Racial tensions roil Democratic race  —  A series of comments from Senator Hillary Clinton, her husband, and her supporters are spurring a racial backlash and adding a divisive edge to the presidential primary as the candidates head south to heavily African-American South Carolina.

Poll: McCain gets 21-point bump after victory  —  CNN Deputy Political Director  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — John McCain's victory in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary appears to be paying off.  —  The senator from Arizona is the front-runner in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination …

Does Chris Matthews have a problem with women?  —  Using overtly sexist language, he has referred to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) as a “she devil” and compared her to a “strip-teaser."  He has called her “witchy” and likened her voice to “fingernails on a blackboard.”

Clinton Aide: Obama Is For People Who Want “Imaginary Hip Black Friend”  —  An anonymous Clinton adviser made an interesting comment to The Guardian, explaining the difference between Hillary supporters and Obama supporters.  —  “If you have a social need, you're with Hillary,” the aide said.

The Daily Five: Giuliani Loses His National Finance Chair  —  1. It's not a good sign that Giuliani's senior staff have decided to work without paychecks, and there is no way to spin it otherwise.  The amount of money that's involved is miniscule: about $50,000 per month.

John Edwards is a loser.  He has won exactly two elections in his life and lost 31.  Only one of his wins and all of his losses were in presidential primaries and caucuses.  He remains perfectly positioned to continue to lose with a Kucinich-like consistency.  Nothing but egomania keeps Edwards in the race now.

High Court Accepts Case on Provision Of McCain-Feingold  —  The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will review the constitutionality of the so-called Millionaires' Amendment, which allows opponents of some self-funded congressional candidates to raise more money than federal law normally allows.

Mysterious crowd suddenly stopped Bhutto's car, officer says  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Two new reports on the assassination last month of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto suggest that the killing may have been an ambitious plot rather than an isolated act of violence and that the government …

D.L.C. Leaders Cut Edwards Out  —  As would be expected, the two gentlemen from the Democratic Leadership Council on a conference call today told reporters they're very confident in their party's chances of reclaiming the White House, they're happy that substantive issues are being discussed ...

THE AD MS. MAGAZINE REFUSED TO RUN:  —  The message, I take it, is pretty clear — “Feminists should like the way women are treated in Israeli life,” coupled with the pretty strong implication of “... and look how favorably it compares on this score to Israel's enemies.”

Ricks: Baghdad Only Seems ‘Peaceful’ Because 2006 Was ‘Pure Hell’  —  Discussing the one-year anniversary of President Bush's call for the “surge” on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night, Washington Post Pentagon reporter Thomas Ricks said that, “judged on the terms …

The Real McCain Record  —  There's a reason some conservatives who support John McCain are rarely willing to discuss the bulk of his record.  They want to discuss his personal story, his position on the surge, and his supposed electability.  And when questions are raised about McCain's broader record …

FBI Picks Terrorism Expert to Lead Agency's National Security Sector  —  The FBI named a career-long expert in terrorism to its top national security job yesterday as one of its own agents went public with allegations that the bureau still lacks the experience and skills needed to effectively combat terrorists.