FRED THOMPSON'S CALL TO ARMS IN SOUTH CAROLINA  —  Fred Thompson talked to bloggers today.  Thompson made it clear that he's “drawing a line in South Carolina” — in other words, staking his candidacy on winning the primary there.  He hopes to accomplish this by advancing his claim …

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 …

U.S.: Voices on Recording May Not Have Been From Iranian Speedboats  —  Chilling Threat Could Have Come From the Shore or Another Ship, Navy Says  —  Just two days after the U.S. Navy released the eerie video of Iranian speedboats swarming around American warships, which featured a chilling threat …

Ned Lamont Endorses Obama  —  On the same day that Barack Obama scored the endorsement of John Kerry, he's set to get the support of a decidedly non-establishment Democrat: Ned Lamont.  —  Lamont has revealed on his Web site that he'll be backing the Illiniois Senator.

Edmund Hillary, first atop Everest, dies  —  WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Sir Edmund Hillary, the unassuming beekeeper who conquered Mount Everest to win renown as one of the 20th century's greatest adventurers, has died, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced Friday.  He was 88.

Ron Paul literature ranted against blacks, gays  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — A series of newsletters in the name of GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul contain several racist remarks — including one that says order was restored to Los Angeles after the 1992 riots when blacks went “to pick up their welfare checks.”

Chris Matthews To New England: “Hello, Bigots!”  —  Hey, New Hampshire—why did you make the mainstream media look so bad blowing the Clinton/Obama race?  Why didn't you give Sen. Obama the big victory you were supposed to?  —  Chris Matthews knows:  —  You're bigots, that's why.

The Cult of the Commander  —  There's an awful lot to object to in the McCain/Lieberman “The Surge Worked” op-ed. Notably, they don't grapple with the fact that before the surge began, the surge's proponents outlined goals for the surge, and the surge's goals have not been achieved.

Judges: Anti-Clinton Film Is Advertising … WASHINGTON (AP) - The early reviews are in, and three federal judges appeared in agreement Wednesday that a movie lambasting Hillary Clinton seemed an awful lot like a 90-minute campaign advertisement.  —  Citizens United, a conservative advocacy group …

The Politico's Loud Mea Culpa  —  Credit where credit's due: The Politico's top two editors have published a lengthy and comprehensive piece cataloging the multiple failures that have been marring the nation's political coverage — and they didn't spare themselves, either.

Mike Huckabee and the “Shiite Republicans” Updated  —  Yesterday in Allah's post about the Baptist who's not endorsing Huckabee, I updated with a link to this article that summarizes conservative issues with Mike Huckabee's tenure as Arkansas governor.  The author, David J. Sanders …

Pelosi for Obama?  —  An interesting endorsement for Obama today.  Pelosi's BFF George Miller, a fellow Californian who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, announced today he's endorsing Obama .  —  Pelosi has so far stayed out of the race.  But when her top advisor who also happens …