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 …

Today's Must Read  —  Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to the Blackberry Defense.  —  The setup: on February 6th, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the administration intended to nominate (and have the Senate confirm) replacements for all the ousted prosecutors.

Beyond the pale: anti-gay, racist emails from Army recruiter … Is this the General Peter Pace policy at work?  —  Corey Andrew had his profile and resume posted at Careerbuilder.com, and it caught the eye of Army recruiter Marcia Ramode, who contacted him.

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.

Northern Ireland Rivals Reach Deal  —  The leaders of Northern Ireland's dominant rival groups, Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams and the Protestant leader, the Rev. Ian Paisley, met today for what was billed as their first face-to-face talks, agreeing to form a joint administration for the province on May 8.

Sticky wicket of creeping sharia  —  The other day Pakistan's Gen. Musharraf took time off from his hectic schedule of trying to survive assassination attempts to pay tribute to someone who, alas, had been less successful at dodging killers: A week ago, during the cricket World Cup, Bob Woolmer …

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 …

Aged, Frail and Denied Care by Their Insurers  —  CONRAD, Mont. — Mary Rose Derks was a 65-year-old widow in 1990, when she began preparing for the day she could no longer care for herself.  Every month, out of her grocery fund, she scrimped together about $100 for an insurance policy …

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.

Online, Churls Gone Vile  —  One of the unique qualities of Internet discourse is its freewheeling, no-holds-barred nature, where passionate arguments are often accompanied by some choice expletives and a virtual finger in the eye.  —  But what happens when the talk turns ugly, racist and violent?

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 …

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.

The most revealing three-minute You Tube clip ever  —  I want to return to the video clip of the jovial and dismissive discussion of the U.S. attorneys scandal on yesterday's Chris Matthews Show (embedded below).  In one sense, this clip is completely typical of how our national media thinks and talks about political matters.

HILLARY CLINTON'S $2.6 MILLION HOLLYWOOD HIT  —  Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.  —  Live Earth |  Hugh Hefner's Love  —  Hillary Clinton's $2.6 Million Hollywood Hit  —  Sen. Hillary Clinton hit Hollywood last night at the estate of grocery store mogul Ron Burkle and took home $2.6 million for her presidential campaign.

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.''

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.