House Democrats' New Strategy: Force Slow End to War  —  Led by Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., and supported by several well-funded anti-war groups, the coalition's goal is to limit or sharply reduce the number of U.S. troops available for the Iraq conflict, rather than to openly cut off funding for the war itself.

Press Conference by the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming in on an icy day.  I have just finished a conversation with General David Petraeus.  He gave me his first briefing from Iraq.  He talked about the Baghdad security plan.  It's the plan that I described to the nation last January …

Mahdi army commanders withdraw to Iran to lie low during security crackdown  —  Senior commanders of the Mahdi army, the militia loyal to the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, have been spirited away to Iran to avoid being targeted in the new security push in Baghdad, a high-level Iraqi official told the Guardian yesterday.

America's view of Republicans crumbles in Iraq  —  According to the latest Gallup survey, Republican self-identification has declined nationally and in almost every American state.  Why?  The short answer is that President Bush's war of choice in Iraq has destroyed the partisan brand Republicans spent the past four decades building.

Why Al Gore Won't Let the Rumors Die  —  It's too much to say that Al Gore has decided to run for President in 2008.  —  But it does seem that he wants to preserve the option.  —  Certainly, the recent buzz about a possible Gore campaign in 2008 doesn't seem to be spontaneously generated.

Rep. Ellison calls the cops to snuff Tancredo's cigar  —  Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran.  But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn't believe it's Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office.

Libby and Cheney Won't Testify, Says the Defense  —  Lawyers defending I. Lewis Libby Jr. against perjury charges surprised the courtroom on Tuesday by saying that they would rest their case this week and do so without putting on the stand either Mr. Libby or Vice President Dick Cheney.

Question:  —  I applaud your efforts to introduce Muslims to the west in a comedic manner.  I truly believe that we need to use humor to diffuse the pervasive negative image we face in the media.  —  I find, however, that in many chat rooms Muslims are up in arms over little aspects …

Parsing the Polls: Answering the Mormon Question  —  The fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon is no secret.  Scads of stories have been written about that very fact, and it's a regular topic of conversation among Washington's chattering class.  —  What effect Romney's religion will have on his chances …

Bush: Who Cares if Iran Ordered EFP Attacks?  —  The Iran innuendo continues.  In his press conference today, President Bush said that the U.S. knows "with certainty" that the EFPs coming in from Iran for attacks on U.S. forces originate with the Qods Forces — a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On TV: 'News War' probes a media under siege  —  Frontline's timeliness is usually impressive.  As I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's perjury trial is in full swing, the PBS news series brings us "News War," a four-part examination of the challenges the news industry faces in an era of consumer backlash and secretive government.

TERRORISM....A recent post from Glenn Reynolds about how we ought to be responding to Iran has been batted around quite a bit in the past few days.  Here's Glenn: … I imagine a lot of people agree with Glenn, but his recommendation really demonstrates the moral knot caused by George Bush's insistence …

Hillary Clinton: "If the administration believes that any, any use of force against Iran is necessary, the president must come to Congress to seek that authority.  —  Hillary Clinton demands that President Bush go through Congress if he plans to take any military action against Iran.  —  Download (456) |

Candidates Find A New Stump In the Blogosphere  —  Nearly a year before the first caucuses and primaries take place, the 2008 presidential campaign advertising war is under way online.  —  Candidates of both parties are already buying space on search engines, blogs and other Internet sites popular …

Recall drive targets McCain over Iraq  —  A new recall drive targets Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a top contender for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.  —  Organizers oppose McCain's continued support of the unpopular Iraq war and consider him complicit in what they perceive as the erosion …

I'm Spartacus.  —  Shakespeare's Sister has announced that she is bowing out of the Edwards campaign.  —  Needless to say this is a very sad and sobering development.  —  And needless to say that she is doing it with orders of magnitude more grace and élan than either …

MELLENCAMP: U.S. SHOULD NOT RESPOND TO 9/11 OR PEARL HARBOR  —  Singer John Mellencamp on the 'Charlie Rose Show' said the removal of the Taliban after 9/11 was wrong, but further Mellencamp stated if the United States knew exactly where Osama bin Laden was it would be wrong to drop a bomb on OBL's head.

Bush Stays Out of Fight, Opts for Lighter Fare  —  While the House of Representatives debated weighty matters of war and peace yesterday, President Bush headed to the YMCA.  —  In a brightly lighted basement gym, he visited children bending paperclips into different shapes and urged Americans to volunteer as mentors.