A Good Leak  —  President Bush declassified some of the intelligence he used to decide on war in Iraq.  Is that a scandal?  —  PRESIDENT BUSH was right to approve the declassification of parts of a National Intelligence Estimate about Iraq three years ago in order to make clear why he had believed …

JOHN KERRY AND JESUS:  —  Continuing his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, John F. Kerry addressed (by telephone) a conference convened by that racist hustler and prevaricator Al Sharpton who won, if I'm not mistaken, exactly one delegate at the party convention in 2004.

Christ Among the Partisans  —  THERE is no such thing as a "Christian politics."  If it is a politics, it cannot be Christian.  Jesus told Pilate: "My reign is not of this present order.  If my reign were of this present order, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews.

"Why I Think Rumsfeld Must Go"  —  A military insider sounds off against the war and the "zealots" who pushed it … In 1971, the rock group The Who released the antiwar anthem Won't Get Fooled Again.  To most in my generation, the song conveyed a sense of betrayal by the nation's leaders …

When Will We Stop Saying 'First Woman to _____'?  —  IT was the Platonic ideal of the ladies' lunch.  There was chicken salad, parfait and blue Tiffany gift boxes.  There was the first woman president, her friend Louise and, though we did not know it for certain, the first female solo network news anchor.

Want more Bush?  Elect McCain  —  WASHINGTON — In his bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain is moving to the right.  —  The Arizona Republican, who failed to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, is the most visible Republican on television …

No easy answers on immigration conundrum  —  Here's my immigration "compromise": We need to regularize the situation of the 298 million non-undocumented residents of the United States.  Right now, we get a lousy deal compared with the 15 million fine upstanding members of the Undocumented American community.

CALL TO DUTY  —  In a Community Where Many Roads Lead to the Military, Deciding Whether to Enlist Becomes a Turning Point  —  Blake Johnson is almost 18.  Tan and muscular, he plays third base for the Clarkdale High School Bulldogs.  He is a B student who says "Yes, sir" when his coach corrects his batting stance.

Abortion Ban Foes Petition for a Choice  —  Even some conservative South Dakotans sign a bid to hold a vote on the law, which was meant to spark a Supreme Court test of Roe vs. Wade.  —  STURGIS, S.D. — Volunteers pushing to overturn the nation's most far-reaching abortion ban are surprised …

Joe In Windsor: I'll Run as an Independent  —  BranfordBoy at My Left Nutmeg has the scoop on Lieberman's appearance in Windsor this morning: … This is at least the third or fourth time Lieberman has refused to rule out running as an Independent, including the instance …

DOES IRAN WANT WAR  —  April 9, 2006 — THE most dangerous error we could make in our sharpening confronta tion with Iran is to con vince ourselves that its leaders will act rationally.  Few wars are rooted in dispassionate analysis.  Self-delusion sparks most such catastrophes.