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.

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 …

Scant evidence found of Iran-Iraq arms link  —  U.S. warnings of advanced weaponry crossing the border are overstated, critics say.  —  BAQUBAH, IRAQ — If there is anywhere Iran could easily stir up trouble in Iraq, it would be in Diyala, a rugged province along the border between the two nations.

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 …

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.

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 …

McCain Bashes Cheney Over Iraq Policy  —  With his presidential hopes tied to an administration whose Iraq policy he supports but cannot control, John McCain for the first time blamed Vice President Cheney for what McCain calls the "witch's brew" of a "terribly mishandled" war in which U.S. forces are on the verge of defeat.

The State of the Union is a Disaster:  —  The Speech George Bush Should Make Tuesday Night  —  Don't bother standing up or clapping, any of you.  I already know who won the election, and I know how you feel.  —  I come before you tonight not to make amends, not to make it good, curry any favor or find any middle ground.

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.

Suicide Strike on Pakistani Army in North Waziristan  —  Around 40 masked gunmen claiming to be members of al-Qaida stormed an empty beach resort and blew up a reception hall on Tuesday.  They said they were sending a message to Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, a close ally of President Abbas.

WEB SITE KICKS SAND IN FACES OF GIS IN IRAQ ASKING FOR MATS TO EASE HARDSHIP OF SLEEPING ON GROUND  —  An American GI assigned to one of the harshest posts in Iraq had a simple request last week for a Wisconsin mattress company: send some floor mats to help ease the hardship of sleeping on the cold, bug-infested ground.

US, Canada Clash over Former Detainee  —  The plight of former terror detainee Maher Arar led Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) to erupt at Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at a hearing last week, calling it a "black mark on us."  —  But despite the fact …

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 …

Libby Jury Picked — Includes Retired 'Wash Post' Reporter  —  WASHINGTON A jury that includes four critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policies was seated Monday to try former White House aide "Scooter" Libby on charges of lying about what he told reporters concerning the wife of a prominent war opponent.

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.