Tom Kean endorsing McCain in new push  —  Thomas H. Kean, who chaired the 9/11 Commission, will endorse Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president on Monday as part of a high-stakes new push by the campaign to focus voters on national security, campaign sources tell Politico.

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? …

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 …

"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.

A world dying, but can we unite to save it?  —  Pollution in the seas is now speeding global warming, says a devastating new climate report.  'IoS' Environment Editor Geoffrey Lean reports from Valencia  —  Humanity is rapidly turning the seas acid through the same pollution that causes global warming …

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 …

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 …

Name that party: Buckwheat  —  I doubt AP would have downplayed a Republican losing over a racist remark.  —  As a member of the MSM for most of my adult life, I should resent charges of a pro-Democrat bias in the media.  Really, I should.  —  But then Melinda Deslatte of the Associated Press …

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.

US pushes Israel on West Bank settlers  —  JERUSALEM - The U.S. is pressuring Israel to meet a long-standing obligation to freeze all West Bank settlement construction ahead of a high-profile Mideast conference, rejecting Israel's stance that it be allowed to continue building in existing communities, Israeli officials said Sunday.

Hezbollah rebuilds south Beirut  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon - The Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah has launched a massive project to rebuild south Beirut, devastated in last year's war with Israel — and it's paying for much of the construction with international donor funds that were meant …

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 …

It's true: Iraq is a quagmire  —  But the real story is not something you have heard  —  We're floundering in a quagmire in Iraq.  Our strategy is flawed, and it's too late to change it.  Our resources have been squandered, our best people killed, we're hated by the natives and our reputation around the world is circling the drain.

PATRIOTISM: NOT QUITE DEAD IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS  —  Conservatives tend to be skeptical of the public schools, which too often put more stock in political correctness than either academic achievement or traditional values.  So when the public schools do something well, it's good to take notice.

Born Yesterday  —  Robert Novak has thrown a bomb (a twofer) into the Democratic primary and is getting the predictable result.  —  I think this is probably a good juncture to take an important little trip down memory lane.  It's 1972, and Richard Nixon has surveyed the field and wants …

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 …