Stupid party decides  —  WASHINGTON — The depleted House Republican caucus, a minority in the next Congress, convenes at 8 a.m. in the Capitol Friday on the brink of committing an act of supreme irrationality.  The House members blame their leadership for tasting the bitter dregs of defeat.

Democrats Push for Troop Cuts Within Months  —  Democratic leaders in the Senate vowed on Sunday to use their new Congressional majority to press for troop reductions in Iraq within a matter of months, stepping up pressure on the administration just as President Bush is to be interviewed …

Pelosi Endorses Murtha as Next Majority Leader  —  House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) yesterday as the next House majority leader, thereby stepping into a contentious intraparty fight between Murtha and her current deputy, Maryland's Steny H. Hoyer.

Why Intellectuals Love Defeat  —  James Carroll, recently writing in the Boston Globe, wondered if America could finally accept defeat in Iraq, and be the better for it, comparing it to Vietnam:  —  "But what about the moral question?  For all of the anguish felt over the loss of American lives …

The House that Rahm Built  —  Rahm Emanuel, Chicago's profane, ruthless, savvy operative, remade the Democrats in his image—and helped the party overcome 12 years of humiliation  —  Rahm Emanuel was seething.  —  He was hurtling down an asphalt road in upstate New York on the 47th trip …

China sub secretly stalked U.S. fleet  —  A Chinese submarine stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected, The Washington Times has learned.  —  The surprise encounter highlights …

California man arrested for mail threats to celebs  —Text+WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California man suspected of mailing threatening letters containing a suspicious white powder to celebrities and U.S. politicians has been arrested and could face federal charges on Monday, the FBI said.

Administration Opposes Democrats' Plan for Negotiating Medicare Drug Prices  —  The Bush administration said on Sunday that it would strenuously oppose one of the Democrats' top priorities for the new Congress: legislation authorizing the government to negotiate with drug companies to secure lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.

A True Blue Libertarian  —  Stan Jones, the Also-Ran Who Changed the Hue of Politics  —  BOZEMAN, Mont. — Stan Jones, a Montana libertarian widely known for his peculiar blue skin, can arguably be said to have recast the political complexion of the U.S. Senate, turning it from Republican red to the same color as his face.

The rise of the Mommy Party  —  Pelosi's at the helm, Hillary's in the wings and - for now - Bush is in the doghouse  —  With Democrats seizing control of the House and Senate, a debate has started over how significant their victory was.  Does it potentially mark a generational power shift?

Rumsfeld and the Realists  —  Consistency is irrelevant to progressives.  —  On Dec. 20, 1983, Donald Rumsfeld, then Ronald Reagan's Middle East envoy, met Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.  According to declassified documents, the Reagan administration sought …

For Conservatives, It's Back to Basics  —  THE morning after the Republican drubbing in the midterm elections, Ken Mehlman, chairman of the party, headed to the weekly coalition meeting where limited government conservatives, Christian traditionalists and gun-rights groups gathered to plot strategy.

Hezbollah's missiles back in Lebanon  —  FOUR months after Israel launched its onslaught against Hezbollah, the Lebanese guerrillas are back in south Lebanon stronger than ever and armed with more rockets than they had before the conflict, according to Israeli intelligence.

The Prodigal Returns  —  Supporting Cast: Bush 41's national-security team, in 1991.  From far left, Scowcroft, Gates, Cheney, Quayle, Baker, Bush and Powell.  —  George Herbert Walker Bush is a proud father; tears easily come to his eyes when he thinks of his children, all of them …

How the hammer fell on his own party  —  The iron hand of Tom DeLay built a GOP empire — and may have contributed its undoing  —  WASHINGTON - The legacy of the once powerful Republican Tom DeLay of Sugar Land cast a long shadow over last week's elections, in which voters shrank the ranks …

Annan updates Beilin on soldiers in Lebanon  —  Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that one of the problems in the negotiations for the release of the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers in Lebanon is the demand for Hizballah to return them alive.  —  In a meeting with the chairman of the political party Meretz …