The Defense Rests, and Not a Minute Too Soon  —  For a brief moment yesterday, Scooter Libby was not a former White House aide on trial for perjury.  He was an orphan in need of a loving home.  —  "He's been under my protection for the last month; now I'm entrusting him to you," defense lawyer Ted Wells told the puzzled jurors.

EXCLUSIVE: Cheney Says British Troop Withdrawal Is Positive Sign  —  Vice President Tells Soldiers in Tokyo the U.S. Will Not Withdraw Until the Job Is Done  —  British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement that British troops will begin withdrawing from Iraq would appear to be bad news for the Bush administration.

Rape Accusation Reinforces Fears in a Divided Iraq  —  The most wicked acts are spoken of openly and without reserve in Iraq.  Torture, stabbings and bodies ripped to pieces in bombings are all part of the daily conversation.  —  Rape is different.  —  Rape is not mentioned by the victims, and rarely by the authorities.

Berger Case Still Roils Archives, Justice Dept.  —  In a chandeliered room at the Justice Department, the longtime head of the counterespionage section, the chief of the public integrity unit, a deputy assistant attorney general, some trial lawyers and a few FBI agents all looked down at their pant legs and socks.

Swift Action Promised at Walter Reed  —  Investigations Urged as Army Moves to Make Repairs, Improve Staffing  —  The White House and congressional leaders called yesterday for swift investigation and repair of the problems plaguing outpatient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center …

The Woman in the Middle  —  Moderate Democrat Is New Target of Liberal Bloggers  —  The Democratic majority was only three weeks old, but by Jan. 26, the grass-roots and Net-roots activists of the party's left wing had already settled on their new enemy: Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.) …

AMERICA SAYS LET'S WIN WAR  —  POLL SUPPORTS KEEPING U.S. TROOPS IN IRAQ  —  In a dramatic finding, a new poll shows a solid majority of Americans still wants to win the war in Iraq - and keep U.S. troops there until the Baghdad government can take over.  —  Strong majorities also say victory …

Tony Snow and White House Reporters Slam The 'Hateful,' 'Polarized' Blogosphere  —  In a press roundtable at the National Press Club tonight, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow led a discussion with White House correspondents about the impact of the internet on their respective jobs.  Their conclusion?

Is there life after Bush?  —  We've been hating him forever, but he's leaving.  Now we have to decide what to do with the rest of our lives.  —  Hating George W. Bush sometimes feels like a full-time job.  I get up in the morning, open the paper, and it's Bush World.

Mitt Romney's Extreme Makeover  —  Precisely two years ago, Mitt Romney, then the governor of Massachusetts but already eyeing a 2008 presidential bid, sat in the coffee shop of a Washington hotel, doing his best not to explain his views on abortion.  —  Romney was speaking to a few of us from The Post …

Lower Voter Turnout Is Seen in States That Require ID  —  States that imposed identification requirements on voters reduced turnout at the polls in the 2004 presidential election by about 3 percent, and by two to three times as much for minorities, new research suggests.

Guantanamo Detainees Lose Appeal  —  Habeas Corpus Case May Go to High Court  —  A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that hundreds of detainees in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, do not have the right to challenge their imprisonment in federal courts, a victory for the Bush administration …

Fitting the Bill  —  Why isn't Bill Richardson's presidential candidacy taken seriously?  —  On Thursday, February 8, Bill Richardson delivered a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on "The New Realism and the Rebirth of American Leadership," laying out the foreign policy vision …

US ruling puts new limits on punitive damages  —  By Patti Waldmeir in Washington and Chris Bowe in New York  —  The US Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed new constitutional limits on some court damages awards, but stopped short of the tough clampdown sought by the US business community.

Dissecting Maureen Dowd's Obama hit piece  —  As a campaigner, Sen. Barack Obama is angry and overwhelmed.  —  That was the unflattering takeaway from Maureen Dowd's catty column (subscription required) last week about the Illinois senator's foray onto the presidential campaign trail …

Eric Alterman thinks there should be a "blogging council" to condemn bloggers who go wrong.  —  Alterman is talking with Mark Schmitt on the new Bloggingheads.  They've just discussed the problem the Edwards campaign had with the bloggers it hired.  (Eric says, and I agree …