DEMS HOLD FIRE ON HUCKABEE; SEE 'EASY KILL' IN GENERAL ELECTION  —  Democrat party officials are avoiding any and all criticism of Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee, insiders reveal.  —  The Democratic National Committee has told staffers to hold all fire, until he secures the party's nomination.

McConnell moves to crack budget stalemate  —  Sensing that Democrats are in a compromising mode, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pitching a budget amendment that Democrats would have laughed off just a few weeks ago.  —  McConnell on Tuesday called for $70 billion for Iraq …

Liberal views could haunt Obama  —  When Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was seeking state office a dozen years ago, he took unabashedly liberal positions: flatly opposed to capital punishment, in support of a federal single-payer health plan, against any restrictions on abortion …

Road to Damascus  —  Jonah: I have pretty much decided for Ron Paul myself.  I am sympathetic to many of the reservations you have posted, but every piece of serious policy analysis I read confirms to me that our country has gone too far down a wrong path—a path that leads to nothing I recognize as conservatism.

Teen girl in critical condition after alleged dispute over hijab  —  A 16-year-old girl is in critical condition after being choked by a man believed to be her father, apparently after a dispute with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab, the Islamic headscarf worn by some Muslim women.

Huckabee to Romney: Grow Up, This Isn't Third Grade  —  (And even if it was, no one would like you...)  —  Just to pick up on what I wrote about last night and earlier today, Huckabee held a longish press conference here this morning after canceling some local events due to weather.

Clinton camp bludgeons Obama on WH readiness  —  Today's New York Times/CBS News poll might as well be a big stick, the way Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is trying to bludgeon Sen. Barack Obama with it.  —  The poll found more than double the voters—83 percent …

House Democrats Pull Budget Offer  —  The GOP Is Negotiating In Bad Faith, Obey Says  —  A Democratic deal to give President Bush some war funding in exchange for additional domestic spending appeared to collapse last night after House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.) …

Group Says Iran Resumed Weapon Program  —  The Iranian opposition group that first exposed Iran's nuclear-fuel program said a U.S. intelligence analysis is correct that Tehran shut down its weaponization program in 2003, but claims that the program was relocated and restarted in 2004.

U of I prof heckles Clinton  —  Iowa City, Ia.  — A University of Iowa professor dressed as a robot interrupted Bill Clinton at a campaign stop here late Monday, screaming for an apology before security escorted him from the building.  —  The professor, Kembrew McLeod …

NBC refunds advertisers as ratings plunge  —  NEW YORK (Media Week) - Fourth-ranked broadcaster NBC has quietly begun reimbursing advertisers an average of $500,000 each for failing to reach guaranteed ratings levels, the first time a network has taken such a step in years, media buyers said.

Bush: I Didn't Know About CIA Tape Destruction  —  ABC News' Martha Raddatz Reports: In an exclusive interview with ABC News President Bush said Tuesday he did not know about the destruction of CIA videotapes of detainee interrogations.  —  The President said he was told just a few days ago.

Abolish the CIA  —  DESTROYING THE INTERROGATION TAPES AMOUNTS TO MUTINY AND TREASON.  —  It seems flabbergastingly improbable that President George W. Bush learned of the National Intelligence Estimate concerning Iranian nuclear ambitions only a few days before the rest of us did …

GOP Tries to Avoid Unpleasant Surprise in Ohio  —  The reliably Republican nature of Ohio's 5th district would seem to make it an unlikely target for Democrats, but a target it is in Tuesday's special election.  —  And while political operatives from both parties scramble to downplay expectations …

Bush to tap Glassman to shape US image  —  WASHINGTON - President Bush intends to name a well-known conservative commentator and journalist to lead the State Department's struggling efforts to improve the U.S.'s image abroad, replacing long-time confidante Karen Hughes, who is leaving government …

Ex-Pentagon Aide Says U.S. Abandoned Quick Iraq Transition  —  A former top Pentagon official blamed the Bush administration's top official in Iraq for abandoning a plan for a quick transition to Iraqi leadership in the summer of 2003 and instead keeping the U.S. government in control of the country for more than a year.