Bush Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes  —  WASHINGTON — At least four top White House lawyers took part in discussions with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives from Al Qaeda …

Hard-liners for Jesus  —  As Christians across the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, it's a fitting moment to contemplate the mountain of moral, and mortal, hypocrisy that is our Christianized Republican Party.  —  There's nothing new, of course, about the Christianization of the GOP.

UPDATE: NATIONAL ENQUIRER WORLD EXCLUSIVE: JOHN EDWARDS LOVE CHILD SCANDAL!  —  Presidential candidate John Edwards is caught up in a love child scandal, a blockbuster ENQUIRER investigation has discovered.  —  The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that Rielle Hunter, a woman linked to Edwards …

For Clinton, A Matter of Fair Media  —  Senator's Camp Insists That the Press Holds Her To a Tougher Standard  —  After weeks of bad news, Hillary Clinton and her strategists hoped that winning the endorsement of Iowa's largest newspaper last weekend might produce a modest bump in their media coverage.

Person of the Year: Vladimir Putin  —  A Tsar Is Born  —  No one is born with a stare like Vladimir Putin's.  The Russian President's pale blue eyes are so cool, so devoid of emotion that the stare must have begun as an affect, the gesture of someone who understood that power might be achieved …

Free Steyn  —  Our readers know Mark Steyn well.  His witty and learned commentary appears in every issue of National Review, and in many other English publications across the world.  What Steyn's American readers may not know is that a Muslim advocacy group in his native Canada is doing its best to muzzle him.

All Iraqi Groups Blame U.S. Invasion for Discord, Study Shows  —  Iraqis of all sectarian and ethnic groups believe that the U.S. military invasion is the primary root of the violent differences among them, and see the departure of “occupying forces” as the key to national reconciliation …

Rush to Judgment  —  One of my male colleagues was explaining why men age better than women.  —  “It's evolutionary,” he said.  “As we wear out our wives, who are running around taking care of the kids, we know we're going to have to get another younger wife, so we stay good-looking.”

Strategy that is making Iraq safer was snubbed for years  —  When Army Capt. Jeremy Gwinn's company patrolled Baghdad in 2005, the approach toward roadside bombs was simple: avoid them or die.  —  By early 2006, that strategy had begun to shift: Instead of hunting for the bombs, the soldiers hunted for bombmakers.

No. 1 Book, and It Offers Solutions  —  In 1967, Jack Wennberg, a young medical researcher at Johns Hopkins, moved his family to a farmhouse in northern Vermont.  —  Dr. Wennberg had been chosen to run a new center based at the University of Vermont that would examine medical care in the state.