Ouch!  Hillary Clinton's softer image is clawed over dumped cat  —  AS THE "first pet" of the Clinton era, Socks, the White House cat, allowed "chilly" Hillary Clinton to show a caring, maternal side as well as bringing joy to her daughter Chelsea.  So where is Socks today?

Gonzales could be prosecuted, McKay says  —  The U.S. Inspector General may recommend criminal prosecution of departed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the conclusion of an investigation, possibly as early as next month, the fired former U.S. attorney for Western Washington told a Spokane audience Friday.

Brownback pulls out of presidential race  —  An emotional Brownback on Friday formally ended his bid at a statehouse news conference, saying his "Yellow Brick Road just came up short of the White House this time."  —  Asked about running for governor in 2010, the Kansas Republican was explaining …

20/20: The Debate Is Not Over  —  Sorry, libs.  Stossel's gonna getcha!

Zogby Poll: Half Say They Would Never Vote for Hillary Clinton for President  —  Other top tier candidates in both parties win more acceptance; Richardson & Huckabee favored most  —  While she is winning wide support in nationwide samples among Democrats in the race for their party's …

Bobby Rises In Louisiana  —  Louisiana elected its governor on the first ballot for the first time in recent memory, and the voters sent a message to the corrupt Democratic machine at the same time.  Bobby Jindal, who narrowly lost a runoff four years ago, becomes the first Indian-American governor …

Violence flares again in Amsterdam  —  Disturbances broke out for a sixth successive night in an immigrant quarter of Amsterdam when four cars were set on fire, police said.  —  The unrest started after police shot dead a man of Moroccan origin last weekend who had stabbed and injured two officers.

Stephen Colbert On Meet The Press  —  Presidential candidate Stephen Colbert gave an interview to Tim Russert this morning on Meet The Press and in typical Colbert fashion, he lays out his agenda and plan to lose the race.  Russert questions him, tongue in cheek, on some of the more controversial statements …

Turkey Tells Rice It Will Wait Despite Ambush  —  After a call from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not immediately send his troops into Iraq in response to an ambush by Kurdish separatists that had killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers on Sunday.

Kristol: Iran Is 'The Only Real Threat' To Success In Iraq  —  Today, on Fox News Sunday, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol declared that the U.S. was close to victory in the Iraq war, arguing that the "only" concern left for the U.S is dealing with alleged Iranian involvement in Iraq:

SAS raiders enter Iran to kill gunrunners  —  BRITISH special forces have crossed into Iran several times in recent months as part of a secret border war against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Al-Quds special forces, defence sources have disclosed.  —  There have been at least half …

SHERMAN FREDERICK: Not so wild about Harry  —  Is Nevada turning on its lion in the winter?  —  The political headline of last week, "Reid's popularity falls among Nevadans," wasn't all that surprising.  Nevada's never been particularly wild about Harry Reid.

Cleanup Hitters Needed!  ("Can't Anyone Here Play This Game?"  Edition)  —  Encarta: … The Democratic Party is like the 1962 New York Mets.  Winning is not an option.  Facing the worst, and most unpopular President of all time (save only Nixon as he circled the drain) …

India official dies after monkey attack  —  NEW DELHI - Wild monkeys attacked a senior government official who then fell from a balcony at his home and died Sunday, media reported.  —  New Delhi Deputy Mayor S.S. Bajwa was rushed to a hospital after the attack by a gang of Rhesus macaques …

Line-Item Foolishness  —  Mitt Romney is an intelligent man who sometimes seems eager to find bushel baskets under which to hide his light.  Romney faults Rudy Giuliani for opposing the presidential line-item veto.  But Giuliani doesn't, unfortunately.  The facts — not that they loom large in this skirmish — are:

Toward A New Conservatism?  —  A reader writes a long email on the strange overlaps and confluences of this moment in American and global politics.  My own thoughts and allegiances are in transition, which can make for some provisional confusion.  But I'd rather foster confusion on a real …