Romney for President  —  Many conservatives are finding it difficult to pick a presidential candidate.  Each of the men running for the Republican nomination has strengths, and none has everything — all the traits, all the positions — we are looking for.  Equally conservative analysts can reach …

In Poll, Huckabee Closes on Giuliani  —  Three weeks before the first contest of the 2008 campaign, Republicans remain sharply divided over whom to choose as their presidential nominee and which of the five leading candidates best embodies the core values of a fractured GOP, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Exclusive: Inside The White House  —  ABC News' Martha Raddatz Spends a Day-in-the-Life with President Bush  —  Long before much of Washington, D.C., came to life this morning, ABC News got a glimpse of the president few ever see.  —  In the darkness, President Bush stopped to toss a few balls to his dog …

The Pope condemns the climate change prophets  —  Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.  —  The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested …

Feeling Heat, Clinton Tries Iowa Up Close  —  DES MOINES — Ten months ago, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton went to East High School here on her first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate and laid out a case for her candidacy to a cheering crowd in a packed gymnasium.

Republicans win in Va., Ohio elections  —  Republicans retained two House seats in special elections Tuesday, including a hotly contested Ohio race that the two parties spent nearly $700,000 trying to win.  —  Republican officials immediately pointed to the issue of immigration …

Ex-CIA agent: Waterboarding 'saved lives'  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — A former CIA agent who participated in interrogations of terror suspects said Tuesday that the controversial interrogation technique of "waterboarding" has saved lives, but he considers the method torture and now opposes its use.

Hoekstra Sets His Sights on CIA Chief  —  WASHINGTON — When the CIA director, Michael Hayden, testifies today before the House intelligence panel, he will face particular scrutiny from the committee's top-ranking Republican.  —  In an interview yesterday, Rep. Peter Hoekstra …

The Roots of the Mortgage Crisis  —  Bubbles cannot be safely defused by monetary policy before the speculative fever breaks on its own.  —  On Aug. 9, 2007, and the days immediately following, financial markets in much of the world seized up.  Virtually overnight the seemingly insatiable desire …

CNN N.H. Poll: Obama, Clinton tied; Romney remains strong  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Barack Obama has chipped away at Hillary Clinton's lead in New Hampshire, and the two Democratic presidential hopefuls are now locked in a statistical tie less than one month before the first-in-the-nation primary, a CNN/WMUR Poll released Wednesday shows.

Poll: Oprah could have negative effect on Obama  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Oprah Winfrey's campaign swing last weekend with Democrat Barack Obama was greeted with record-breaking crowds and an equal amount of speculation over how much impact the media mogul might have on the White House race.

Police: N.Y. subway riders beaten after 'Happy Hanukkah' greeting  —  Four Jewish subway riders who wished other people Happy Hanukkah were  —  pelted with anti-Semitic remarks before being beaten, New York police and prosecutors said.  The incident was being investigated as a possible hate crime.

Bush Pardons, Commuted Sentence  —  By The Associated Press - 5 hours ago  —  Those President Bush granted pardons or a commuted sentence:  —  PARDONED  —  _ James Albert Bodendieck Sr., of New Athens, Ill., convicted in 1959 of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.