On Scene: How Operation Swarmer Fizzled  —  Not a shot was fired, or a leader nabbed, in a major offensive that failed to live up to its advance billing … Four Black Hawk helicopters landed in a wheat field and dropped off a television crew, three photographers, three print reporters …

NPR Survey: Republicans Lose Ground on Foreign Policy, National Security; Opportunity for Democrats  —  Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and Public Opinion Strategies  —  "...in this poll, when asked which party they trust more on issues such as the Iraq war, foreign ownership of U.S. ports …

DISCLAIM THIS  —  So, the MSM is slowly picking up on the historic release of thousands of documents from Saddam Hussein's archives.  But not without making a concerted effort to downplay and undermine the story.  Readers are calling attention to the disclaimers included in this ABC News story.

U.S. Senate primary could be a plus  —  Ned Lamont, take a bow.  By challenging Joseph Lieberman for the Connecticut Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. senator, Mr. Lamont is encouraging a debate that his party and this state need to have.  —  This is not to suggest that Mr. Lamont …

Abramoff's sentencing delayed to further cooperation  —  Judge approves motion sought by federal investigators  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A federal judge Friday delayed sentencing of Jack Abramoff, a move the prosecutors requested to further the former lobbyist's cooperation with their investigation.

Harris advisers urged her to quit  —  Katherine Harris' chief political strategist said Thursday that he suggested she abandon her bid for the U.S. Senate because it would be a "tough row to hoe" given the numerous setbacks the campaign had suffered.  —  But Harris refused.

Teflon Europe  —  The prison at Guantanamo Bay was designed to interrogate terrorists and jihadists swept up from the battlefield: the idea was to keep them as prisoners of war in a war that was undeclared, and as enemy combatants without uniforms or officers.

Boehlert statement: "It's Time"  —  Two people for whom I have the utmost respect influenced what I am about to say.  Both are well known, one a most talented and effective public servant, and other a baseball great.  —  In January 2005 I sent a personal note to then Secretary of State Colin Powell …

United Press International … NEWSTRACK: Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has asked Nigeria to return former strongman Charles Taylor.  A registered sex offender accused of raping two 17-year-old girls in an underground dungeon was arrested Friday near his South Carolina home.

What Democrats Want  —  JEROME ARMSTRONG AND MARKOS MOULITSAS are pioneers.  Armstrong founded MyDD.com, arguably the first political blog of real prominence.  As for Moulitsas, he's the founder and proprietor of Daily Kos, by far the most widely read of all political blogs.

It's three years since the disarmament of Saddam and all that followed . . .  IN MARCH 2003 Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, of the UN, secured a remarkable, last-minute deal that averted war and seemed to guarantee the disarmament of Iraq.  "Saddam Hussein has finally consented to eliminate …

Emboldened Democrats court party's left wing  —  Sen. Clinton seen abandoning turf  —  Stepping up their message to the left are Senators John F. Kerry (left) of Massachusetts, Evan Bayh of Indiana, former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, and former Virginia governor Mark Warner.

Florida Rested Cliff's Corner  —  The Week That Was 3/17/06  —  Another week.  More preposterousness to report.  —  As regular readers are aware, I usually spend this hallowed space in Mr. Aravosis' media empire pontificating about the comic personal failings of virtually every falafel-loving right-wing Republican.

A MATTER OF DRAWING LINES.  Apropos of the debate over stalled bill H.R. 1606, which would pre-empt FEC regulation of Internet sites, and H.R. 4900, which could make blogs with over $10,000 in expenditures (excluding web hosting and news gathering expenses) register as political committees, Atrios asks:

Senate passes funeral-protest bill 58-1  —  Only Sen. Becky Lourey, mother of a fallen soldier, dissented.  The bill may go to a conference committee.  —  With a lone dissenting vote from Sen. Becky Lourey, the Senate approved restrictions Thursday on funeral protests such as one that marred …