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? …

"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.

McCain equates silence with progress  —  NEW LONDON, N.H. - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Sunday he can tell the U.S. troop increase in Iraq is having an effect on the violence there.  —  How?  Democrats, who generally oppose the war, have stopped linking him to the troop build-up, he says.

OPEC Interested in Non-Dollar Currency  —  Ahmadinejad: OPEC Members Interested in Converting Cash Reserves Into Non-Dollar Currency  —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that OPEC's members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves …

This Sounds Like a Really Fun Mission  —  Fred Kagan and Michael O'Hanlon say we'd better get ready to deploy "a sizable combat force" to Pakistan for a mission that "would involve supporting the core of the Pakistani armed forces as they sought to hold the country together in the face …

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 …

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," …

Created Equal  —  Liberal creationism  —  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ...  Last month, James Watson, the legendary biologist, was condemned and forced into retirement …

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.

McCain on Secret Service: Why Do I Need It?  —  Sen. John McCain in the snows of New Hampshire.  (AP).  —  John McCain often says on the campaign trail that he wants to take on the system in Washington.  Usually, he's talking about congressional spending and pork-barrel projects.

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.

FDL Book Salon Welcomes Naomi Klein  —  (Please welcome in the comment section author Naomi Klein — jh)  —  The political impulse to take advantage of social upheaval in order to implement unpopular policies that a citizenry would otherwise fight against seems to be throughout history a rather intuitive one.

Tucson TV Station Broadcasts Arizona Fort Huachuca Terror Threat Report  —  KOLD News 13 Tucson is currently running a special report focused on a urgent FBI report outlining a possible terrorist threat in southern Arizona.  It speaks specifically to Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista.

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 …

Bomber kills kids getting toys from troops  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A roadside bomb killed three Iraqi children and injured seven as they gathered around American troops handing out toys on Sunday, police and government officials told CNN.  —  Three U.S.soldiers were also killed …

Zimbabwe 'ready for UK invasion'  —  The Zimbabwean government has accused the UK of plotting an invasion and considering assassinations of the country's political leadership.  —  Presidential spokesman George Charamba said Harare remained ready to defend itself against the "sinister threats".

The Soft Underbelly of Europe  —  Germany presents a tempting target for the jihadists and others.  —  Though no longer the chief delinquent of Europe, and though not much thought is given to its strategic position, Germany is still Europe's center of gravity, territorially contiguous …