Make the Bush Record the Issue  —  Absent amnesia—which only happens on soaps—Democrats will be fine.  —  Times are tough for the Republican Party and its candidates.  Earlier this month, according to Gallup, more people strongly disapproved of George W. Bush than any previous president since the advent? …

Pakistan's Collapse, Our Problem  —  AS the government of Pakistan totters, we must face a fact: the United States simply could not stand by as a nuclear-armed Pakistan descended into the abyss.  Nor would it be strategically prudent to withdraw our forces from an improving situation in Iraq …

"Tough" Tim Russert Refuses To Challenge Rudy's Dissembling  —  We keep hearing that Tim Russert is very, very "tough."  We keep hearing that he doesn't let any craven or dissembling politician slip any malarky past him, dammit.  —  Except, of course, that he does — when it's Rudy.

THE B&*%^ IS BACK  —  HILLARY SHOULD TAKE IT AS A COMPLIMENT  —  You know what we need in the White House?  A bitch.  —  We need a bitch facing down terrorists, Iran and Congress.  A bitch to order around the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Come to think of it, there's a bitch right now trying to save Pakistan.

What 'That Regan Woman' Knows  —  NEW Yorkers who remember Rudy Giuliani as the bullying New York mayor, not as the terminally cheerful "America's Mayor" cooing to babies in New Hampshire, have always banked on one certainty: his presidential candidacy was so preposterous it would implode before he got anywhere near the White House.

Jefferson Accused of Two More Schemes  —  Federal prosecutors on Friday accused Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) of soliciting bribes in two alleged schemes that had not been previously disclosed.  —  The allegations, detailed in a seven-page document filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria …

Shake, Rattle and Roll  —  The debate dominatrix knows how to rattle Obambi.  —  Mistress Hillary started disciplining her fellow senator last winter, after he began exploring a presidential bid.  When he winked at her, took her elbow and tried to say hello on the Senate floor, she did not melt, as many women do.

Channeling Dick Cheney  —  I have no idea who is going to win the Democratic presidential nomination, but lately I've been wondering whether, if it is Barack Obama, he might want to consider keeping Dick Cheney on as his vice president.  —  No, I personally am not a Dick Cheney fan …

Does Death Penalty Save Lives?  A New Debate  —  For the first time in a generation, the question of whether the death penalty deters murders has captured the attention of scholars in law and economics, setting off an intense new debate about one of the central justifications for capital punishment.

Huckabee: Abortion not states' call  —  WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee rejects letting states decide whether to allow abortions, claiming the right to life is a moral issue not subject to multiple interpretations.  —  "It's the logic of the Civil War," …

Under Siege, Life in Gaza Just Shrinks  —  IT'S a miserable time to be a Gazan.  —  Hopes were high in 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew its troops and 9,000 Jewish settlers, and the international community lined up to help the Palestinians make Gaza a model for their potential state.

JIHAD JANE'S 'STATE' OF BLISS  —  By SUSAN EDELMAN in New York and JILL CULORA in Vienna, Va.  —  FBI fraudster Nada Nadim Prouty not only used a sham marriage to get jobs with access to secret terrorist intelligence - her current husband is a State Department employee who has held sensitive posts …

Bangladesh Cyclone Causes 2200 Deaths But Toll Could Reach 10,000  —  The cyclone that slammed into Bangladesh has proven to be a brutal killer — snuffing out some 2,200 lives so far.  And experts believe it could wind up claiming 10,000 when all of the bodies are found and counted.

Rudy Giuliani jets to campaign stops using casino kingpin's plane  —  The Republican presidential hopeful anted up more than $122,000 last summer alone for jets traceable to casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson, whose Las Vegas Sands empire has made him the third-richest American, a Daily News review of campaign records shows.