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 …

80 arrested in Guantanamo protest at Supreme Court  —  Police arrested 80 protesters outside the U.S. Supreme Court today during a protest marking the sixth anniversary of the first terror suspects imprisoned at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay.  Similar protests were held in Australia, Europe and Africa.

‘Filipino Monkey’ may be behind radio threats, ship drivers say  —  The threatening radio transmission heard at the end of a video showing harassing maneuvers by Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz may have come from a locally famous heckler known among ship drivers as the “Filipino Monkey.”

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.

Shut Up, Larry  —  When I read Lawrence O'Donnell's post calling John Edwards a “loser” and threatening a lifetime of infamy if he doesn't get out of the race, I immediately went to O'Donnell's bio to see his party affiliation.  I was sure it would say “R” — but it didn't.  It didn't say anything.

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 …

Up in the air  —  America wants change; it just can't work out what sort of change  —  IF A week is famously a long time in British politics, five days can be an eternity in America.  On January 3rd Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton by roughly 17,000 votes, out of around 220,000 cast …

The Road Ahead  —  This could go on for a while.  —  That was the overriding message from the dramatic comeback victories in the New Hampshire primary by Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.  —  Combined with the outcomes of the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire results leave …

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 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.

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 …

China blogger beaten to death  —  (CNN) — Authorities have fired an official in central China after city inspectors beat to death a man who filmed their confrontation with villagers, China's Xinhua news agency reports.  —  The killing has sparked outrage in China, with thousands expressing outrage …