Clinton mocks Obama's childhood experience  —  SHENANDOAH, Iowa — Hillary Rodham Clinton ridiculed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Tuesday for his contention that living in a foreign country as a child helped give him a better understanding of the foreign policy challenges facing the U.S.

Bush More Emphatic In Backing Musharraf  —  President Bush yesterday offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general "hasn't crossed the line" and "truly is somebody who believes in democracy."

A Scientific Advance, a Political Question Mark  —  The discovery that it is possible to create equivalents to embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos has the potential to reshape — and perhaps defuse — the acrimonious political debate that has raged ever since human embryonic stem cells were discovered in 1998.

LAWYERS, GUNS & WASHINGTON  —  DC GUN BAN A TOUGH TEST FOR COURT  —  BY deciding yesterday to hear the District of Columbia's appeal of the federal court ruling that overturned DC's gun ban, the Supreme Court has ensured that gun control and gun rights will play a major role in the coming election …

Road From Damascus  —  Iraqis are voting with their feet by returning home after exile  —  The figures are hard to estimate precisely but the process could involve hundreds of thousands of people.  The numbers are certainly large enough, as we report today, for a mass convoy to be planned next week …

Krugman vs. Krugman  —  In liberal Democratic circles, the debate over Social Security has taken a dangerous "don't worry, be happy" turn.  —  The argument has two equally dishonest components.  The first is to deny that Social Security faces a daunting financing problem …

Rudy defends Obama's discussion of previous drug use  —  Chicago, IL — Rudy Giuliani declared that Americans should not expect a "pretense of perfection" from candidates running for office and says he respects Barack Obama's "honesty" for discussing his previous drug use with a group of high schoolers today.

Democrats Move to Block Bush Appointments  —  Who says the Senate cannot act quickly?  It conducted a full day's business in less than 30 seconds on Tuesday.  —  Of course, there was no real business to conduct.  But fearing that President Bush would again use a Congressional recess …

Imams' suit wins a round in court  —  A judge rejected the defendants' arguments to dismiss the suit filed by six imams removed from a U.S. Airways flight.  —  Six Muslim imams arrested on a U.S. Airways jet in Minneapolis last November after a passenger raised suspicions about their pre-flight prayers …

G.O.P. Rivals Trade Charges on Illegal Immigration  —  The back and forth between Mitt Romney's and Rudolph W. Giuliani's presidential campaigns over illegal immigration continued yesterday, with each side impugning the other's record on the issue.  —  Mr. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts …

CAIR seeks removal of label in terrorism case  —  The Council on American-Islamic Relations is seeking help from House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. to pressure the Justice Department to change the group's status as a co-conspirator in a terrorism case.

Yesterday's Brouhaha...  Related to yesterday's brouhaha over my article suggesting a connection between last week's anti-Mormon phone calls and the Romney campaign's pollsters, I would have responded sooner but I was waiting to speak with TargetPoint.  I had a few specific questions:

Pentagon Warns of Civilian Layoffs If Congress Delays War Funding  —  Democrats Are Firm on Link to Troop Withdrawals From Iraq  —  The Defense Department warned yesterday that as many as 200,000 contractors and civilian employees will begin receiving layoff warnings by Christmas unless Congress acts …