Bill Clinton, on 'Charlie Rose' Show, Suggests Obama Not Ready — And Would Be a 'Miracle' If Hillary Won Iowa  —  NEW YORK In a surprisingly frank interview with Charlie Rose on his PBS show late Friday night, former President Bill Clinton declared that his wife was not only far better prepared …

Mukasey Rejects Call for CIA Tape Details  —  Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey today sharply rebuffed congressional demands for details about the Justice Department's inquiry into the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes, saying that providing such information would make it appear that the department was …

Quote of the day  —  "American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out.  The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad.  My administration will recognize that the United States' main fight today does …

Bring Me The Head of Mitt Romney!  —  As an early booster of the Huckabee-helps-Rudy meme, it behooves me to note that it really doesn't seem to be working out that way.  Obviously, everything could turn on a dime if Huckabee's boom turns out to be a bubble, but if Huck wins Iowa and Romney wins …

Fred Ain't Dead  —  Memo to readers: With his superb performance in Wednesday's debate in Iowa, Fred Thompson has made a monkey out of me.  By early afternoon on Tuesday, the column that appears below, one which posits that Thompson's presidential campaign might still find a way to win, was ready in exactly the form it appears here.

Huckabee Faces Old Queries in New Spotlight  —  When Mike Huckabee became lieutenant governor of Arkansas in 1993, he complained of being burdened by college tuition bills for his son, the expenses of two residences — one in Texarkana and the other in Little Rock — and the cost of commuting between the two.

Congress ramps up Iraq, Afghanistan spending  —  Defense authorization bill sent to Bush — without timetables  —  WASHINGTON - The Democratic-led Congress authorized more Iraq war spending on Friday, sending President Bush a defense bill requiring no change in strategy after failing again …

The Court That May Not Be Heard  —  The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the special court that reviews government requests for warrants to spy on suspected foreign agents in the United States, seems to have forgotten that its job is to ensure that the government is accountable …

Did Immigration Ads Spark Link to Terror?  —  5th Grader Questions Obama, Making Immigration-Terror Link  —  When Iowa Democrat Tod Bowman got home Thursday night, he got an earful from his wife about what their fifth-grader had just done.  —  Earlier that day, their son, Beau Bowman …

Schwarzenegger Will 'Declare Fiscal Emergency' In Weeks  —  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday he will declare a "fiscal emergency" in January to give him and the Legislature more power to deal with the state's growing deficit.  —  Schwarzenegger made the announcement Friday after meeting …

Mormons, Muslims, and Multiculturalism  —  The deeply dispiriting Romney-Huckabee religion showdown.  —  Some personal declarations: Mitt Romney is not my candidate.  He is (in my humble opinion) a man of principles so pragmatic that he lacks any unshakeable political foundation …

In China, Farming Fish in Toxic Waters  —  FUQING, China — Here in southern China, beneath the looming mountains of Fujian Province, lie dozens of enormous ponds filled with murky brown water and teeming with eels, shrimp and tilapia, much of it destined for markets in Japan and the West.