Hillary without tears  —  Why it's time to close the book on the Clintons — and herald the Obamas!  Plus: Iran war hawks, Russian drag queens and the genius of Zeppelin.  —  As her husband has dragged his numerous female play objects before her and has humiliated her on the public stage year after year …

Romney may give up on South Carolina  —  CHARLESTON, S.C. — Mitt Romney is going off the air in South Carolina, at least through next week's Michigan primary.  And he may not contest the Palmetto State at all.  —  Decisions about where to shift staff are still being made …

2005 Use of Gas by Blackwater Leaves Questions  —  WASHINGTON — The helicopter was hovering over a Baghdad checkpoint into the Green Zone, one typically crowded with cars, Iraqi civilians and United States military personnel.  —  Suddenly, on that May day in 2005, the copter dropped CS gas …

And Cuomo Too  —  I suppose there could be lots of tea leaf reading in this one, but now its AG Andrew Cuomo on Talk 1300, minutes after the governor came on.  Cuomo, to be fair, has been on the radio show a few times, if memory serves me, but his take on Hillary's win in NH …

Lewisville cab driver had been investigated for previous abuse  —  Sarah Said's final phone call rang into the Irving police dispatcher about 7:30 p.m. on New Year's Day: “I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dying ..."  —  About an hour later, a man walked up to an orange cab parked at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Irving.

The Surge Worked  —  It was exactly one year ago tonight, in a televised address to the nation, that President George W. Bush announced his fateful decision to change course in Iraq, and to send five additional U.S. combat brigades there as part of a new counterinsurgency strategy and under the command of a new general, David Petraeus.

FBI Wiretaps Dropped Due to Unpaid Bills  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Telephone companies cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time, according to a Justice Department audit released Thursday.

Lawmaker Tied to Abramoff to Retire  —  WASHINGTON — Representative John Doolittle of California, once a rising star in the Republican Party but more recently under investigation in a scandal involving the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, announced his retirement from Congress on Thursday …

Getting It Wrong  —  THE failure of the New Hampshire pre-election surveys to mirror the outcome of the Democratic race is one of the most significant miscues in modern polling history.  All the published polls, including those that surveyed through Monday, had Senator Barack Obama comfortably ahead …

Degrees of Confidence on U.S.-Iran Naval Incident  —  The list of those who are less than fully confident in the Pentagon's video/audio mashup of aggressive maneuvers by Iranian boats near American warships in the Strait of Hormuz now includes the Pentagon itself.

Race At A Glance Total Primary Votes: Romney  —  McCain  —  Huckabee  —  Giuliani  —  Thompson  —  Iowa  —  29,494  —  15,559  —  40,841  —  4,097  —  15,904  —  New Hampshire  —  75,202  —  88,447  —  26,760  —  20,387  —  2,884  —  Total  —  104,696  —  104,006

Will Mike Huckabee wear orange, too?  —  So, the ACLU is busy mobilizing sympathy for Guantanamo Bay detainees.  They've declared tomorrow-the sixth anniversary of the arrival of Gitmo detainees-a “Wear Orange” day in their continued bid to shut down the enemy combatant facility and show solidarity with suspected terrorists:

New Estimate of Violent Deaths Among Iraqis Is Lower  —  A new survey estimates that 151,000 Iraqis died from violence in the three years following the U.S.-led invasion of the country.  Roughly 9 out of 10 of those deaths were a consequence of U.S. military operations, insurgent attacks and sectarian warfare.

TIME TO APOLOGIZE, HUGH  —  On the day of the New Hampshire Primary, I spent a good deal of time on the radio with my friend and Townhall colleague Hugh Hewitt, debating issues and candidates both on his show and my own.  —  Hugh's a great guy, and one of the best political commentators in the country …

Romney's Fishy Delegate Claim  —  Why is the former Massachusetts governor telling folks that he leads in delegates?  —  In Boston today, Romney told supporters, “we have more delegates than any other Republican candidate running for president."  —  Here's the ABC News GOP Delegate Estimate:

The only change to fear is fear of change itself  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — The voters of New Hampshire have made their decision, and the big winner is: Change.  Here's the final vote tally:  —  Change — 43 percent;  —  Hope — 28 percent;  —  Hope For Change — 17 percent;  —  Hair — 9 percent;

For U.S., The Goal Is Now ‘Iraqi Solutions’  —  Approach Acknowledges Benchmarks Aren't Met  —  In the year since President Bush announced he was changing course in Iraq with a troop “surge” and a new strategy, U.S. military and diplomatic officials have begun their own quiet policy shift.

Yale and the Terrorist  —  John Yoo can be forgiven if he's having second thoughts about his career choice.  A Yale Law School graduate, the Berkeley professor of law went on to serve his country at the Justice Department.  Yet last week he was sued by convicted terrorist Jose Padilla and his mother …