CLINTON TRIES TO REINSTATE MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA'S DELEGATES.  —  This is a very, very, very big deal.  From the Clinton campaign: … This is the sort of decision that has the potential to tear the party apart.  In an attempt to retain some control over the process and keep the various states …

UPDATE: ‘No way of knowing’ who whispered, MSNBC says  —  The whisper that could be heard just before an answer from Mitt Romney at Thursday's Republican debate was the result of a microphone malfunction, an MSNBC spokesman tells RAW STORY, but its source remains a mystery.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do  —  We begin, as one always must now, again, with Bill Clinton.  The past week he has traveled South Carolina, leaving discord in his wake.  Barack Obama, that “fairytale,” is low, sneaky.  “He put out a hit job on me."  The press is cruelly carrying Mr. Obama's counter-jabs.

The Illustrated President  —  W.H.D. Koerner, “A Charge to Keep” (1916)  —  George W. Bush is famous for his attachment to a painting which he acquired after becoming a “born again Christian."  It's by W.H.D. Koerner and is entitled “A Charge to Keep."  Bush was so taken by it …

Attorney General Edwards?  —  An Inside Report by Robert Novak  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Illinois Democrats close to Sen. Barack Obama are quietly passing the word that John Edwards will be named attorney general in an Obama administration.  —  Installation at the Justice Department …

Reid Issues Ultimatum: More Time Or No Wiretaps  —  At a State of the Union preview speech today at the National Press Club, Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a dramatic ultimatum to President Bush: either sign an extension of the Protect America Act (which sets conditions …

SOUTH CAROLINA: WHY SO MUCH VARIATION?  —  We've had quite a bit of discussion today in the comments section about the wide variation in results from the South Carolina polls.  Reader Ciccina noticed some “fascinating” differences in the percentages reported as undecided …

Why not food stamps?  —  1) The poor don't need more food.  Obesity is a problem for the poor in America; except for people who are too screwed up to get food stamps (because they don't have an address), food insufficiency is not.  —  2) Food stamps only imperfectly translate into increased cash income …

John McCain's open-borders outreach director: The next DHS secretary?  ; Update: A “non-paid volunteer”  —  Update: Hernandez is a “non-paid volunteer,” says the McCain campaign.  Was he “non-paid” at the Reform Institute, too?  And does McCain share his “Mexico First/” “Just A Region"/"Free Flow of People" views or not?

A Revealing Poll  —  The latest SurveyUSA Florida poll shows McCain at 30 percent, Romney at 28 percent, Rudy at 18 percent and Huckabee with 14 percent.  Some interesting internal numbers jump out.  First, with Hispanic voters, McCain leads 60 percent to 16 percent over Rudy, while Romney draws only 10 percent.