Statement on Campaign Bloggers  —  The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte's and Melissa McEwan's posts personally offended me.  It's not how I talk to people, and it's not how I expect the people who work for me to talk to people.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion …

GOP makes much ado about the size of Pelosi's plane  —  The House speaker has had the use of a government jet since the Sept. 11 attacks  —  (02-08) 04:00 PST Washington — The way Speaker Nancy Pelosi will travel home to San Francisco and on official business is the latest tempest to hit the House of Representatives.

Russert on the Hot Seat in Libby Trial  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — NBC's Tim Russert got the sort of "Meet the Press" interrogation he usually gives to his guests as attorneys Thursday flashed excerpts of his previous statements on a video monitor and asked him to explain inconsistencies.

7 GOP Senators Back War Debate  —  Lawmakers Had Blocked Action on Troop Resolution  —  Senate Republicans who earlier this week helped block deliberations on a resolution opposing President Bush's new troop deployments in Iraq changed course yesterday and vowed to use every tactic at their disposal to ensure a full and open debate.

Blackout of the Press  —  Abu Omar al-Baghdadi made his grand entrance onto the jihadist stage on October 12, 2006, and since then he's delivered two very important speeches — the more recent one came out last week — and has taken credit for much of the spectacular outbreaks of violence in Iraq of late …

Jonah Goldberg Day!  —  Two years ago today, Jonah Goldberg threw down the following challenge to Juan Cole: … Since Goldberg enjoys throwing a little smear-job in with his punditry, he also offered this: … Got it.  So we have a prediction, along with the insinuation that Professor Cole …

Obama Off and Running  —  Barack Obama smiled when I asked him why white people always call him "unthreatening."  —  Does a black man have to be "unthreatening" to get elected president in 2008?  I asked.  —  "Well, look, our racial politics are complicated in this country," Obama said.

Mormon Candidate Braces for Religion as Issue  —  As he begins campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is facing a threshold issue: Will his religion — he is a Mormon — be a big obstacle to winning the White House?

Hillary Clinton should ditch the trousers: Versace  —  BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should tap into her feminine side and wear dresses and skirts instead of trousers, fashion designer Donatella Versace was quoted as saying on Thursday.

Bush Wants Funding Jump for Anti-Drug Ads Rated as Useless  —  President Bush has proposed a significant jump in funding for an anti-drug advertising campaign that government-funded research shows is at best useless and at worst has increased drug use among some teens.

Baseless claims  —  ANDREW SULLIVAN cites the conventional wisdom on Rudy Giuliani today: the Republican party is now virtually the political wing of organised "Christianism", and the religious base will savage the secular, gay-friendly and abortion-rights-supporting New Yorker.

MANY 1967-72 SPITTING INCIDENTS ARE DOCUMENTED IN THE PRESS.  Hundreds of Vietnam-era veterans have publicly claimed in recent decades that they were spat on by citizens or anti-war protesters because of their military status either before they went to Vietnam, on leave, or after their return from overseas.