Kerry rips Bush in front of former Iranian president at Davos; Update: Video added  —  This isn't the first time a major Democratic politician, or even Waffles himself, has handed Islamic fundamentalists a propaganda freebie.  —  The unwritten rule about politics ending at the water's edge …

Tens of thousands in D.C. protest war  —  WASHINGTON - Protesters energized by fresh congressional skepticism about the Iraq war demanded a withdrawal of U.S. troops in a demonstration Saturday that drew tens of thousands and brought Jane Fonda back to the streets.

A Sorry State  —  Following his State of the Union address, President Bush's approval rating hits a new low in the NEWSWEEK poll, as Sen. Hillary Clinton enjoys an early lead among the field of likely candidates in the '08 race.  —  Only 42 percent think Bush's domestic-policy proposals will be seriously considered by the Congress

Davos Notes: John McCain Bites My Head Off  —  It was snowing heavily outside in Davos, but things got pretty heated inside a small dining room in the rustic Rinaldi Hotel where, Saturday morning, roughly 20 journalists from around the world had gathered around a rectangular table for an informal …

Speedy Gonzales  —  Marisa Taylor and Greg Gordon write for McClatchy Newspapers: … For background on the U.S. Attorney scandal — it's not generally acknowledged to be a scandal, but it should be — see old Mahablog posts U.S. Attorneys: It's the Replacing, Stupid and The Purge.

Bush's father complains of news media "hostility"  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's father accused the news media of "personal animosity" toward his son and said he found the criticism so unrelenting he sometimes talked back to his television set.

At Ease, Mr. President  —  WE hear constantly now about "our commander in chief."  The word has become a synonym for "president."  It is said that we "elect a commander in chief."  It is asked whether this or that candidate is "worthy to be our commander in chief."  —  But the president is not our commander in chief.

DO WE SAVE ENOUGH?....Do Americans save enough?  Considering that the national savings rate has been declining for decades and is now actually negative, the answer seems pretty likely to be "no." Today, though, the New York Times reports that "a small band of economists" holds the contrarian view that Americans actually save too much.

The Tale of Wayne Dumond  —  Wayne Dumond was convicted in 1985 for the rape of Ashley Stevens.  In 1999, he was released after the parole board, under pressure from Huckabee, voted to do so.  Two years later he was convicted of murdering a woman, who he also sexually assaulted.

Early on, Obama showed talent for bridging divisions  —  WASHINGTON — Barack Obama's entry into politics came on a winter morning at the white-columned Harvard Law Review building when, about 2 a.m., a deeply divided editorial staff chose him as the first African American to lead the prestigious publication.

On The Trail: A Subdued Crowd Greets Rudy In New Hampshire  —  MANCHESTER, NH — A week before Frank Santos, "The R-Rated Hyptonist" takes the stage in at the Palace Theater in Manchester, New Hampshire, former New York Mayor Rudoph Giuliani devlivered a subdued speech to the state Republican annual meeting.

Protest Focuses on Troop Increase for Iraq  —  Tens of thousands of protesters converged on the National Mall on Saturday to oppose President Bush's plan for a troop increase in Iraq in what organizers hoped would be one of the largest shows of antiwar sentiment in the nation's capital since the war began.

Iran's Nuclear Bomb: Acquiesce or Attack?  —  The top line at Davos this year is euphoria about the performance of global economies and financial markets and confidence that 2007 will bring more of the same.  Beneath the surface optimism, however, a deeper unease has emerged repeatedly about Iran …

'If they pay we kill them anyway' - the kidnapper's story  —  In the second of two remarkable dispatches from behind Baghdad's front lines, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad meets the commander of a Shia death squad  —  Fadhel is a slim, well-muscled 26-year-old Mahdi Army commander with a thin goatee beard …