Death Knell May Be Near for Public Election Funds  —  The public financing system for presidential campaigns, a post-Watergate initiative hailed for decades as the best way to rid politics of the corrupting influence of money, may have quietly died over the weekend.

Key Republican Senator Offers Bipartisan Call to Reject Bush Plan for More Troops in Iraq  —  Senator John W. Warner of Virginia, one of Congress's leading authorities on the military, presented a bipartisan proposal on Monday that soundly rejected President Bush's plan to send more American troops …

Poll: Bush Approval Rating At New Low  —  On Eve Of State Of Union, President's Approval Rating Falls To 28%, A New Low  —  (CBS) President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night to a nation that's strongly opposed to his plan for increasing troops in Iraq …

Retreat Isn't an Option  —  Sen. Hillary Clinton declared this weekend, " I'm in to win."  Anyone who has watched her remarkable trajectory can have no doubt that she'll do whatever it takes to win the presidency.  I wish she felt the same way about the war.

1 dead, 10 hurt as opposition moves to topple Lebanon gov't  —  At least 11 men were wounded Tuesday in clashes during the first hours of a Lebanese general strike called by the Hezbollah-led opposition to try to topple Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Western-backed government.

Bush Poll Ratings Before Speech Fall to Nixon's Level (Update2)  —  Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush's approval ratings are now the lowest for any president the day before a State of the Union speech since Richard Nixon in 1974, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT: If you take Second Amendment issues into account when deciding whom to support, or if you simply are interested how the candidates will likely fare with an important bloc of voters, here's a preliminary assessment of some of the people who have been listed as likely or definite candidates.

Bush, at Low Point in Polls, Will Push Domestic Agenda  —  Carrying some of the worst public approval ratings of any president in a generation, President Bush is heading into his State of the Union address on Tuesday night seeking to revitalize his domestic agenda but facing stiff resistance …

Nearly two-thirds in U.S. have given up on Iraq  —  NBC/WSJ poll: Bush 'really in the cellar of public opinion'  —  WASHINGTON - When President Bush delivers his next-to-last State of the Union address Tuesday night, he will confront this reality, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll …

Black Caucus: Whites Not Allowed  —  Freshman Rep. Stephen I. Cohen, D-Tenn., is not joining the Congressional Black Caucus after several current and former members made it clear that a white lawmaker was not welcome.  —  "I think they're real happy I'm not going to join," said Cohen …

PREZ-MINDED RUDY TO SHED FINANCE BIZ  —  Rudy Giuliani, a 2008 GOP White House front-runner, is moving to sell the Wall Street wing of his multi-pronged business - the strongest sign yet that he's making a serious play for the presidency, The Post has learned.

Can I Be President?  —  "No person except a natural born citizen ... shall be eligible to the Office of President."  —  Forget Giuliani, McCain, Romney, Obama, and Clinton.  There is only one candidate that every American envisions in the White House: oneself.

Warner refutes rumors of revived '08 bid  —  RICHMOND, Va. - Mark Warner's recent travels look like a revived presidential bid.  Not so, says the Virginia Democrat.  —  "I have no intention of getting back in the race," Warner told The Associated Press late last week …