Obama, Clinton tied in 2008 Democratic race  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama has erased a once substantial deficit to climb into a virtual tie with Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential race, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

Obama best choice for Democrats  —  Or do they prefer a re-run of 'It came from Little Rock'?  —  As state Democrats prepare to hold their Saturday caucuses, cynical Republicans might well encourage them to choose Sen. Hillary Clinton, figuring her high “negatives” — the unusual number …

ON DEADLINE: Mitt Won, Authenticity Lost  —  WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney's victory in Michigan was a defeat for authenticity in politics.  —  The former Massachusetts governor pandered to voters, distorted his opponents' record and continued to show why he's the most malleable — and least credible — major presidential candidate.

The Democratic Debate in Las Vegas  —  The following is a transcript of the Democratic debate in Las Vegas, as provided by the Federal News Service.  —  DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE PARTICIPANTS:  —  FORMER SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC) SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL)  —  MODERATORS:

“The Diebold Effect”: Hillary's Votes Higher From Diebold Machines Even Controlling for Demographics (education, income, population, etc)  —  In contrast to exit pre-election polls, the final vote tally from the NH democratic primary shows a surprise victory for Hillary Clinton.

Who Wrote Ron Paul's Newsletters?  —  Libertarian movement veterans, and a Paul campaign staffer, say it was “paleolibertarian” strategist Lew Rockwell  —  Ron Paul doesn't seem to know much about his own newsletters.  The libertarian-leaning presidential candidate says he was unaware …

White House reused e-mail tapes  —  WASHINGTON - The White House has acknowledged recycling its backup computer tapes of e-mail before October 2003, raising the possibility that many electronic messages — including those pertaining to the CIA leak case — have been taped over and are gone forever.

CNN's John King responds  —  Over the weekend, I wrote about an adulating interview which CNN's John King conducted with John McCain while riding on the storied Straight Talk Express bus.  The interview was broadcast on “Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer.  In that post, I printed all of the …

Iraqi Spending to Rebuild Has Slowed, Report Says  —  Highly promising figures that the administration cited to demonstrate economic progress in Iraq last fall, when Congress was considering whether to continue financing the war, cannot be substantiated by official Iraqi budget records …

RETIREES AND THE FAIRTAX....Matt Yglesias reprints a chart showing that Mike Huckabee's 30% national sales tax would be good for the rich and bad for the middle class, and then adds this: … A big national sales tax is such a loopy idea that I feel like my IQ drops every time I even acknowledge it as something worth discussing.

CLINTON HATRED.  —  of last night's debate.  Edwards never even makes an appearance.  Obama, who Andrew is deeply committed to, hardly even qualifies as a walk-on character.  Instead, it's Clinton.  It's Clinton and Clinton and Clinton and Clinton.  At 9:30 we learn that “Just like Bush, she cannot talk about her own weakness.”

FRIED SQUIRREL: I'M LOVING IT!  —  Mike Huckabee explains how he'll appeal to SC voters by explaining how he and his crew ate fried squirrel made in a popcorn popper in college ...