An Incomplete Field  —  First impressions of the GOP's 2008 candidates.  —  They stood earnestly in a row, combed, primped and prepped, as Nancy Reagan gazed up at them with courteous interest.  But behind the hopeful candidates, a dwarfing shadow loomed, a shadow almost palpable in its power …

REAL CHILD OF HELL:  —  Behold!  Mitt Romney rides a pale horse.  From last night's debate: … Bin Laden is a singular figure, but, you know, fair enough; there will be a successor to bin Laden.  But where might Romney be going with this? … Mitt Romney's War: the total conflation of all Islamist movements.

Have Bill Frist and right-wing bloggers plagiarized their new Iraq plan?  —  After having created "The Victory Caucus" two months ago only to stand by helplessly as it died a rapid and painful death, right-wing bloggers have now joined forces with former Senator Bill Frist to create a new Victory website …

The U.S. Attorney, the G.O.P. Congressman and the Timely Job Offer  —  There is yet another United States attorney whose abrupt departure from office is raising questions: Debra Wong Yang of Los Angeles.  Ms. Yang was not fired, as eight other prosecutors were, but she resigned under circumstances …

Hillary's Image  —  Public rates Clinton  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Hillary Clinton is one of the best-known political personalities in the country, having been in an intense public spotlight for more than 15 years.  Although Clinton has been well-known for some time, opinions of her have shifted considerably as the years have gone by.

Bush, Democrats and Iraq  —  What happens next?  —  The House on Wednesday failed to override President Bush's veto of a $124.2 billion war-funding measure that included a firm time line for withdrawing troops from Iraq.  —  The House's 222-203 vote fell 62 votes short of the two-thirds majority required.

'Herald Tribune' defends Iran nuke ad  —  The International Herald Tribune newspaper has defended its acceptance of an advertisement seeking bids for two large scale nuclear reactors in Iran.  The ad appeared on April 20, including in the edition of the IHT distributed with the English version of the Haaretz daily.

Don't Abandon Us  —  Last weekend a traffic jam several miles long snaked out of the Mansour district in western Baghdad.  The delay stemmed not from a car bomb closing the road but from a queue to enter the city's central amusement park.  The line became so long some families left their cars …

Dems Outline Plans for Iraq Bill  —  Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.) outlined a new plan for an Iraq funding bill in private meetings Thursday afternoon, congressional aides said.  —  The plan would split the now vetoed supplemental spending bill into two bills, one that would provide two months …

BILL'S HARD DRIVE  —  MICROSOFT EYES SEARCH GIANT IN PROPOSED TAKEOVER  —  Stung by the loss of Internet advertising firm DoubleClick to Google last month, Microsoft has intensified its pursuit of a deal with Yahoo!, asking the company to re-enter formal negotiations, The Post has learned.

The Colorful Case of A Well-Named Lawyer  —  Montgomery Blair Sibley's Current Client Isn't the Juiciest Part of His Story  —  Montgomery Blair Sibley, attorney for the morally impugned and legally challenged, is first and foremost Montgomery Blair Sibley, which is to say a descendant …

22% Believe Bush Knew About 9/11 Attacks in Advance  —  Democrats in America are evenly divided on the question of whether George W. Bush knew about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in advance.  Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe he did know, 39% say he did not know, and 26% are not sure.