Clinton Gets an Instant Chance to Wield a New Weapon  —  It used to be that when a campaign had an argument with a news report, it put out a mass e-mail message disputing the offending item.  That was a huge technological leap from the fax machine.  —  Now even e-mail may be growing quaint.

What happened to the Senate's "60-vote requirement"?  —  Every time Congressional Democrats failed this year to stop the Bush administration (i.e., every time they "tried"), the excuse they gave was that they "need 60 votes in the Senate" in order to get anything done.

Things Are Tough All Over  —  But Mrs. Clinton is no Iron Lady.  —  The story as I was told it is that in the early years of her prime ministership, Margaret Thatcher held a meeting with her aides and staff, all of whom were dominated by her, even awed.  When it was over she invited …

History and Calumny  —  Today, I'm going to write about a slur.  It's a distortion that's been around for a while, but has spread like a weed over the past few months.  It was concocted for partisan reasons: to flatter the prejudices of one side, to demonize the other and to simplify …

Kerik's Corruption Case Dogs Giuliani  —  The scene outside the old Victorian-style courthouse in Dubuque on Thursday morning showed that the indictment of Bernard B. Kerik is at the very least a big distraction for Rudolph W. Giuliani's presidential campaign.

Clinton tops 2008 rivals, gets $530M in earmarks  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has won tens of millions of dollars more in federal earmarks this year than her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, even though two of them have significantly more Senate seniority.

A Failure to Lead  —  The Democratic Congress is more interested in acting out than in taking positive action.  —  This week is the one-year anniversary of Democrats winning Congress.  But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid probably aren't in a celebrating mood.

Huge offshore oil discovery in Brazil  —  RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) — A huge offshore oil discovery could raise Brazil's petroleum reserves by a whopping 40 percent and boost this country into the ranks of the world's major exporters, officials said.  —  The government-run oil company …

BlogWorld Expo Panel Discussion: Raising The Level Of Discourse  —  One of the difficulties of attending an event like BlogWorld Expo is the sheer busy-ness that accompanies it.  I'm exhibiting for BlogTalkRadio as well as being a speaker at the expo, and still trying to get around to see some of the offerings by other vendors.

Waterboarding Is Torture, Says Ex-Navy Instructor  —  A former Navy survival instructor subjected to waterboarding as part of his military training told Congress yesterday that the controversial tactic should plainly be considered torture and that such a method was never intended for use …

Father defends Bush on Iraq war  —  COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Former president George H.W. Bush forcefully defended his son's handling of the Iraq war Thursday, saying critics of the current president have forgotten the "extraordinary brutality" of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Rove Decries 'Nutty' 'Vitriolic' Bloggers Who Spew 'Bad Words'  —  Yesterday, ThinkProgress attended a Yahoo-sponsored Citizen 2.0 event in Washington, DC, at which Karl Rove discussed the intersection of politics and the Internet.  Rove lamented the loss of civility in politics on the web …

'If I Had to Do It Over Again'  —  Condi Rice admits the U.S. should have understood Iraq better.  —  Condoleezza Rice is, by her own admission, not "that self-reflective."  But in an interview in her office on Thursday the secretary of state took a moment to contemplate the improved security situation in Iraq.

Huckabee's Salvation  —  Dr. James Dobson, who has largely been made irrelevant to the 2008 Republican presidential race, has apparently found his man, and according to an adviser, is ready to change the landscape of the Republican nomination race.  —  "He is the leader of the evangelical …