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.

Destruction of C.I.A. Tapes Cleared by Lawyers  —  Lawyers within the clandestine branch of the Central Intelligence Agency gave written approval in advance to the destruction in 2005 of hundreds of hours of videotapes documenting interrogations of two lieutenants from Al Qaeda …

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 …

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.) …

The Postwar Election  —  The 2008 presidential election has fundamentally shifted, but it hasn't been because of events in Iowa and New Hampshire.  It's because of events everywhere else.  —  In Washington, the National Intelligence Estimate was released, suggesting the next president …

Huckabee does a flip-flop on Cuba  —  The GOP candidate now supports a trade embargo against the island nation, a stance sure to satisfy hard-line Cuban exiles.  —  MIAMI — As governor of Arkansas five years ago, Mike Huckabee joined a bipartisan chorus of politicians who concluded …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Labor Unions Support WGA, Fire Union Busting Consultant Chris Lehane  —  SEIU Local 99 in Los Angeles — education workers who include teacher's aids, cafeteria workers and crossing guards — have fired former Clinton spokesman Chris Lehane from a consulting contract in support of the WGA .

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.