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.

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 …

Davos—Senator McCain on China.  —  I just had breakfast with Senator McCain at a media briefing.  If I were still doing editorials, I would go into the details of his remarks on Iraq but I'm not and I won't.  The Senator's comments on China are, however, important to the business community …

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

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.

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.

'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 …

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 …

On Iran, Bush Faces Haunting Echoes of Iraq  —  As President Bush and his aides calibrate how directly to confront Iran, they are discovering that both their words and their strategy are haunted by the echoes of four years ago — when their warnings of terrorist activity and nuclear ambitions were clearly a prelude to war.

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.