Poll: Electability key among Democrats  —  WASHINGTON — Democratic voters increasingly are focused on nominating the most electable presidential candidate, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama fares better than New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton against prospective Republican rivals.

Dems consider ousting Byrd as appropriations chair  —  A group of Senate Democrats has begun quietly exploring ways to replace the venerable Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, believing he's no longer physically up to the job …

Romney Attended Planned Parenthood Fundraiser in 1994  —  ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Mitt Romney attended a fund-raising reception for Planned Parenthood in 1994 in conjunction with a $150 donation his wife made to the organization — notwithstanding Romney's contention that he had …

New Fred Thompson Video: Kill.  Protect.  Punch.  —  If Fred wants to win the election, all he has to do is put this in constant rotation in Iowa and his victory would be guaranteed...or he would actually drop into last place.  One or the other.

A Stanton For the Saudis  —  "A court in country X sentenced a black man who had been severely beaten by white men to six months in jail and 200 lashes."  —  How would you react if you read that in a newspaper?  Shock, horror, anger at the regime in country X, no doubt.

Little Outrage Over Student Beating at Princeton University  —  Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:  —  Silent Night  —  Conservative students and faculty at Princeton University are questioning the absence of campus and community outrage — following the beating …

Pox This  —  One of the kings of the FoxDemocrats, lubriciously polishing Roger Ailes's shiny apple, says: … Yeah, it's a real loss.  —  But Beckel speaks for a lot of Villagers, not just the one's who are directly paid by Rupert Murdoch.  Even sitting senators who buck the complacent …

New York Times in Iraq: "Blackwater shot our dog"  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Iraq is investigating another deadly shooting incident involving its Blackwater bodyguards — this time of the New York Times's dog.  —  Staff at the newspaper's Baghdad bureau …

The Worst Debate in Western History, Remixed  —  After Fred Barnes called last week's moderator Nurse Ratched, I threw this together for fun, putting Carolyn Washburn's words in the good nurse's mouth.  Creepy isn't she?

America's next top Democrat  —  COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — In the headlong rush to the Jan. 3 caucuses, the Democratic presidential race has become — bizarrely enough — a virtually issue-free zone.  Vanished from view are the public battles over Iraq and the skirmishing over whose healthcare plans provide universal coverage.

Elder Bush nixes Clinton trip idea  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former President George H.W. Bush has shot down his successor Bill Clinton's idea of a diplomatic mission under a Hillary Clinton presidency that would send him and other notables abroad to assure other nations that "America is open for business and cooperation again."

GOP Senator Smith Defends Lott's Segregationist Comments — But He Condemned Them At The Time  —  This is kind of fun.  The Huffington Post reported today that GOP Senator Gordon Smith defended Trent Lott's 2002 segregationist comments on the floor of the Senate during a send-off for the retiring Lott this morning:

Hoyer says Congress may not be able to patch AMT  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) hinted Tuesday that Congress may not be able to stop a big tax increase from hitting 23 million Americans.  —  Hoyer, pressed on whether Congress would resolve disputes over the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), said, "Maybe."

British children targeted with sing-along DVD for would-be suicide bombers  —  A children's sing-along DVD for would-be suicide bombers is being investigated by police after being found on sale in one of Britain's terrorist hotbeds.  —  The disturbing disc of music videos …