U.S. Toll in Iraq Is 27 for Deadly Weekend  —  The United States military said that two marines died Sunday in western Iraq and that an additional seven service members died Saturday.  The deaths brought the weekend toll to 27 and made Saturday the third-deadliest day for United States forces since the war here began.

Bombs kill at least 65 people in Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq - At least 65 people were killed and 113 wounded after two nearly simultaneous bombs struck a predominantly Shiite commercial area in central Baghdad Monday, police said.  —  The first blast occurred shortly after noon when a bomb left …

For the Clinton Candidacy, a Soft Launch  —  One day after declaring for president, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) gave her first public glimpse of how she will run: as the mother of a daughter, as a serious student of policy and as a two-term senator from New York.

McCain May Oppose Pick For Army Staff Chief  —  Senator Says Casey Led A 'Failed Policy' in Iraq  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said yesterday that he is inclined to oppose President Bush's appointment of Gen. George W. Casey Jr. as the new Army chief of staff, on the grounds …

Confidence in Bush Leadership Continues to Drop, Poll Finds  —  President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday at the weakest point of his presidency, with dissatisfaction over his Iraq war policies continuing to rise and confidence in his leadership continuing to decline …

Milton Friedman @ Rest  —  Email from a Nobel Laureate.  —  In July last year, the late Milton Friedman, Nobel laureate in economics in 1976, granted an interview to The Wall Street Journal.  Today we publish material from a question-and-answer exchange he had by email—shortly after their meeting …

Video: SNL hammers Hillary on Iraq  —  Lieberman and a precious few others aside, their "hawks" are opportunistic liars who only supported the war initially because it was politically expedient to do so.  We've always known that.  —  Their base knows it, too.  —  Blowback

Campaign Allegation A Source of Vexation  —  Days after Barack Obama jumped into the presidential sweepstakes, he was hit with a thinly sourced story from his past—39 years in his past, to be exact.  —  The allegation, by a conservative magazine, raised questions about whether the Illinois senator …

Unhappy Days  —  Has Arnold Schwarzenegger jumped the shark?  —  When politicians break their pledges not to raise taxes, they come up with the darnedest evasions.  Take Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wants to levy new charges on California doctors, hospitals and employers to help pay for his $12 billion health-care plan.

Website offers whistleblowers chance to go global  —  THE internet could become even more difficult for governments to regulate with a new website, Wikileaks, promising to provide a safe haven for whistleblowers to upload confidential documents.  —  Australians are among the volunteers behind the site.

Big Mommy's House  —  HILLARY JOINS THE LAKOFF BAKE-OFF.  —  Not Another Mommy: Anne Kornblut on Hillary— … It's not clear that Mommyism is the best antidote to Hillary's image as a scold who knows what's good for us and is willing to use government to make us do it.

Chavez to U.S.: 'Go to hell, gringos!'  —  CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez told U.S. officials to "Go to hell!" on his weekly radio and TV show Sunday for what he called unacceptable meddling after Washington raised concerns about a measure to grant Venezuela's fiery leftist leader broad lawmaking powers.

Pastor to defy city's order to evict homeless from church grounds  —  Long Beach cleric says allowing people to sleep on the steps is a 'religious act.' Officials cite safety, sanitation concerns.  —  Inviting a confrontation with city officials, the senior pastor at a venerable Long Beach …

Facing the Islamist Menace  —  Mark Steyn's new book is a welcome wake-up call.  —  In the prologue to his new book, America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, Mark Steyn sarcastically alludes to two people whom, in different ways, I know well.  The first is novelist Martin Amis …

We Can Win the White House  —  To build on our midterm gains, Dems should follow my '50 Percent Solution.'  —  I am blessed.  I love my job.  I wake up every Monday morning excited about the week ahead.  The one downside is how consuming it is.  I don't have much time for leisure activities.

Rush of Entries Gives '08 Race Early Intensity  —  Two years before the next president is inaugurated and a full year before the first vote is cast, the contest for the White House is off to a breathtakingly fast start, exposing an ever-growing field of candidates to longer …

Turkish Police Arrest Teenage Suspect in Editor's Killing  —  The Turkish police on Saturday arrested a 17-year-old suspect in the killing of a newspaper editor who championed Armenian rights, Turkish authorities said.  —  The editor, Hrant Dink, 52, a Turk of Armenian descent …

Clock Ticking, Speechwriters for Bush Seek Perfect Pitch  —  Most Americans think of President Bush as the commander in chief.  His speechwriters have another name for him: the editor in chief.  —  "He always wants it to be logical and straightforward," William McGurn, the chief White House speechwriter …

A WRETCHED STEW  —  After I became aware of the learned critic John Simon in the late 1960's I saw him on one of the daytime television talk shows.  Jacqueline Susann was the guest; the host was David Frost, and Frost was conducting a gushing interview with Susann about The Valley of the Dolls.