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.

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.

Plan B For Pelosi And Reid  —  Congressional Democrats need a Plan B.  —  Republicans chortle as they block Democratic initiatives — and accuse the majority of being unable to govern.  Rank-and-filers are furious that their leaders can't end the Iraq war.  President Bush sits back and vetoes at will.

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.

Al Qaeda Releases New Recording  —  From The Blotter:  —  A new al Qaeda communique featuring Al-Qaeda's number-two man was released on the internet Friday morning.  —  References to last month's peace conference in Annapolis indicate the recording is recent.

Sen. Reid Setting Us Up on FISA  —  As far as I can tell, Senator Reid is preparing to ignore Senator Dodd's 'hold' on any FISA bill that includes telecommunications corporations' immunity.  He will introduce the Intelligence Committee's bill that includes immunity and then 'automatically substitute …

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.

New York SEIU locals to endorse Clinton  —  Hillary Clinton will pick up the backing of two giant regional SEIU locals based in New York, the health-care workers' union 1199 and a big building-service workers union, Local 32BJ, a labor source says.  —  Their backing wasn't automatic …

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 …

Omar the Actor  —  In conservative circles, I take a lot of ribbing for the fact that I used to work for The New York Times.  But during the years I was at the paper, my editors held us to a very high standard.  Apparently, things have changed.  —  The most recent example is the Times quoting …

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.

Siegelman Update  —  For those of you who missed last night's segment on MSNBC with Dan Abrams, here it is.  As Abrams said, the prosecutors have had a pass on their completely outrageous conduct for far too long, and now it's time for the mainstream media to keep on top of them and expose …

Poll Shows More Optimism on War  —  After Record Lows, Bush Gains With Republicans, Independents  —  A year after approval of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq dipped to an all-time low, a new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds discontent toward the war easing slightly …