S.C. poll: Huckabee bolts to top of GOP; Obama cuts into Clinton lead  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee surged to the top among Republican presidential candidates in South Carolina, while Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead over Sen. Barack Obama among Democrats narrowed since July in that state, according to a new poll.

Senate passes energy bill without oil tax increase  —  Senate Democrats yesterday bowed to Republicans and stripped a proposed tax increase for oil companies from a broad energy bill, clearing the way for passage of the measure that includes the first increase in vehicle gas-mileage standards in 32 years.

Bush boom bah  —  You know you're a serious wonk when you wait eagerly each year for the arrival of the CBO's "Historical Effective Federal Tax Rates."  But it's much more than a tax report — it's the single best estimate we have of trends in income and income inequality.  The tables (Excel file) are here.

Huckacide  —  Editor's note: This column is available exclusively through King Features Syndicate.  For permission to reprint or excerpt this copyrighted material, please contact: kfsreprint@hearstsc.com, or phone 800-708-7311, ext 246).  —  The ghost of Howard Dean haunts the pundit class.

Election 2008: Florida Republican Primary  —  Florida: Huckabee 27% Romney 23% Giuliani 19%  —  Mitt Romney's strategy for winning the Republican nomination was to win the early states and build momentum.  Rudy Giuliani's plan was to accept defeats in the early states and come back strong …

Veteran GOP strategist signs on with Huckabee  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A veteran Republican strategist considered by many the architect of Ronald Reagan's 1984 landslide election victory is set to take the helm of Mike Huckabee's surging presidential bid, CNN has learned.

Apologies From the Heart (of Darkness?)  —  It must be the season of apologies in presidential politics.  —  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton apologized personally to Senator Barack Obama on Thursday for a top adviser's public suggestion that Republicans would go after Mr. Obama for his youthful drug use.

Why Isn't Gore Running?  —  The White House is the place to battle global warming.  —  There he was again on the world stage—in Oslo this time—celebrating his Nobel Peace Prize with singer Melissa Etheridge and actress Uma Thurman, the Hollywood hottie who called him "adorable" …

Code Huckabee  —  Is the thought of Mike Huckabee as president just vaguely scary?  Or have we learned enough about the man that we should be hair-on-fire alarmed at the prospect, still pretty remote, that he could actually win?  —  True, none of his opponents for the Republican nomination inspires much confidence.

Rove, Bolten Found in Contempt of Congress  —  Senate Committee Cites Top Bush Advisers in Probe of U.S. Attorney Firings  —  A Senate panel found former presidential adviser Karl Rove and current White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten in contempt of Congress yesterday for refusing …

Voting Chief Tanner Resigns  —  Today, John Tanner resigned from his position effective immediately as chief of the Civil Rights Division's voting section.  His resignation email, with the subject line "Moving On" was sent out at approximately 11 AM to voting section staff.  It's reproduced below.

Exclusive: Eyewitness Account of Huge Taliban Defeat  —  Afghanistan's government flag was raised Wednesday on what had been one of the biggest strongholds of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan and a leading world center of heroin production.  —  The town of about 45,000 people was secured …

Paul foots bill for Huckabee critics' trips  —  LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Two former Republican legislators from Mike Huckabee 's home state are in Iowa this week criticizing Huckabee's record on immigration and taxes on trips paid for by Ron Paul, one of Huckabee's Republican presidential rivals.