Gonzales Draws Strong Criticism of Prosecutors  —  Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales endured blunt criticism Tuesday from federal prosecutors who questioned the firings of eight United States attorneys, complained that the dismissals had undermined morale and expressed broader grievances …

Democrats Are Building on Unity Over Iraq Pullout  —  No one has seemed more surprised by the Democrats' success in pushing an exit strategy for Iraq than the Democrats.  —  Their aggressiveness and unity on a major foreign-policy challenge to the president is a striking change for a party that has …

The Myth Of Voter Fraud  —  As Congress probes the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, attention is centering on who knew what, and when.  It's just as important to focus on "why," such as the reason given for the firing of at least one of the U.S. attorneys, John McKay of Washington state …

Democrats say McCain nearly abandoned GOP  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions.

Video: Rove raps at correspondents dinner.  —  At tonight's Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, Karl Rove said he likes to "tear the tops off of small animals" in his spare time, then rapped about it as "MC Rove."  Watch it:  —  At the same event, President Bush said of the U.S. Attorney scandal …

US 'no longer technology king'  —  The US has lost its position as the world's primary engine of technology innovation, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.  —  The US is now ranked seventh in the body's league table measuring the impact of technology on the development of nations.

Scottish Firm In The Poo  —  A Scottish company has been slammed for inviting customers to "send a poo" to an Englishman on St George's Day.  —  Edinburgh-based firm PostaPoo.com is selling plastic "realistic poo" to send to "your favourite (or least favourite) Englishman" to mark April 23.

Md. Senate Advances Bill To Dodge Electoral College  —  Maryland is poised to become the first state to agree to bypass the electoral college and effectively elect U.S. presidents by national popular vote under legislation moving briskly toward the desk of Gov. Martin O'Malley (D).

U.N. Human Rights Council is now officially a joke  —  In Geneva this week, any pretense of utility or fairness that clung to the United Nations Human Rights Council finally evaporated.  By a decisive margin, the Council voted to end its examination of Iran and Uzbekistan despite worsening human rights records in both countries.

Senate's Bold Proposal for Iraq: Sugar Beets and Rural Schools — in the U.S.  —  Midway through the Senate debate yesterday over the "emergency" spending bill for Iraq, Barbara Boxer rose to speak in favor — of strawberries.  —  "There's a song called 'Strawberry Fields Forever,' " …

Iraq official confirms police in reprisal killings  —  Source: Reuters  —  Policemen who took part in the reprisal shootings of scores of men in northwest Iraq this week were arrested but then freed again to prevent unrest, the provincial governor said on Thursday.

I'm in tune with the 'I can' generation  —  Politics requires many virtues - organisation, ideas, resolution, luck.  —  But chief among them is the hardest to define: that elusive sense of being in tune with the times.  Political parties succeed when they join their values to deep economic, social and cultural trends.