Clinton wins surprise support from former French first lady  —  PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won surprise backing from the wife of former French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday, together with a pledge to join her on the campaign trail.

A 24 hour moratorium on consumer spending - participate by not participating  —  Action update: MTV, the channel that markets itself to hip youth, has decreed that our Buy Nothing Day public service spot "goes further than we are willing to accept on our channels".

Joe and Valerie Wilson: Treason is Not Old News  —  "I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources.  They are, in my view, the most insidious, of traitors."  George Herbert Walker Bush, CIA dedication ceremony, April 26, 1999.

Word of mouth boosts 'Huck' in Iowa polls  —  Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has gone from near zero to a statistical tie for first in polls of Iowa Republicans, not because of a superior organization or from spending money, but because of a tactic few candidates can copy: Religious word-of-mouth.

Where has Bush got with jaw-jaw?  —  American foreign policy has been nothing like as interventionist as its critics like to think  —  Critics of George W. Bush's Middle East policy are hoping for a change in direction once America's 43rd President has left the White House.

Repubs Warn Repubs They're Losing the Center; Will Dems Fight Hard Enough to Win It? … Over at Swing State Project, James has a great compilation of recent comments by prominent Republicans, many retired, expressing great pessimism about their party.  The recurring theme is that the Republicans …

Nominations may be decided in one quick blitz  —  New Hampshire sets its earliest primary yet.  Presidential hopefuls will probably campaign through the holidays.  —  After months of suspense, New Hampshire on Wednesday scheduled its presidential primary for Jan. 8 — the state's earliest date ever …

Shiites in S. Iraq Rebuke Tehran  —  Petition Calls for U.N. Probe Into Iran's Influence, Sheiks Say  —  More than 300,000 Shiite Muslims from southern Iraq have signed a petition condemning Iran for fomenting violence in Iraq, according to a group of sheiks leading the campaign.

Rove Tries To Rewrite History: Claims WH 'Opposed' Politicizing Pre-War Iraq Vote  —  Last night on The Charlie Rose Show, former Bush political adviser Karl Rove claimed that he was "opposed" to holding the pre-war Iraq vote just ahead of the 2002 elections.

Musharraf Rival Prepares for Return to Pakistan  —  Nawaz Sharif, a Pakistani opposition leader and former prime minister living in Saudi Arabia, flew to Riyadh from Jidda today to see the Saudi royal family in what appeared to be the final preparation for his departure for Pakistan.

Musharraf and the Con Game  —  There always seems to be a good reason to support a dictator.  In the late 1970s, Jeane Kirkpatrick argued that it was better to support a "right-wing" dictator lest he be replaced by communists.  Right-wing dictatorship — today some call it "liberal autocracy" …

Not All Those Vetoed Earmarks Came From Democrats  —  With all the cheering from Republican leaders as President Bush vetoes Democratic spending measures, it would seem the GOP doesn't have much at stake as the appropriations bills go down in flames.  —  House Republican Whip Roy Blunt …

The List: Five Reasons to Be Thankful This Thanksgiving  —  From Baghdad to Islamabad, doom and gloom dominate today's headlines.  And yet, a peek beneath the daily drumbeat reveals a world that may never have been better.  Herewith, some of best reasons we should all give thanks.

Candidates Hope Not to Wear Out Holiday Welcome in Iowa  —  Once Sen. Christopher J. Dodd finishes having Thanksgiving turkey on a farm in eastern Iowa tonight, he can turn his attention to another pressing matter: making sure his two daughters know that Santa Claus will find them this year.