Did Ari Fleischer Commit Perjury Today?  —  I think I may have found evidence that Ari Fleischer committed perjury today.  If Ari Fleischer did not commit perjury today, then former Time Magazine reporter John Dickerson is a big-time liar.  First I will introduce the principals …

With Iran Ascendant, U.S. Is Seen at Fault  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Kuwait rarely rebuffs its ally, the United States, partly out of gratitude for the 1991 Persian Gulf War.  But in October it reneged on a pledge to send three military observers to an American-led naval exercise in the Gulf …

Bush Directive Increases Sway on Regulation  —  President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy.

Iraqis Raid Insurgents Near Shiite Holy City  —  More Than 300 Reported Dead in Ongoing Battle in Najaf  —  Iraqi soldiers, backed by U.S. helicopters, stormed an encampment of hundreds of insurgents hiding among date palm orchards in southern Iraq in an operation Sunday that set off fierce …

KLEIN, MAN OF SUBSTANCE, DEFENDS BRODER'S SUBSTANCE-FREE ATTACK ON HILLARY.  —  Over at Swampland, Joe Klein responds to Atrios and Matthew Yglesias by defending David Broder's silly column attacking Hillary Clinton for not asking questions at the Senate hearing on General Petraeus.  Klein writes:

What the President Got Right  —  GIVE BUSH CREDIT FOR HIS ENERGY PROPOSAL.  —  It "fell far short" (Washington Post editorial) and offers only "marginal" gains (New York Times editorial) and is "nonsense" (Charles Krauthammer) and "isn't much" (Thomas Friedman).

Air America Radio Buyout, Stephen L Green  —  NEXT SUCKER, PLEASE  —  AAR Buyer Finally Emerges, Franken Bye-Bye  —  *** Also: give Maria Bartiromo a break!  And: updates at SaveWRKO ***  —  With a deal finally announced, the only surprise is that the "winning" bidder was a late entrant to the Air America Radio bailout race.

Only the US hawks can save the Iranian president now  —  Ahmadinejad is failing to deliver for the poor and losing support, but he could yet survive because of the international threat  —  The honeymoon is over.  Iran's controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has finally come unstuck.

PRESIDENT BUSH'S SUPPORT HOLDING STEADY  —  We hear a lot of hysteria in the press about the American people deserting President Bush.  Every time a new poll is released, it is trumpeted as documenting a new low in the President's approval rating.  But these polls follow a variety of methodologies …

Full Transcript: NPR Interview with President Bush  —  · The following is a full transcript of NPR's interview with President George W. Bush, conducted by Juan Williams on Monday, Jan. 29, 2007.  —  JUAN WILLIAMS: Mr. President, we can't say thank you enough for giving NPR this time, so thank you.

All the Old Dudes  —  "A man could make a fortune selling Geritol to these people."  —  Capitalist stooge that I am, that was my first reaction upon reaching the Washington Mall last Saturday to observe tens of thousands of demonstrators rally against the war in Iraq.