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.

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.

Tony Blair's abrupt reversal on Iraq  —  Tony Blair, January 24, 2007 (from The Los Angeles Times) … A "deeply irresponsible" Tony Blair, today (from Associated Press) … That rather striking reversal does not appear to reflect much confidence in the prospects of success for the President's Glorious AEI Surge currently underway.

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.) …

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 …

Iraq War Attitudes  —  Public Opinion Strategies* has released a survey [PDF file here] of likely voters' attitudes toward the Iraq War that finds that most voters think the country is going in the wrong direction (67%) and President Bush is doing a poor job (60%), and that Iraq will never be a stable democracy (60%).

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.

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?

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Joint force weighs move on Sadr City  —  The vast Baghdad slum harbors a key militia but a sweep could backfire.  —  BAGHDAD — U.S. and Iraqi forces have moved aggressively in the last week to combat Sunni Arab insurgents in neighborhoods across the capital and to establish a stronger presence …