Clinton Objects to Confederate Flag  —  ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag from its Statehouse grounds, in part because the nation should unite under one banner while at war.

Trial Spotlights Cheney's Power as an Infighter  —  A picture taking shape from hours of testimony and reams of documents in the trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr. shatters any notion that the White House was operating as a model of cohesion throughout President Bush's first term.

Supreme Court's new tilt could put Scalia on a roll  —  The outspoken justice is poised to lead a new conservative majority.  —  WASHINGTON — It has been two decades in the making, but this is the year Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court's most outspoken dissenter, could emerge as a leader of a new conservative majority.

Campos: The right's Ward Churchill  —  Murder is the premeditated unlawful killing of a human being.  Glenn Reynolds, the well-known University of Tennessee law professor who authors one of the Internet's most popular blogs, recently advocated the murder of Iranian scientists and clerics.

Army Fixing Patients' Housing  —  Walter Reed Army Medical Center began repairs yesterday on Building 18, a former hotel that is used to house outpatients recuperating from injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan and that has been plagued with mold, leaky plumbing and a broken elevator.

Iraqi Militants Launch Attack on U.S. Outpost  —  In a rare coordinated assault on an American combat outpost north of Baghdad, suicide bombers drove one or more cars laden with explosives into the compound on Monday, while other insurgents opened fire in the ensuing chaos, according to witnesses and the American military.

Conservatives Target GOP War Critics in Congress  —  House Republican leaders and conservative activists are targeting critics of President Bush's plan to send more combat forces into Iraq — and some GOP lawmakers are on the hit list.  —  Amid a mounting campaign in Congress …

The Antiwar Surge  —  Iraq is unpopular, but embracing defeat may prove politically disastrous for Democrats.  —  In mid-January an Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that public support for President Bush's troop surge increased to 35%, up from 26% a few weeks earlier.

Moral Waivers and the Military  —  The Iraq war has plunged the Army into a vicious cycle of declining standards.  Multiple, extended tours of duty have sapped morale and blighted recruiting.  New plans for a larger overall force could reduce pressures but would also mean that recruiters would have to meet higher quotas.

The Rape of Sabrine...  It takes a lot to get the energy and resolution to blog lately.  I guess it's mainly because just thinking about the state of Iraq leaves me drained and depressed.  But I had to write tonight.  —  As I write this, Oprah is on Channel 4 (one of the MBC channels we get on Nilesat) …

Heroes And Cowards  —  Corporal Thomas Saba was buried in the Moravian Cemetery on Staten Island last Friday.  One of seven Marines killed when their helicopter was shot down in Iraq on February 7, Saba, 30, enlisted in the spring of 2002 in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Why John McCain  —  He's a leader for our times.  —  Four years ago I decided to quit while I was ahead and concluded my 24-year political career.  When I left the Senate, I also left the public policy debate and talking-head role to those actually in the arena.

Romney Goes Up On TV  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney goes up on the air tomorrow in parts of Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina with his campaign's first ad.  The 60-second spot, "Unplugged," features Mitt on the stump.  There will also be a condensed, 30-second version.

Defending Nation's Latest War, Bush Recalls Its First  —  To those who criticize his handling of the war in Iraq, President Bush likes to say that history will be his judge.  On Monday, Presidents' Day, Mr. Bush wrapped himself in history's embrace, invoking another war, the American Revolution, and another George W.

MIDDLE CLASS, OR SWING VOTERS?  To much fanfare, including a glowing column from David Brooks, the new report from the "strategy center for progressives" known as Third Way has arrived: The New Rules Economy: A Policy Framework for the 21st Century." expands the argument that Third Way has made elsewhere …