DAMASCENE COMEDY  —  Bush, today: … Haaretz: … So let me get this straight.  Bush remonstrates dastardly Nancy for her passage through Damascus, at the very time the Israelis are reportedly using her to pass a message to Bashar Assad to help avoid a possible conflagration with the Syrians.

Chastened McCain Relaunches Campaign  —  Amid growing internal concern about poor fundraising and the direction of his presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain's top advisers bluntly told backers on Tuesday of plans to overhaul the campaign and delay its formal announcement until after a major speech on Iraq.

Students Pelt Karl Rove In Protest  —  WASHINGTON — White House Advisor Karl Rove was the target of a protest on the American University campus Tuesday night, NBC 4 reported.  —  Rove was on the campus to talk to the College Republicans, but when he got outside more than a dozen students …

Mormon Base a Mixed Blessing for Romney  —  It is the rare presidential candidate who comes to Idaho to raise money, but there was Mitt Romney last month, packing more than 100 people, at up to $2,300 a head, into the Crystal Ballroom in Boise.  —  "Nearly every seat was filled.

No more GWOT, House committee decrees  —  The House Armed Services Committee is banishing the global war on terror from the 2008 defense budget.  —  This is not because the war has been won, lost or even called off, but because the committee's Democratic leadership doesn't like the phrase.

'Out' Ranks the Top 50 Gays; Anderson Is No. 2  —  When New York did a "Gay Life Now" issue in 2001, only seven of the forty prominent New York gays asked to pose for the cover were willing.  Those big shots may have been gay, and they may have been out, but it just wouldn't do for them to be gay and out on the cover of a magazine.

Business of Global Warming Feels a Lot Like Inquisition  —  The heavy condemnatory breathing on the subject of global warming outdoes anything since high moments of the Inquisition.  A respectable columnist (Thomas Friedman of The New York Times) opened his essay last week by writing …

CNN Replaces Anchors on Its Flagging Morning Show  —  John Roberts, Kiran Chetry To Succeed the Two O'Briens  —  CNN is replacing both of its morning show anchors with recent recruits from other networks, sources familiar with the shake-up confirmed last night.

ABC News Exclusive: The Secret War Against Iran  —  Brian Ross and Christopher Isham Report:  —  A Pakistani tribal militant group responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005, U.S. and Pakistani intelligence sources tell ABC News.

This Cat's old hat  —  Unless you live in Whoville, which is tucked in the mountains and doesn't get much news, you know that Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat is a best-selling classic.  2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the book's publication.  By now, it's an icon as much as a funny story and one of the most-loved titles of all time.

Bush Blames Democrats for Impasse Over Iraq Bills  —  The political brinkmanship over Iraq war spending intensified Tuesday, as President Bush said Congressional Democrats had "undercut the troops" by passing legislation that ties continued war financing to mandated timelines for the withdrawal of American combat units.

Rudy Won't Commit To Playing In Ames Straw Poll  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, IA, — Making his campaign debut in this first-in-the-nation state, Rudy Giuliani sounded a note of uncertainty when he was asked about his plans for the important Ames Straw Poll.  —  "We'll have to take a look at that," …

Did Keith Richards Really Snort His Dad's Ashes?  No — It Was A Joke!  —  Comments made in magazine interview were only 'said in jest,' manager tells MTV News.  —  Maybe you saw that Keith Richards item that started popping up all over the place on Tuesday (April 3) …