In Aiding Poor, Edwards Built Bridge to 2008  —  John Edwards ended 2004 with a problem: how to keep alive his public profile without the benefit of a presidential campaign that could finance his travels and pay for his political staff.  —  Mr. Edwards, who reported this year that he had assets …

Guantanamo Splits Administration  —  Arguments Center on How to Handle Remaining Detainees  —  Senior Bush administration officials are engaged in active discussions about closing the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but deep divisions remain regarding the fate …

Why Pro-Choice Is a Bad Choice for Democrats  —  I KEEP reading about a universe in which social conservatives are warming to Rudy Giuliani.  But this would have to be a place where his estranged children and three wives and multiple appearances in fishnets were irrelevant to the Republican base.

Inhofe: Clinton, Boxer Want to Squash Conservative Radio Talk Shows  —  Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barbara Boxer have big plans to rein in conservative radio talk shows, according to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla.  —  He said Thursday on John Ziegler's evening radio show on KFI in L.A. that he overheard Clinton …

Cheney Defiant on Classified Material  —  Vice President Cheney's office has refused to comply with an executive order governing the handling of classified information for the past four years and recently tried to abolish the office that sought to enforce those rules, according to documents released …

A Visit to Fatah's Torture Chamber  —  A building formerly occupied by Fatah's intelligence service in Gaza was long notorious for torture and execution.  Now Hamas is in control — and is letting former inmates visit the chamber of horrors.  —  The cells are small, perhaps six feet by six feet …

Border bill backers seek boost in enforcement provisions  —  Senate negotiators of a compromise immigration bill are writing a catchall amendment, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to bolster enforcement provisions of the bill, including a more robust "touchback" requirement for illegal immigrants.

Research Finds Firstborns Gain the Higher I.Q.  —  The eldest children in families tend to develop higher I.Q.'s than their siblings, researchers are reporting today, in a large study that could settle more than a half-century of scientific debate about the relationship between I.Q. and birth order.

What's Not to Like  —  The soft side, and the underside, of Hillary Clinton's campaign.  —  Hillary Clinton doesn't have to prove she's a man.  She has to prove she's a woman.  —  She doesn't have to prove to people that she's tough enough or aggressive enough to be commander in chief.

Romney aide is the focus of probe  —  Allegedly acted as State Police trooper  —  State Police are investigating one of Mitt Romney's top campaign aides for allegedly impersonating a trooper by calling a Wilmington company and threatening to cite the driver of a company van for erratic driving …

The Man Who Knows Too Little  —  WHAT RUDY GIULIANI'S GREEDY DECISION TO QUIT THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP REVEALS ABOUT HIS CANDIDACY.  —  If you don't read Newsday, you might not know (I didn't until this week) that Rudy Giuliani was an original member of the Iraq Study Group …

Partisan bickering erupts over website  —  A website, of all things, has inflamed partisan bickering in the evolving U.S. attorneys scandal.  —  Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee charged their Democratic counterparts Thursday with violating chamber rules by launching a website …

Gore's 2000 team stays on sidelines  —  Most members of Al Gore's inner political circle have not yet signed up with any presidential campaign, triggering speculation that the 2000 Democratic nominee will jump into the race for the White House later this year.

Senate Adopts an Energy Bill Raising Mileage for Cars  —  The Senate passed a broad energy bill late Thursday that would, among other things, require the first big increase in fuel mileage requirements for passenger cars in more than two decades.  —  The vote, 65 to 27 …

The Sky is Green  —  Courtesy of The Henry Rollins Show  —  The invasion and occupation of Iraq and the resulting nightmare we are enduring are for some, a depressing, ongoing catastrophe with no end in sight.  For others, it is the only way to fight the War On Terror …

Arrowhead Ripper: Surrender or Die  —  Battle for Baqubah  —  22 June 07  —  First a quick media round-up.  (This is not all inclusive.)  —  Alexandra Zavis from Los Angeles Times is down in the heat of the battle bringing home information.  Michael Gordon from New York Times is still slugging it out …

In Praise of Red Tape  —  Is there any figure in American political discourse more reviled than the bureaucrat?  Say the word and a potent caricature leaps to mind: the petty and shiftless paper pusher who wields his small amount of power with malice and caprice.