Tension in Hillaryland Grows as Plan Goes Awry: Albert R. Hunt  —  Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — To appreciate Hillary Clinton's fundamental political problem, consider the 11 Democrats from Philadelphia who gathered last week to discuss the U.S. presidential race, almost all of whom would vote for her in a general election.

Libby to drop appeal in CIA leak case  —  WASHINGTON - Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is no longer appealing his conviction in the CIA leak case, a tacit recognition that continuing his legal fight might only make things worse.  —  Libby, the former chief of staff …

Rudy Self-Destructs on Russert  —  I have been watching Meet The Press since, I don't know, Estes Kefauver days and, I'm sad to say, Rudy Giuliani provided the worst performance I've ever seen by a major Presidential candidate.  —  Okay, I am not sad to say.  I am delighted.

The threat has not diminished  —  The intelligence is misguided - the danger that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons is real.  What's missing is the policy to address it  —  The recent United States national intelligence estimate (NIE), which reports that Iran once had a "nuclear weapons programme" …

Chavez Tried Rigging Referendum Vote  —  Hugo Chavez suffered a narrow but humiliating loss at the polls last week for his referendum on changing the Venezuelan constitution into a roadmap for dictatorship.  His acknowledgment of the defeat gained him praise from world leaders for his commitment to democracy.

Students stone police in Iran riot  —  Students defied a clampdown on protests in Iran yesterday by tearing down the gates of Tehran university.  —  They chanted slogans against President Ahmadinejad and carried placards saying "Live free or die", "No war, no fascism" and "Women must decide their fate, not the state."

The Paygo Farce  —  Democrats admit it was all a big confidence game. … Well, as Emily Littela, the half-witted Gilder Radner character on Saturday Night Live, would have put it: "Never mind."  Last week Congressional Democrats formally renounced their ballyhooed budget pledge to offset …

Court eases cocaine sentencing  —  The Supreme Court on Monday gave federal judges new authority to set sentences for crack cocaine crimes below the range of punishment set by federal guidelines — a major restoration of flexibility for trial judges in drug cases.

Lawrence O'Donnell Loses His Ever-Loving Mind on McLaughlin  —  A sane, if highly flawed, discussion of Mitt Romney's "Faith In America" speech on the McLaughlin Group was cold-cocked into the realm of crazy-faced anger by guest panelist Lawrence O'Donnell this morning, who started off by criticizing Romney …

Victim: Gang-Rape Cover-Up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR  —  KBR Told Victim She Could Lose Her Job If She Sought Help After Being Raped, She Says  —  A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident.

Henry Paulson's Priorities  —  By Bush administration standards, Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary, is a good guy.  He isn't conspicuously incompetent; and he isn't trying to mislead us into war, justify torture or protect corrupt contractors.  —  But Mr. Paulson's actions reflect the priorities of the administration he serves.

After the Battle of Al-Fajr  —  FALLUJAH, IRAQ - Fallujah is known as the City of Mosques.  It is also a city of walls, and of war.  —  It was a quieter city than most after the initial invasion in 2003.  There was less looting than in Baghdad, and the mayor was pro-American.

GOP launches first attack invoking Hillary  —  The Republican Party has launched its first use of unflattering images of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to motivate voters in two congressional special elections this week, marking the beginning of what could be a year-long barrage of ads …

PULITZER PRIZE IN TERRORISM?  —  The Associated Press won a 2005 Pulitzer for Breaking News Photography for its team coverage of the Iraq War.  But the US Military discovered at least one team member - Bilal Hussein - had been a little too cozy with the terrorists when he got that coverage.

Bush Knows Well the Hazards of the Trail  —  P resident Bush has forsworn any more commentary on the election to succeed him, at least until the nominations are settled.  But he seems more than a little wistful as all these senators and governors travel the campaign trail without him.

Hoyer Is Proof of Earmarks' Endurance  —  Md. Democrat's Campaign Donors Among Grantees  —  Even as House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer has joined in steps to clean up pork-barrel spending, the Maryland congressman has tucked $96 million worth of pet projects into next year's federal budget …

Presidential candidate Ron Paul picks his super-hero favorite  —  As part of the run-up to the presidential primaries next year, ComicMix asked Texas Congressman Ron Paul who his favorite comic book super-hero might be.  We think this is at least as revealing as their favorite movies …