The entire government has failed us on Iraq  —  For the president, and the majority leaders and candidates and rank-and-file Congressmen and Senators of either party—there is only blame for this shameful, and bi-partisan, betrayal  —  SPECIAL COMMENT  —  A Special Comment about the Democrats' deal …

EX-JUSTICE AIDE ADMITS POLITICS AFFECTED HIRING  —  A former top Justice Department aide testified on Wednesday that she had "crossed the line" in considering the political beliefs of applicants for nonpartisan legal jobs and suggested that earlier testimony by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales …

The Poor Get Richer  —  It's been a rough week for John Edwards, and now comes more bad news for his "two Americas" campaign theme.  A new study by the Congressional Budget Office says the poor have been getting less poor.  On average, CBO found that low-wage households with children …

Fight Club  —  Political junkies have been awaiting the new memoir by Bob Shrum, the famed consultant to a string of Democratic presidential candidates, including Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.  After compiling an -8 record in presidential campaigns, Shrum has taken something …

Clinton Campaign Plays Down Iowa Memo  —  Proposal to Skip Caucuses Called Just One Person's Opinion  —  Aides to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) scrambled late yesterday to control the fallout from a leaked memo advocating that she pull her campaign out of Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses, where she is trailing in polls.

France's Sarkozy calls to tighten sanctions on Teheran  —  French President Nicholas Sarkozy called Wednesday for sanctions on Iran to be tightened if the country does not adhere to the West's demands to cease its nuclear agenda.  —  If Iran attains nuclear weapons, Sarkozy warned …

Mary Cheney Gives Birth to Baby Boy  —  Mary Cheney gave birth today to perhaps the most anticipated baby in contemporary U.S. politics — her first child, Samuel David Cheney, whom she will raise with her longtime partner Heather Poe.  —  The 8-pound, 6-ounce boy is the sixth grandchild for Dick Cheney.

PM a short-sighted fear-monger: Amnesty  —  Prime Minister John Howard finds himself alongside Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe in an Amnesty International report which says they are among short-sighted fear-mongers dividing the world.  —  The human rights pressure group has accused …

In the Democratic Congress, Pork Still Gets Served  —  'Phonemarking' Is Among Ways Around Appropriations Process  —  When the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives passed one of its first spending bills, funding the Energy Department for the rest of 2007 …

Morgue Data Show Increase In Sectarian Killings in Iraq  —  More than three months into a U.S.-Iraqi security offensive designed to curtail sectarian violence in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, Health Ministry statistics show that such killings are rising again.

Candidate to Lead Consumer Agency Withdraws  —  A senior lobbyist at the National Association of Manufacturers withdrew his nomination to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday as a growing number of senators questioned both his suitability and a $150,000 departure payment …

There's Good News from Iraq  —  There is good news from Iraq, believe it or not.  It comes from the most unlikely place: Anbar province, home of the Sunni insurgency.  The level of violence has plummeted in recent weeks.  An alliance of U.S. troops and local tribes has been very effective …

MIDWEST LUTHERANS LARGELY REJECT VIOLENCE  —  Chicago - By an almost two-to-one margin, Midwest Lutherans voiced solid opposition to decapitation, suicide bombing, and chemical warfare in a new comprehensive survey of their social attitudes.  —  The Pew Research survey, conducted May 13-19 …

Dems' panel chiefs cash in on bundling  —  Powerful Democratic chairmen and subcommittee chairmen have relied on lobbyists to raise money during the first three months of this year, according to recent fundraising reports, which cast light on the strong opposition to lobbying reform

Hispanic Hopeful for '08 Confronts Immigration  —  Of all the candidates running for president, none have weathered more crosscurrents of the immigration battle than Gov. Bill Richardson, the New Mexico Democrat.  —  Mr. Richardson, whose mother is Mexican, is the governor of a border state …