Huckabee vows to send all illegal aliens home  —  TIGERVILLE, S.C. — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee yesterday continued to move to the right on immigration during this year's presidential campaign, signing a pledge to enforce immigration laws and to make all illegal aliens go home.

Vetting Obama  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — With Barack Obama nipping at her heels in Iowa, Hillary Clinton went on the state's public television Dec. 14 to say: “I've been vetted. ...  There are no surprises."  —  That was the first use in presidential campaign politics of an unusual word.

Voter-Fraud Rethink  —  Both Democrats and Republicans are good at practicing hypocrisy when they need to.  But it's still breathtaking to see how some Democrats ignore that it was only last week they argued before the Supreme Court that an Indiana law requiring voters show ID at the polls …

Anti-war groups retreat  —  After a series of legislative defeats in 2007 that saw the year end with more U.S. troops in Iraq than when it began, a coalition of anti-war groups is backing away from its multimillion-dollar drive to cut funding for the war and force Congress to pass timelines for bringing U.S. troops home.

Leahy for Obama  —  Two sources familiar with the senior Vermont senator's plans say Patrick Leahy will be endorsing Obama today in an 11:00 a.m. conference call today.  —  Leahy's spokesman, David Carle, wouldn't confirm the senator's plans, but did suggest a reporter pay attention to the call …

The Résumé Gap  —  A Democratic Field Without an Executive  —  It was fascinating to watch the three top contenders for the Democratic nomination discuss their concept of the presidency during Tuesday night's MSNBC debate in Las Vegas.  But it was also stunning to realize …

Like Reagan  —  Barack Obama tosses off a vague comparison between himself and Ronald Regan and Matt Stoller gets really pissed.  I don't really get it.  Obama is pretty unambiguously claiming that much as Reagan was a friendly, popular face of a much more conservative governing agenda …

How the Pentagon planted a false story  —  WASHINGTON - Senior Pentagon officials, evidently reflecting a broader administration policy decision, used an off-the-record Pentagon briefing to turn the January 6 US-Iranian incident in the Strait of Hormuz into a sensational story demonstrating …

Testimony  —  Chairman Ben S. Bernanke  —  The economic outlook  —  Before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives  —  Chairman Spratt, Representative Ryan, and other members of the Committee, I am pleased to be here to offer my views on the near-term economic outlook and related issues.

Liberal Hatemongers  —  A politically progressive friend of mine always seemed to root against baseball teams from the South.  The Braves, the Rangers, the Astros — he hated them all.  I asked him why, to which he replied, “Southerners are prejudiced."  —  The same logic is evident …

Even at Home, Backers Worry About Giuliani  —  For months, the Republican establishment in New York and New Jersey marched nearly in lock step behind Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former hometown mayor they were confident would become their party's nominee for president.

When Ross Perot Calls...  The former presidential candidate blasts John McCain, and gets an education about Barack Obama's religion.  —  The phone rang and it was Ross Perot, who hasn't given an interview in years.  Perot, who won 19 percent of the vote in the 1992 presidential election …