For Bush's Ex-Aide, Quick Fall After Long Climb  —  WASHINGTON, March 13 — Claude A. Allen often said his religious upbringing took him from a two-room apartment in a poor neighborhood of Washington to a post at the White House.  —  "Probably the vast majority of the kids who grew …

wherein we prove that the "wartime president" defense is inconsequential - no - make that outright "lame"  —  we've heard it before, and we're hearing it now: … there are three prongs of logic that defeat the entire "he's a wartime president, so don't be mean to him" defense.

Concern over Iraq drives Bush's rating to new low  —  Americans pessimistic about course of war  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Public opinion of President Bush hit a new low, with concerns about the war in Iraq driving his approval rating down to 36 percent, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll out Monday.

Isaac Hayes Quits 'South Park'  —  NEW YORK - Isaac Hayes has quit "South Park," where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.  —  Hayes, who has played the ladies' man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed.

The Daily Muck  —  Ronnie Earle's DeLay Subpoenas Thrown Out  —  Ronnie Earle, the Travis County prosecutor in Texas who indicted Tom DeLay on money laundering charges, has been engaged in a litigation war with DeLay's attorneys ever since that indictment.

Bush Sets Target for Transition In Iraq  —  Country's Troops to Take Lead This Year  —  President Bush vowed for the first time yesterday to turn over most of Iraq to newly trained Iraqi troops by the end of this year, setting a specific benchmark as he kicked off a fresh drive …

Magazine: Bradlee Knows Woodward's Source on Plame  —  Vanity Fair is reporting that former Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee says it is reasonable to assume former State Department official Richard L. Armitage is likely the source who revealed CIA operative Valerie Plame's name to Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward.

Myths of Iraq  —  During a recent visit to Baghdad, I saw an enormous failure.  On the part of our media.  The reality in the streets, day after day, bore little resemblance to the sensational claims of civil war and disaster in the headlines.  —  No one with first-hand experience of Iraq …

US postwar Iraq strategy a mess, Blair was told  —  Senior British diplomatic and military staff gave Tony Blair explicit warnings three years ago that the US was disastrously mishandling the occupation of Iraq, according to leaked memos.  —  John Sawers, Mr Blair's envoy in Baghdad …

Finally  —  The Bush administration has decided to release most of the documents captured in post-war Afghanistan and Iraq.  The details of the document release are still being worked out, according to officials with knowledge of the discussions.  Those details are critical.

We were right to invade Iraq  —  The failures of occupation may be legion, but at least we confronted Saddam at a time of our choosing  —  With the advantage of three years of hindsight, politicians' failed predictions about Iraq make dispiriting reading.  "Any war will cause a refugee crisis …

Judge Calls Halt to Penalty Phase of Terror Trial  —  ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 13 — An angry federal judge delayed the sentencing trial of Zacarias Moussaoui on Monday and said she was considering ending the prosecution's bid to have him executed after the disclosure that a government lawyer had improperly coached some witnesses.

Drop Out of the College  —  The Electoral College is an antidemocratic relic.  Everyone who remembers 2000 knows that it can lead to the election of the candidate who loses the popular vote as president.  But the Electoral College's other serious flaws are perhaps even more debilitating for a democracy.

Colleges Open Minority Aid to All Comers  —  Facing threats of litigation and pressure from Washington, colleges and universities nationwide are opening to white students hundreds of thousands of dollars in fellowships, scholarships and other programs previously created for minorities.

Vanity Fair's Judy Miller Rehab: Blame the Bloggers  —  There are three fundamental problems with Marie Brenner's 15-page piece on Plamegate and Judy Miller in the April Vanity Fair (hitting newsstands tomorrow):  —  1.)  It's laughably biased.  Brenner is a close friend of Miller …