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 …

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."

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 …

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 …

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:

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.

The Sound of a Million Elves Celebrating  —  To my surprise, I find I'm on New Line Cinema's PR list, so let me pass on this bit of news: Peter Jackson's gonna make two films from The Hobbitt: … Why did this happen now, after many years of bitterness between Jackson and New Line over the Lord of the Rings payouts?

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.

Case Lays Bare the Media's Reliance on Iraqi Journalists  —  Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photographer who had a hand in The Associated Press's 2005 Pulitzer Prize for photography before being jailed without charges by the United States military, finally had a day in court last week.

FBI, CIA Debate Significance of Terror Suspect  —  Agencies Also Disagree On Interrogation Methods  —  Al-Qaeda captive Abu Zubaida, whose interrogation videotapes were destroyed by the CIA, remains the subject of a dispute between FBI and CIA officials over his significance as a terrorism suspect …

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?

Newsweek and MBA create a Ruckus on Newsweek.com  —  in - MBAMajorNews - MBANewsweek - MBAPressRelease  —  MEDIA BLOGGERS ASSOCIATION JOINS WITH NEWSWEEK TO LAUNCH 'THE RUCKUS,' A NEW GROUP POLITICS BLOG  —  THE RUCKUS FEATURES GUEST BLOGGERS FROM THE LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER-PLUS KEY PRIMARY STATES

A Brutalist Bargain  —  How many dollars does it take to change a light bulb?  Well, if the defunct bulb you're replacing has been illuminating the Third Church of Christ, Scientist in downtown Washington, you could be looking at a bill of up to $8,000.  That's because unscrewing a blown bulb …