The Failed Attorney General  —  During the hearing on his nomination as attorney general, Alberto Gonzales said he understood the difference between the job he held — President Bush's in-house lawyer — and the job he wanted, which was to represent all Americans as their chief law enforcement officer …

Meltdown over Fox  —  Network co-sponsors state Democratic debate — oh my!  —  Hard-core liberals can't stand the Fox News Channel.  Passing a television that's tuned to the conservative favorite forces many of them to close their eyes, cover their ears and scream, "La la la la la la la la la!"

Iran tells US to set timetable for Iraq exit  —  Iranian officials last night demanded a timetable for US troop withdrawal from Iraq as they attended a rare meeting with American diplomats in Baghdad.  —  The conference was aimed at stopping Iraq being used as a sectarian battleground by Sunni and Shia neighbours.

Warming Report to Warn of Coming Drought  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - The harmful effects of global warming on daily life are already showing up, and within a couple of decades hundreds of millions of people won't have enough water, top scientists will say next month at a meeting in Belgium.

New John Edwards Sells Less Biography, More Liberal Issues  —  When he first ran for president, then-Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) was the fresh face in the Democratic Party, a perpetually buoyant campaigner who built his candidacy around his own biography and whose success in the primaries earned him a place on the 2004 Democratic ticket.

The 'Surge' Is Succeeding  —  A front-page story in The Post last week suggested that the Bush administration has no backup plan in case the surge in Iraq doesn't work.  I wonder if The Post and other newspapers have a backup plan in case it does.  —  Leading journalists have been reporting …

Cameron considers tax hikes on air travel  —  Harsh new taxes on air travel, including a strict personal flight "allowance", will be unveiled by the Conservatives tomorrow as part of a plan that would penalise business travellers, holidaymakers and the tourist industry.

Crisis Looms in Mortgages  —  On March 1, a Wall Street analyst at Bear Stearns wrote an upbeat report on a company that specializes in making mortgages to cash-poor homebuyers.  The company, New Century Financial, had already disclosed that a growing number of borrowers were defaulting …

Defector spied on Iran for years  —  AN Iranian general who defected to the West last month had been spying on Iran since 2003 when he was recruited on an overseas business trip, according to Iranian sources.  —  This weekend Brigadier General Ali Reza Asgari, 63, the former deputy defence minister …

Sunday Talking Head Thread  —  (Today's photo of a robin and a cedar waxwing comes from reader Scott in Tallahassee, whose backyard birdbath is clearly popular.)  —  Here's the Sunday Talking Head show line-up.  —  C-Span's Washington Journal: 7:30am - Tim Darnell, Southern Political Report …

Poll: Character trumps policy for voters  —  WASHINGTON - For all the policy blueprints churned out by presidential campaigns, there is this indisputable fact: People care less about issues than they do about a candidate's character.  —  A new Associated Press-Ipsos poll says 55 percent …

Scandal of treatment for wounded Iraq veterans  —  A shocking picture of neglect and the appalling treatment of wounded British troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan emerged last night in a remarkable series of letters from soldiers' families obtained by The Observer.

Lotto Makes Sense, Even for Losers  —  AT least poker tables have some atmosphere, a jingle of highball glasses, a hint of 1990s menthol smoke in the armchairs, the sweet musk of nearby cash.  The same goes for playing the horses: there are characters, scandals, competition, not to mention real payoffs.