It's Official: McCain's Press Staff Resigns  —  Sen. John McCain's top three press aides resigned this morning, Republicans close to the campaign said and one of those aides confirmed.  —  The campaign's research director and two other press staffers also stepped down.

GOP: Grand Obstruction Party  —  Reader Zach wants Harry Reid to do his job — and make the GOP (the Grand Obstruction Party) stand up and filibuster the hard way.  If you agree, call Sen. Harry Reid today: he can be reached at 202-224-3542 in DC and 702-388-5020 in Nevada.

Campaigns Raise, Burn More Cash, More Quickly  —  Rapid Spending Puts Some in Jeopardy Early  —  Candidates for the White House are not only raising far more than ever before, many are also spending that money as fast as they get it, leaving some close to being forced from the race almost six months before the first votes are cast.

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: PLEASE LEAVE IRAN IN LIMBO  —  I trust you and yours are doing well.  I'm writing because Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger have this story in the Guardian that says you want to solve Iran by the time you leave office: … This story jibes with what I'm hearing about your mindset as well.

Giuliani to Reveal Five-Star Conservative Judicial Advisory Panel  —  WASHINGTON — GOP frontrunner Rudy Giuliani will unveil his "Justice Advisory Committee" this week on a two-day swing through heavily Republican western districts of Washington, D.C., home of the first presidential caucuses in 2008.

Thompson Reaches to the Right  —  Laying the groundwork for evangelical support  —  For months, conservative evangelical activists have been fretting over a Republican presidential field whose front-runners are the pro-abortion rights Rudy Giuliani, the formerly pro-gay rights Mitt Romney …

[TS] Op-Ed Columnist: The Waiting Game  —  The opponents of universal health care appear to have run out of honest arguments.

Mahdi Army, Not Al-Qaeda, is Enemy No. 1 in Western Baghdad  —  BAGHDAD — The lights were on in Baghdad.  Something was wrong.  —  Two platoons were creeping through the southwestern neighborhood of al-Amil well past midnight last week.  Headlights snapped off, night vision lenses lowered into place …

A GOP comeback strategy  —  Way behind in the polls, the party should exploit the anti-politician mood and offer a hopeful message.  —  ALL THE BIG questions for 2008 are on the Democratic side: Can Hillary Clinton show her humanity?  Does Obama have enough experience?  Will Edwards find a cheaper barber?

51% Say Wait Till September for Iraq Policy Change  —  Fifty-one percent (51%) of American voters say that the United States should wait for the September progress report before making major policy changes in Iraq.  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 38% disagree.

Young Adults Are Giving Newspapers Scant Notice  —  With the United States military fighting a protracted war in Iraq and a wide-open presidential campaign already making headlines daily, Americans of all ages are interested in current affairs and are consuming news like never before, right?

Mistrust as Iraqi Troops Encounter New U.S. Allies  —  Abu Azzam says the 2,300 men in his movement include members of fierce Sunni groups like the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade and the Mujahedeen Army that have fought the American occupation.  Now his men patrol alongside the Americans …

Execution Of Ga. Man Near Despite Recantations  —  SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Georgia man is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday for killing a police officer in 1989, even though the case against him has withered in recent years as most of the key witnesses at his trial have recanted …