Kerry won't run for president in '08  —  WASHINGTON —Senator John F. Kerry plans to announce today that he will not run in the 2008 presidential race, and will instead remain in Congress and seek reelection to his Senate seat next year, according to senior Democratic officials.

Transcript: CNN Interview with Cheney  —  We've just received the transcript for Vice President Cheney's interview with Wolf Blitzer this morning.  It's posted in full below the fold.  —  Q And joining us now, the Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney.  Mr. Vice President, thanks very much for doing this.

Hagel: "There Is No Plan"  —  Here's Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) barnburner of a speech this morning during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on the resolution against the president's troop increase in Iraq.  —  An excerpt: … Update: We've added a complete transcript of this portion of his remarks below.

Tax break talks slow minimum wage hike  —  WASHINGTON — The minimum wage increase that was supposed to zip through Congress veered onto a collision course Wednesday as lawmakers argued over business tax breaks that would be attached to ensure Republican support.

The Knee-Jerk Opposition  —  If George W. Bush proposes something, it must be bad.  Such is the knee-jerk state of partisan suspiciousness that when the president actually endorses a tax increase — a tax increase that would primarily hit the well-off, no less — Democrats still howl.

Nifong Faces More Serious Ethics Charges  —  RALEIGH — The North Carolina State Bar Wednesday filed new and more serious ethics charges against Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong, accusing him of withholding DNA evidence and misrepresenting the truth to the judge in the Duke lacrosse case.

Rice: U.S. to pledge $770M to Lebanon  —  PARIS — The United States plans to offer nearly $770 million to help the fragile democratic government in Lebanon, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday, a day after deadly protests in Beirut offered fresh evidence of deep political and sectarian divisions.

MN congresswoman can't keep her hand off President  —  Newly-elected Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann got quite a bit of face time with President Bush after his State of the Union Speech Tuesday night.  —  While the President was signing autographs for members of Congress after the speech …

SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE NEW YORK MONEY PEOPLE:  —  I've admired Wes Clark for a long time.  But his comments to Ariana Huffington about wealthy Jews pushing the country toward war with Iran strike me as nutty and disturbing.  Either I seriously misjudged the man, or his comments were misquoted or taken wildly out of context.

Rivals CNN and Fox News Spar Over Obama Report  —  A disputed report on the Web site of a conservative magazine about Senator Barack Obama's childhood schooling kicked off a pointed exchange this week between the rival cable news networks CNN and Fox News, when CNN seemed to make an overt effort …

Take The Pledge  —  Take the pledge.  This is the temporary site.  The full-service site will be up soon.  —  If you are a blogger who has taken the pledge and linked to the site, please send me a note so I can add your support here.  —  I interviewed Tony Snow at the top of the program today …

The new Newt thing  —  Draft me!  Draft me!  Newt Gingrich has a big idea and thinks you'll like it so much he'll just have to run for president, says Fortune's Nina Easton.  —  (Fortune Magazine) — Inside a modest hotel meeting room in Tempe, Ariz., a dozen health-care thinkers kill …

Exceeding Expectations  —  Bush's former speechwriter on what the president did right—and on Jim Webb's wobbly wordcraft.  —  All the commentary leading up to the State of the Union noted the president's historically low poll ratings and unpopular Iraq strategy.

Why Democrats can stop the war  —  Pundits say if the party gets too tough with Bush, it will be blamed for "losing" Iraq.  But the real political risk is going too easy on Bush, and losing the trust of war-weary voters.  —  Clockwise from top left: Lyndon Johnson, George W. Bush, a Vietnam War protest and Richard Nixon