BOXER'S LOW BLOW  —  Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, an appalling scold from California, wasted no time yesterday in dragging the debate over Iraq about as low as it can go - attacking Secre tary of State Condoleezza Rice for being a childless woman.  —  Boxer was wholly in character for her party …

Clock ticking on Dems' 100-hour agenda  —  WASHINGTON - The clock is ticking for House Democrats, but it's hard to tell what time it is.  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., was touting a plan to push six bills through a Democratic House in 100 hours or less as early as June of last year.

Democrats in Senate Fail to Block Bill on Ethics  —  After campaigning for months on a promise to tighten ethics rules, Senate Democratic leaders tried unsuccessfully Thursday to block a measure that would shine a light on the shadowy practice of earmarking federal money for lawmakers' pet projects.

Unveiled Threats  —  A Bush appointee's crude gambit on detainees' legal rights  —  MOST AMERICANS understand that legal representation for the accused is one of the core principles of the American way.  Not, it seems, Cully Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs.

Lam is asked to step down  —  Job performance said to be behind White House firing  —  The Bush administration has quietly asked San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, best known for her high-profile prosecutions of politicians and corporate executives, to resign her post, a law enforcement official said.

Note from Flynt Leverett: Most Important Parts of Bush Speech About Iran — Not Iraq  —  I asked former CIA and Bush administration National Security Council senior official Flynt Leverett for a quick summary of his thoughts on President Bush's Address to the Nation.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow following up the President's speech last night.  —  The Hugh Hewitt Show  —  HH: Pleased to welcome back to the Hugh Hewitt Show now, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.  Happy New Year, Tony.  —  TS: Happy New Year, Hugh.

Convicted lawmakers to lose pensions  —  WASHINGTON - Members of Congress convicted of serious crimes would lose their taxpayer-paid pensions, sometimes totaling more than $100,000 a year, under a measure unanimously approved by the Senate Friday.  —  The 87- vote to deprive lawbreaking lawmakers …

The Question of the Day  —  Jim Webb is really one of the most exciting things to happen to our politics recently; the personification of potentially worthy electoral trends who's managed to pull it off not by embracing militarism but by showing that good sense in national security policy …

HOW IRAQIS SEE W'S NEW PLAN  —  GREAT RELIEF - AND SOME CONCERNS  —  'A SIGH of relief!  So one resident of Haifa Street, in the heart of Baghdad's badlands, reacted to the new plan to secure the Iraqi capital with the help of thousands of additional American troops.

PBS on Tom DeLay: Favors "Virtual Slavery"?  —  Exhibit A of a liberal bias at PBS is still the program Now, first hosted by Bill Moyers, and now by David Brancaccio.  On Friday night, the blatantly partisan ghost of Moyers was still hanging over the broadcast as Brancaccio led off …

Getting Iraq to Work  —  New York City's successes have lessons for Baghdad.  —  The American mission in Iraq must succeed.  Our goal—promoting a stable, accountable democracy in the heart of the Middle East—cannot be achieved by purely military means.  —  Iraqis need to establish a civil society.

In Baghdad, Bush Policy Is Met With Resentment  —  Iraq's Shiite-led government offered only a grudging endorsement on Thursday of President Bush's proposal to deploy more than 20,000 additional troops in an effort to curb sectarian violence and regain control of Baghdad.

The Two Vacuums  —  Neither Iraqis nor Democrats seem ready to do what's required of them.  —  I had the odd and wholly unexpected experience of feeling supportive of a troop increase until I saw the president's speech arguing for it.  What a jarring, furtive-seeming thing it was.

Agents Say Fast Audits Hurt I.R.S.  —  Top officials at the Internal Revenue Service are pushing agents to prematurely close audits of big companies with agreements to have them pay only a fraction of the additional taxes that could be collected, according to dozens of I.R.S. employees …