Tied to Clinton - New York Times

Hannity & Colmes: Morris Discusses His Relationship With Huckabee
Special Report w/Brit Hume: Rough Turn Of Events In Democratic Race
Special Report w/Brit Hume: Iran Halts Its Nuclear Program
The Situation Room: Thompson Talks With Blitzer
Late Edition: Interviews with Pres. Bush, Sen. Dodd, and Rep. Paul

Iowans Start Choosing Favorites
- Michael Barone, US News
Hillary Struggles Against Oprah Factor
- Dan Gerstein, Wall Street Journal
Why is HRC Stooping So Low?
- Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog
On the Brink of Apocalypse! Again!
- Gregory Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times

The Platform of the American People: A Red, White and Blue Revolution Beginning January 3 in Iowaby Newt GingrichPeople are tired of "red-versus-blue" partisanship and bickering.

Iowa Caucus Approaching by Jennifer RubinFinally we are now a few weeks away from the Iowa Caucus. It may prove to be one of the most exciting in recent memory.

Fred is Dead? Reports are Prematureby Martha ZollerConservatives pumped him up and then put him down but don't count Fred Thompson out yet.

Is the Bush administration abandoning Israel?From metimes.com

Bush still a factor, Rove warnsFrom washingtontimes.com

Crisis mission for Belgian leaderFrom bbcnews.uk

An Assessment Jars a Foreign Policy Debate About IranFrom nytimes.com

Paulson Outlines Mortgage Aid PlanFrom washingtonpost.com

Can Diversity Destroy Us? by Patrick J. BuchananOn the Great Seal of the United States, first suggested by the Continental Congress on July 4, …

Random Thoughts by Thomas SowellRandom thoughts on the passing scene:Since electricity is generated mostly by burning coal, …

Mitt Should Can "The Speech" by David LimbaughI think it's a mistake for Mitt Romney to give "the speech" -- the one aimed at …

How to Really Love Your Country: Five Objectives for True Patriots

Paul Buchheit, AlterNet

ForeignPolicy: A Top 5 list of criteria for a better America.


The Problem with Christmas

Bill McKibben, Grist Magazine

Environment: It has long since become too busy, too expensive, too centered around acquiring that which we do not need.


Intel Report Reveals Bush and Cheney's Iran Warnings as Fraudulent

Ray McGovern, Consortium News

War on Iraq: A new intelligence assessment that Iran's nuclear weapons program halted in 2003 utterly contradicts the dire claims made by the war-mongering White House.

'Giuliani Time': Just When You Thought You Knew How Evil He Is

Lisa Gray-Garcia, AlterNet

Rights and Liberties: As the film "Giuliani Time" reveals, rarely has one man so successfully harnessed the hatred and ignorance of the U.S. public for poor people and people of color.


The Lending Crisis Is Becoming a Poltical Battleground

Danny Schechter, AlterNet

Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace: America's confidence is eroding because our brand of unregulated capitalism is increasingly not working for them.


'Enduring' Bases in Iraq: More Toys for the Pentagon's Sandbox

Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com

War on Iraq: Vast stretches of Iraq have turned into construction sites run by the Pentagon, while Bush makes up claims that Iraqis support an "long-term relationship."

Deadly Staph Infection 'Superbug' Has a Dangerous Foothold in U.S. Jails

Silja J.A. Talvi, AlterNet

Rights and Liberties: With 19,000 deaths attributed to staph infections annually, there's cause for serious alarm. So why aren't we talking about our nightmarish prison system, the biggest incubator of them all?

[b]Annapolis: First Step Toward Real Peace in the Middle East?

[/b] Ed Koch

The United States could get Arab states afraid of Iran’s efforts to dominate the region to recognize that they must help us in Iraq or suffer the consequences of an ultimate Iranian victory when we leave…

[b]In Defense of Freedom

[/b] Nancy Salvato

The idea behind instituting a constitution is that government is instituted to protect the peoples’ right to life, liberty and property – and the right to defend themselves against those who would rob, enslave or kill them…

[b]Exclusive: Compromised Investigations Raise Concerns About Homeland Security

[/b] Jim Kouri, CPP

Testing designed to identify security vulnerabilities at executive branch agencies may have been compromised by top management – nullifying the effectiveness of the tests.

[b]Exclusive: Presidential Watch – Daily – Tuesday, December 4

[/b] The Editors

Wes Pruden at the Washington Times questions Hillary’s “big MO.” Richard Collins wonders if her husband is helping or harming her chances. Is it now Oprah vs. Streisand? See NY Times & UK Times Online commentaries. Kathryn Lopez says Mitt’s Mormonism shouldn’t be an obstacle.

[b]Exclusive: Meet Our Decorated Heroes: God Bless Them!
Navy Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Chiarini

[/b] The Editors

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua Chiarini received the Silver Star medal last October in R.I. As Col Oliver North would say, “His story deserves to be told.”

"Doomsday Seed Vault" in the Arctic Bill Gates, Rockefeller and the GMO giants know something we don’t- by F. William Engdahl - 2007-12-04
Confessions of a Covert AgentPsychological Operations are my specialty - 2007-12-03
The Big Brother Agenda- by Trevor Murphy - 2007-12-03
America is Going Fascist The signs are all there for anyone to see, and time is getting short for action - by Michael Nenonen - 2007-12-03

Venezuela's Social Democracy Hits A Speed Bump- by Stephen Lendman - 2007-12-04
Russia, Turkmenistan hasten Caspian pipeline work- by Eric Watkins - 2007-12-04
Railway to go through Central Asia Work Starts on Iran-Russia Railway - 2007-12-04
The Taser is going wireless - 2007-12-03

American Islamic Hamas Relief
By: Joe Kaufman
Why is a branch of the Department of Homeland Security "partnering" with groups that are connected to terror? More>

From Radical to Reformed Muslim
By: Jamie Glazov
A former Islamic extremist, now labeled an "apostate" in the fatwas of Muslim clergymen, discusses his fight for an enlightened Islam. More>

Russian Spies of the Future
By: Ion Mihai Pacepa
Russia's clandestine plans against us. More>

"Arabicity" In Our Schools
By: Joseph Klein
Is it American students or Muslims that need a crash course in tolerance and peaceful co-existence? More>

Illusions at Annapolis
By: Arlene Kushner
Peace in Palestine, and other dangerous fictions. More>

"Free Speech For Me, But Not for Thee!"
By: Alan M. Dershowitz
The motto of anti-Israel academics. More>

Baby Boomers Owe Young People an Apology
By: Dennis Prager
The Most Destructive Generation is still fighting what it considers the real Axis of Evil: American racism, sexism, and imperialism. More>

Judge: Prosecution of Border Agents "Out of Hand"
By: NewsMax.com
Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean find some fresh support. More>

British Teacher Arrives Home From Sudan
By: Associated Press
More>

Japan Deploys Missile Shield Around Tokyo, Plans Attack Drills Over Capital
By: Associated Press
More>

Estimate of Iran's Nukes Reversed
By: Washington Times
More>

Hadley: U.S. Policy Toward Iran Nuclear Weapons Must Continue
By: Fox News
More>

Using inappropriate measures to push bad logic, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, opts to join the political hype-sters who will try anything to push their point. Using his tortured logic for zoology would conclude that elephants are too small. My commentary at the Military.com website explains. It can be found at the Military.com website at http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,157433,00.html. It is also reproduced below. Elephants and Budgets Too Small Winslow Wheeler | December 03, 2007 Like many other advocates of more Pentagon spending, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, recently told the press that the nation needs to increase US defense spending from 3.3 percent of the national Gross Domestic Product to 4.0 percent. An increase of 0.7 percent should not be much. Why should that be any problem, especially if, as he and many others say, we spent much more during the Cold War, such as the 8.9 percent we spent in 1968 during the Johnson Administration.

Let's do the math.

The latest data from the Treasury Department shows the Gross Domestic Product, the approximate size of the US economy, to be $13.4 trillion. If we increase the Pentagon's "share" of it from 3.3 to 4.0 percent, that 0.7 percent increase calculates to $94 billion: not exactly chicken feed.

Next, we should put the Admiral's recommendation into context.

Even though the percent of the Gross Domestic Product that we spend on defense has gone down since the Cold War, the dollar amount we spend on defense has been going up, not down. Actually, we spend more on defense now than we did at any time since the end of World War II; that's in inflation adjusted dollars, and it's according to the Pentagon's own official budget data in something called "National Defense Budget Estimates" for 2008. According to this volume, the previous highest point in post-World War II Pentagon spending was 1952 - during the Korean War - at $588.6 billion in today's dollars. President George W. Bush's Pentagon spending request for the new fiscal year, 2008, is above $660 billion.

Despite the increase in actual dollars, the percent of Gross Domestic Product for defense has gone down because the economy has grown even faster than defense spending; thus, the ratio of the two has changed downward.

Furthermore, the admiral's argument seems to imply the dollars to expand defense spending are easy to find. In a sense, he's right; you only have to do one of three things: 1) increase taxes; 2) cut other federal spending, or 3) increase the federal deficit. Admiral Mullen forgot to tell us which he preferred, or whether he wanted all three.

Also, consider that at its current level, the Pentagon's budget is larger than the rest of the world - combined. According to the CIA's 2007 Word Fact Book, the rest of the world spent a little under $400 billion in 2006 on defense. That amount is for not just our potential opponents, whoever they might be; that's the entire rest of the world.

Did I mention that the Cold War is over; that we no longer have anywhere a superpower opponent with a military budget that even approaches peer status with the US? For those who point to China and Russia as justification for higher Pentagon spending, consider their defense budgets estimated at an inconsequential $81 and a puny $21 billion, respectively, by the CIA.

Admiral Mullen didn't make that absence of a serious competitor a part of his argument to increase Department of Defense spending, either.

There are a few other things he forgot to mention.

He's choosing the wrong numerator. He talks about increasing just the Pentagon's "baseline" budget. That's the part that pays for peacetime expenses, approximately $470 billion in 2008. His calculation excludes funds to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For 2008, the President's request for that is for $192 billion. Mullen's "oversight" is not inconsequential. When he compares today's spending to the past in terms of GDP, the previous years' data includes the spending for past conflicts, such as Korea, Vietnam, and the 1991 Gulf War. If the admiral were to perform an apples to apples calculation (i.e. one that included war spending to compare to the past), he would find that we're now spending just under 5 percent of GDP on defense. (And, that's not including nuclear weapons costs in the Department of Energy, Homeland Security spending, and a lot else that is defense related in the generic sense.)

Congratulations, Admiral; we've hit and surpassed your target - were you to perform an evenhanded calculation.

Finally, it is important to pay attention to what Admiral Mullen says he wants to spend his extra money on. He says he wants it to "recapitalize" our weapons inventory. He wants to modernize equipment totally unrelated to the wars, such as buying F-22s, which have yet to appear in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan for a single sortie (and couldn't do much that is useful if they did). He also says he wants to replace much of the equipment worn out in the wars, sometimes to simply repair or replace the equipment with essentially the same item; sometimes to buy the next generation of hardware, instead, to propel modernization. In other words, Admiral Mullen doesn't want an extra $94 billion - each year - to augment the Pentagon's baseline budget; he wants it to augment the Pentagon's hardware purchasing budget.

We've seen it many times before: the Pentagon can't find enough money to buy the hardware it wants. Even though its procurement budget is climbing, costs per unit have grown so much faster that far more money is needed to replace the existing inventory on a one for one basis. Typically, the generals and admirals get the additional money they ask for, but meanwhile the unit cost of hardware will have kept right on growing. The result: a larger hardware budget results in a smaller inventory - which by the way is also older, on average, and less well supplied with spare parts, maintenance, and trained crews. Spent as it has been in the past, Admiral Mullen's $94 billion will result in making these trends worse.

The only thing that is different in Admiral Mullen's plea for more money is the tortured rationale. He wants us to think that his hardware budget should mirror the economy. Put another way, every time a new McDonald's opens up somewhere in the US, Admiral Mullen wants the taxpayers to give him a few billion dollars more.

Elephants are the largest land-animals on earth, but they are small compared to an extinct dinosaur, such as a Brontosaurus. Admiral Mullen thinks this proves elephants are too small.


Winslow T. Wheeler is the Director of the Straus Military Reform Project of the Center for Defense Information in Washington. He spent 31 years on national security issues for US Senators, from both parties, and the GAO. He is the author of The Wastrels of Defense (US Naval Institute Press) about Congress and national security, and his commentaries have appeared in the Washington Post, Defense News, Defense Week, Government Executive, Barron's, CounterPunch, and Soldiers for the Truth.

The Making of a Mess
by Paul Krugman, International Herald Tribune
Policy makers, committed to the view that the market is always right, simply ignored the warning signs.

Birth of a Movement
by Alan Jenkins, TomPaine.Com
Progressive unity, connection, and positive vision are no longer just aspirations.

They Can't Disown This Baby
by Ray McGovern, TomPaine.Com
Miraculously, fact-based intelligence prevails on Iran and its nuclear intentions.

Hillary, Rudy Will Prevail After Losing Early - Dick Morris, The Hill
Democratic Voters Flirt With Change - Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe
Would Obama-Huckabee Lead to Bloomberg? - Bill Kristol, New York Post
Worst Mistakes of Election '08 - Tom Bevan, RealClearPolitics
Romney Needs to Look to Carter Not JFK - Kenneth Baer, Los Angeles Times
Is Clinton's Negativity a Bad Idea? - Jay Cost, HorseRaceBlog
Time to Talk to Iran - Robert Kagan, Washington Post
Clinton Back on Defense Over Iran - Richard Wolffe, Newsweek
China's Satellite Blast Raises Fears - Kevin Whitelaw, US News & WR
Huckabee's Surge Has a Sting - Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune
Citizens Beware: Paulson Is Here to Help - John Tamny, RealClearMarkets
Rx For Health Care: Pain - Robert Samuelson, Newsweek
Woe is the American Worker - Paul Waldman, The American Prospect
Tragedy of the Commons II - John Stossel, RealClearPolitics
U.S. Must Lead on Climate Change - Martin Wolf, Financial Times
The Science of Gore's Nobel - Holman Jenkins, Wall Street Journal
The Myth of the Mad Mullahs - David Ignatius, San Diego Union-Tribune

Editorials
Iran's Nonexistent Nuclear Program - Los Angeles Times
The CIA's Flip-Flop on Iran is Hardly Reassuring - Wall Street Journal
Buy Health Insurance, or Else? - Chicago Tribune
Peru Is In, Now Where's Colombia? - Investor's Business Daily

Political News & Analysis
Clinton Rivals Hammer Her Iran Vote - Washington Post
Huckabee Inches Toward Giuliani - Los Angeles Times
Immigration Confronts Democrats in an Iowa Debate - New York Times
More Immigrant Woes for Romney - Boston Globe

Is McCain the new Kerry?
Posted 6:54 a.m.

Republicans start getting nasty.
Posted 6:40 a.m.

The FundamentaList
Sarah Posner
December 5, 2007 | web only
This week in the religious right: Barnstorming Iowa for Huckabee, Romney's JFK Speech, scare tactics on the Fairness Doctrine and school anti-bullying legislation, and an explanation of the $23,000 commode.

Putin's Landslide Takes Russia Back to the Cold Warby Robert MaginnisRegensburg, Germany. Vladimir Putin's political party, United Russia, won a crushing …

Saving Private Ryan (The Iraq Remake)by Mac JohnsonHelping Hollywood out with ideas for their next anti-military, anti-American failure at the box office.

ICE Agent Unfairly Targetedby Ross KaminskyUS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Cory Voorhis tried doing his job to better protect the public. Instead of praise, he got punished in a way that will affect us all.

The SCHIP Bill: Why the Premium Assistance Provisions Won't Workby Nina OwcharenkoSkeptics of the latest version of legislation (H.R. 3963) to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) should not be swayed by claims that substantial changes were made to improve premium assistance for private insurance.

The Platform of the American People: A Red, White and Blue Revolution Beginning January 3 in Iowaby Newt GingrichPeople are tired of "red-versus-blue" partisanship and bickering.

UNITED STATES: Foreign policy and the presidential race
The world in their hands
How the candidates would handle the rest of the world

White Backlash and the Right
by David Neiwert
A white backlash against decades of civil-rights gains for minorities is gaining force on the ground, and the chief engine has been the increasingly extreme-right bent of the conservative movement.

Cost of Doing Business
by Robert Borosage
Who's protecting us from unsafe thrill park rides? Certainly neither conservative government nor the free market. No Time For Cynicism on Energy
by Bill Scher
The fact that the energy bill leaves much to do is not cause for cynicism and apathy. It's cause for momentum and motivation.

How Bush Helped Create the AMT Problem
by Bill Scher
As Bush needles Congress on the expanding Alternative Minimum Tax, he conveniently neglects to mention his role in creating the problem.

Amy Goodman:

Lou Dobbs Spreads Vile Misinformation about Immigrants
The CNN personality, who continues to beat the drum against undocumented immigrants, claims to be a journalist. If he really is one, he should respect facts and correct errors.


Robert Scheer:

It Turns Out Ahmadinejad Was the Truthful One
Bush is either a liar or out to lunch on the most important issue he faces.


Earl Ofari Hutchinson:

Why Rove Is Cheerleading for Obama
Rove thinks Obama is easier prey for the GOP than Clinton.

WPost buys into anti-Obama bigotry
The Washington Post simply recycles the slurs against Barack Obama and buys into the anti-Muslim bigotry.
Will the U.S. nuclear report empower the Iranians?
The NIE report "removes any possibility of a

Huckabee House Built on a Weak Foundation
Clarice Feldman
Mike Huckabee is this week's latest Republican buzz, but I think his house is, as the old calypso song goes, "a house built on a weak foundation," and "it will not stand oh, no." More

The United Faith of America
Bob Weir
There is one issue that should have no place in this campaign: the religious affiliation of any candidate. More

Forget JFK, Romney Seeks His Own 'Faith' - Matt Stuart, ABC News
Mormon Speech Pivotal for Romney - Robert Novak, Chicago Sun-Times
Hillary Was Supposed to Know How to Rumble - John Dickerson, Slate
Do Democrats Have the Backbone to Win? - Peter Fenn, The Politico
Iran's a Ticking Bomb for Candidates - James Pinkerton, Newsday
War Is Out, but Iran Is Dangerous - Mort Kondracke, Roll Call
White House's Bomb-Iran Brigade Loses All Credibility - Joe Klein, Time
NIE is Propoganda Victory for the Enemy - Robert Tracinski, TIA Daily
Get Ready for the GOP Playoffs - Steven Stark, Boston Phoenix
IA Turnout Could Help Clinton, Obama - David Yepsen, Des Moines Register
No Faith in Mitt's Candor - Michael Graham, Boston Herald
Is Huckabee Dems' Biggest Nightmare? - Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
The Problem w/ 'Eve of Destruction' Politics - Michael Medved, USA Today
Be Leery Of Mortgage-Meltdown Fixes - Froma Harrop, Seattle Times
How the U.K. and U.S. Made the Modern World - Heather Wilhelm, RCP
The Costs of Containing Iran - Vali Nasr and Ray Takeyh, Foreign Affairs
Of Teddy Bears and Cartoons - Victor Davis Hanson, RealClearPolitics
Romney's Speech: Expectation Gap? - Bevan | A Big Moment - Wilson

Editorials
One Firm Conclusion from Iran Report - San Antonio Express-News
A Rescue for Borrowers - Washington Post
OPEC Sails Into Troubled Waters - Financial Times
Faith Shouldn't Determine Presidency - Detroit News

Political News & Analysis
Crucial Test for Romney in Speech on His Religion - New York Times
Clinton, Edwards Up the Ante on Foreclosures - Los Angeles Times
As N.H. Primary Nears, Clinton Clings to Narrow Lead - Washington Post
Parties Struggle to Control Primaries - USA Today

The Situation Room: Huckabee Discusses Parole In "The Situation Room"
The NewsHour: Negroponte Recounts Trip To The Middle East
Special Report w/ Brit Hume: Iran; And Trade With Latin America
NPR: The NPR Democratic Debate In Iowa
The White House: President Bush's Press Conference

Obama Closing on Clinton in NH
For Hillary, Heavy Going in Iowa
Inside the Fight for Iowa
Clinton Warns Wall Street

Why Romney Had to Speak
Paul to Make Push in NH
Huckabee on Rapist, Murderer
Romney Fails Managing Home
Pulpit was Springboard for Huck

Bush Wins Deal To Freeze Mortgages

• Housing Panic - The Housing Bubble Blog with Attitude: This will blow up in their face something hard, something fierce and something memorable. I can't w...
• Rhymes With Right: Given this plan to freeze mortgage interest rates on borrowers in the sub-prime market with adjustab...

Lenders Agree To Freeze Rates On Some Loans

• Rhymes With Right: Given this plan to freeze mortgage interest rates on borrowers in the sub-prime market with adjustab...
• SelfInvestors - Trading Small/Mid Cap Stocks: Technical Analysis/Research; Market Commentary: After two days of very orderly selling with light selling volume the bull looked ready to charg...

More Bu

Hillary, Rudy Will Prevail After Losing Early
- Dick Morris, The Hill
Worst Mistakes of Election '08
- Tom Bevan, RealClearPolitics
Would Obama-Huckabee Lead to Bloomberg?
- Bill Kristol, New York Post
Revenge of the Evangelicals
- Rich Lowry, National Review

Baghdad on the Bayou Redux: Wasting the Wetlands By Georgianne Nienaber and keith harmon snow


It was not a hurricane named Katrina that wrecked the city of New Orleans.

Chuck Adkins: Breaking News: Hillary E-mail Scandal! An E-mail scandal Involving Hillary Clinton's Camp is breaking.

Tie Iran propaganda to Iraq's and take power away from W! Democrats need to do more than contain W's opening of the "Pandora Box" in Iraq. They need to connect the dots and tie W's cherry-picking of valid intelligence regarding Iran into hypocritical Iran propaganda to the "Ministry of Truth" fabrication regarding Iraq's WMDs and take the military and intelligence gathering apparatus away from W, until, as Reid demands, we can trust that W isn't lying about "imminent threats" again!

The CIA "War" on Bush: The New Neocon Ploy "Extreme Right meet the Extreme Left," writes Marc Cooper at HuffPo. "Now you both can agree. Whatever happens, it must be the fault of the CIA. Sleeper cell members, Al-Qaeda operatives, terrorists, foreign agents you can all rest easy. We've finally found the enemy and it ain't you. Nope. It's our own subversive intelligence services."