A President All Alone  —  Two weeks earlier on Capitol Hill, there was a groundswell of Republican demands — public and private — that President Bush pardon Scooter Libby.  Last week, as Alberto Gonzales came under withering Democratic fire, there were no public GOP declarations …

24% Consider Al Gore Global Warming Expert  —  Former Vice President Al Gore (D) received a warm welcome on Capitol Hill last week for his testimony on the environment and Global Warming.  However, while he is now an Academy Award winner and celebrity activist, just 24% of Americans consider Gore an expert on Global Warming.

Work can be balm during health crisis  —  When John and Elizabeth Edwards learned Wednesday that Elizabeth Edwards' breast cancer had returned, the presidential campaign, which often seems removed from daily life, suddenly mirrored reality for thousands of American families facing a deadly illness.

N.Y. Mayor Is Eyeing '08, Observers Say  —  New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a self-made billionaire, has told friends more than once that his definition of good financial planning is making sure the check to the undertaker bounces when it's finally time to go.

GSA Chief Is Accused of Playing Politics  —  Doan Denies 'Improper' Use of Agency for GOP  —  Witnesses have told congressional investigators that the chief of the General Services Administration and a deputy in Karl Rove's political affairs office at the White House joined in a videoconference earlier …

Iran rebuffs Blair's plea for release of captives  —  Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor and James Bone in New York  —  The Iranian Foreign Minister accused a group of captured British servicemen last night of having committed an act of "aggression", only hours after Tony Blair appealed for their release.

Iran Feels Pinch As Major Banks Curtail Business  —  More than 40 major international banks and financial institutions have either cut off or cut back business with the Iranian government or private sector as a result of a quiet campaign launched by the Treasury and State departments last September …

Earmark Cover-Up  —  The Congressional Research Service is helping its masters hide wasteful spending.  —  Nothing highlighted Congress's spending problem in last year's election more than earmarks, the special projects like Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere" that members drop …

G.O.P. Senators Lug Weight of War Toward '08  —  Senator John E. Sununu knows that his political future could hinge on the war in Iraq, try as he might to change the subject.  —  For weeks, Mr. Sununu and Republican colleagues who face re-election next year have trudged through an on-again, off-again Iraq debate in Congress.

A Fresh Face Vows to Revive the G.O.P.  —  Amid the sea of square jaws and swept-back gray hair in Congress, Representative Adam H. Putnam, a tousled redhead whose cherubic appearance still causes Capitol police to stop him occasionally, appears a bit out of place.

Drop in Ad Revenue Raises Tough Question for Newspapers  —  For newspapers, February was the cruelest month.  So far.  —  Revenue from advertising was in striking decline last month, compared with February a year ago, and were generally weaker than analysts had expected.

Moore, Gore...and now Santorum?  —  Former GOP senator says he plans to make documentaries to counter left-wing films.  —  | Michael Moore, look out.  Rick Santorum is getting into the documentary filmmaking business and he's out to tell ''the other side of the story.''

Hulk Hogan of legal world volunteers to go up against imams  —  I wrote last week about the "flying imams"' federal lawsuit, which sets a new low in efforts to intimidate passengers concerned about air travel safety.  Buried in Paragraph 21 of the imams' complaint is a legal landmine …