Hillary Clinton Embraces Her Husband's Legacy  —  After months of discussion within her campaign over how heavily she should draw on her husband's legacy, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is closing out her Iowa and New Hampshire campaigns in a tight embrace of Bill Clinton's record …

Obama hits Edwards on 527 group  —  In Oskaloosa this morning, in response to a questioner who said he saw Hillary fading and the choice as between Obama and Edwards, the Illinois Senator suggested that outside spending on Edwards' behalf is part of a broader pattern with his rival.

9/11 Panel Study Finds That C.I.A. Withheld Tapes  —  WASHINGTON — A review of classified documents by former members of the Sept. 11 commission shows that the panel made repeated and detailed requests to the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 and 2004 for documents and other information …

Why Inexperience Matters  —  The AP takes a look at the political development of Barack Obama, and it's hard not to look at it as an apprenticeship.  His position changes don't count as flip-flops in the same sense that a teenager's infatuation with radical politics changes with some maturity.

Why Rudy Giuliani loves Norman Podhoretz  —  When Norman Mailer died in November, it was hard not to feel a twinge of melancholy and nostalgia for the vanished world of the New York Family of intellectuals.  In the past decade, many of its most colorful members have passed away …

Gen. David Petraeus, Man of the Year  —  Time magazine got it wrong.  —  I remember the excitement.  It was the week before Christmas a year ago, and I had lazily picked up my copy of Time magazine.  And there it was: Time's Person of the Year for 2006 is “You."  —  Wow!

FBI Prepares Vast Database Of Biometrics  —  $1 Billion Project to Include Images of Irises and Faces  —  CLARKSBURG, W. Va. — The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give …

The Eggnog Factor  —  Often, I will describe the success or failure of a candidate in terms of the “beer factor” — whether voters would want to have a beer and a conversation with a contender or not.  This measure transcends partisanship.  I'd rather have a beer and a chat with Bill Clinton …

The “Myth” of Welfare Queens  —  In one of his slew of Republicans-are-racist posts earlier in the year, Paul Krugman wrote, sarcastically: … Of course, there couldn't be a third option - like, say, that Reagan was indulging in his typical fondness for using vivid Reader's Digest-style anecdotes …

Destroying CIA Tapes Deserves a Thank You  —  His name isn't yet familiar to most Americans, but I expect it will be by the end of 2008: Jose A. Rodriguez Jr. He is the man, according to recent press reports, who ordered the destruction of interrogation tapes made by the CIA …

Appointment With Big Brother  —  The Philharmonic goes to Pyongyang.  —  How can symphony orchestras help inexperienced listeners open their ears to difficult pieces of classical music?  The New York Philharmonic experimented last week with a new kind of concert program developed …

Obama: ‘Enough’  —  A new Iowa ad focuses on economic insecurity.  —  I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message.  —  Ordinary people all across the country are struggling from paycheck to paycheck.  —  If the plant moves to China, and you've been working there for 20 …

Mitt: I'll “go after” retailers who sell violent adult video games  —  This comes courtesy of HA's resident IT czar, Mark Jaquith, whose inner libertarian shivers at the prospect of it.  Mine too.  We've been binging on Huck's nanny statism for weeks now, but with Mitt emerging …

A Request for Clemency Leads to a Political Issue for Huckabee  —  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It took a jury less than 15 minutes to convict Eugene Fields of driving while intoxicated, his fourth such conviction in less than five years.  Mr. Fields, whose pickup crashed after he drank 12 beers …