White House OK'ed Sampson Statement on Rove  —  Earlier, I flagged an email in today's document dump that showed Kyle Sampson preparing to run his letter to Congress by the White House.  —  The letter stated, "The Department is not aware of Karl Rove playing any role in the decision to appoint …

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 …

Dobson Offers Insight on 2008 Republican Hopefuls  —  Focus on Family Founder Snubs Thompson, Praises Gingrich  —  Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich …

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 …

Doan "totally paranoid"  —  Listening into the live webcast of the GSA hearings just now, the camera was down, but the audio was still up and you could here GSA Administrator Lurita Doan griping about the investigation and telling one of her people to take her glass, cause she doesn't want "them to have my fingerprints.

Saudi King Condemns U.S. Occupation of Iraq  —  The king of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, condemned the presence of American forces in Iraq as an "illegitimate foreign occupation" in a speech today, and said the withholding of aid to Palestinians should end.  —  The king's speech …

CBS Poll: Most Support Edwards' Decision  —  57% Say He's Right To Stay In Presidential Race  —  (CBS) Americans support former Sen. John Edwards' decision to continue his bid for the Democratic Presidential nomination after his wife was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer — and by a margin of more than 2-to-1.

Culture of Corruption: Dianne Feinstein Edition?  —  HELLO, MSM?  Echooooo...  According to MetroActive, she resigned quietly (where was the MSM?) in January from a Military Construction Appropriations committee over a conflict of interest involving her husband, tens of millions of dollars in defense and construction contracts, etc.

Bush: Americans will blame Congress for failure to fund troops  —  President Bush, confronting a Congress prepared to hand him a timeline for the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, accused Democratic leaders today of putting American forces at risk with a deadline-laden war-spending bill that he vows to veto.

Iranians parade captured navy woman in a hijab  —  Kidnapped British servicewoman Faye Turney was forced to cover her head with an Islamic hijab in the first video released by Iran since she and 14 comrades were seized last week.  —  Hours after Tony Blair vowed to 'ratchet up' the pressure …

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.

In Rio's Slums, Militias Fuel Violence They Seek to Quell  —  RIO DE JANEIRO — A decorated police officer was sitting behind the wheel of his Toyota pickup truck here last month when a group of men surrounded the vehicle and pumped more than 40 bullets into him.

Blogging with Bush  —  In trying to win support for his escalation in Iraq, President Bush was reduced to quoting two bloggers in Baghdad — who turned out to be brothers he had met here— and their postings were more than three weeks old.  Has it come to this?

Americans Skeptical Recent Troop Surge in Baghdad Is Working  —  Only 29% say troop increase is making situation in Baghdad better  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds nearly two in three Americans believing the recent surge in U.S. troops in Baghdad has not made much difference …