Pardon Me?  —  Hillary Clinton Takes Cash From Recipients of Husband's Controversial Pardons  —  Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks about her health care policy on Sept. 18, 2007.  An examination of Clinton's fundraising donors reveals three donors …

Americans Widely Disappointed With Democrats in Congress  —  Majority more displeased than content with handling of seven issues  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Amidst a swirl of public dissatisfaction about the Iraq war, the economy, government corruption, and with President Bush more generally …

Saudi punishes gang rape victim with 200 lashes  —  A court in the ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia is punishing a female victim of gang rape with 200 lashes and six months in jail, a newspaper reported on Thursday.  —  The 19-year-old woman — whose six armed attackers …

Iraqis Wasting An Opportunity, U.S. Officers Say  —  With Attacks Ebbing, Government Is Urged to Reach Out to Opponents  —  CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — Senior military commanders here now portray the intransigence of Iraq's Shiite-dominated government as the key threat facing the U.S. effort in Iraq …

The Icebergs Ahead For the Democrats  —  As the Democratic presidential race finally gets down to brass tacks, two issues are becoming paramount.  But only one of them is clearly on the table.  —  That is the issue of illegal immigration.  A very smart Democrat, a veteran of the Clinton administration …

Mitt Romney: Perfect tough guy for right-wing war cheerleaders  —  A New York Times profile this morning details what Mitt Romney was doing during the Vietnam War.  Although the article reflects quite poorly on his character, it demonstrates why his candidacy is resonating among our country's right-wing war-cheerleading faction.

New Attorney General opposes changes to wiretap law  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — In his second day on the job, Attorney General Michael Mukasey leaped into the political fray, telling a key Democratic senator he opposes his electronic surveillance plan and would recommend the president veto it if it is passed.

O'Malley draws line with Democrats  —  Backing abortion rights candidates 'borders on scandal'  —  BALTIMORE - Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, saying the Democratic Party has been persistently hostile to opponents of abortion rights, asserted yesterday that the support of many Catholics …

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE: POLITICAL LIMELIGHT  —  It's fight night in Las Vegas.  —  The jabs will fly.  The contenders will duck and weave.  They hope they land their punches and don't leave with too many bruises.  —  The action begins at 5 p.m., when the Democratic presidential candidates gather …

Is a Unified Field Theory of Hillary Hatred Possible?  —  Ross Baker gives a quote to the NYT about Hillary that shows why political scientists make bad political strategists: … That's a devastating accusation all right—but it's devastating to the candidate who makes it.

Graham may seek to pull plug on Maliki  —  In a move that could give cover to Republicans in an increasingly tough election year, one of the Bush administration's most steadfast supporters in the Senate is indicating that he may introduce legislation later this year that could alter the administration's Iraq policy.

OBAMA AND THE CRISIS....Jonathan Singer asked Barack Obama on Wednesday about his use of the word "crisis" to define Social Security.  Here's what he said: … This is clever rhetorical jujitsu.  No, we bloggers don't like the Republican "crisis" framing, but we also hate the idea …

Mr. Chavez's Coup  —  TENS OF thousands of Venezuelan students marched to the Supreme Court in Caracas last week to protest the new "socialist" constitutional reform that President Hugo Chavez is preparing to impose on the country.  On their return, students from the Central University …