NY NOW: “Betrayal!”  —  Whoa.  The New York State chapter of the National Organization for Women attacked Ted Kennedy for his endorsement today with some real heat.. The Times Union reported it first (writing, “'Scathing' feels inadequate here."), and I confirmed its authenticity with the president of the organization, Marcia Pappas.

Winging It  —  John McCain has a golden opportunity to make peace with conservatives.  Will he take advantage of it?  —  John McCain has to decide just how comfortable he wants the conservative base of the Republican Party to be with his candidacy.  Although he touts his conservative credentials …

Today's FISA vote  —  This morning, I wrote extensively about today's vote on the FISA filibuster and related matters here, but am starting a new post now to live-blog the proceedings, which have now begun in the Senate (and can be viewed on C-SPAN here).  That earlier post should be read for background.

Huckabee challenges Romney over fried chicken  —  PENSACOLA, Florida (CNN) - Mitt Romney's failure to eat fried chicken with the skin on is nothing short of blasphemy here in the South, according to GOP rival Mike Huckabee.  —  Romney, of Massachusetts, dug into a piece fried chicken at KFC …

Obama takes big risk on driver's license issue  —  (01-28) 04:00 PST Washington — Sen. Barack Obama easily won the African American vote in South Carolina, but to woo California Latinos, where he is running 3-to-1 behind rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, he is taking a giant risk …

Dick Cheney Telecom Amnesty Bill Liveblog Thread #4  —  Cloture vote fails, 48-45, with Landrieu, Ben Nelson and Mark Pryor voting with the Republicans.  —  McCONNELL: Urges everyone to vote against 30 day extension.  Said they may have to do a “short extension” but the President has said he will veto a 30 day.

Lessons of 1992  —  It's starting to feel a bit like 1992 again.  A Bush is in the White House, the economy is a mess, and there's a candidate who, in the view of a number of observers, is running on a message of hope, of moving past partisan differences, that resembles Bill Clinton's campaign 16 years ago.

New York Poll: Clinton, McCain Have Wide Leads  —  New York Republican vote appears very fluid, however  —  PRINCETON, NJ — New USA Today/Gallup polling looks at the state of the presidential race in New York, some 10 days before this state votes as part of the crucial Super Tuesday set of primaries.

IT SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE THAT THE CLINTONS ARE PLAYING THE RACE CARD.  —  How can one equal Bill Clinton for thuggery and opportunism when it comes to the so-called “race card”?  And where does one even start with the breathtaking nastiness of his own conduct, and that of his supporters, in the last week?

Sharpton to Bill Clinton: ‘Shut Up’  —  ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Rev. Al Sharpton on Monday weighed in on the raging debate inside the Democratic Party over former President Bill Clinton's advocacy on behalf of his wife's campaign, with two choice words for the former president: “Shut up.”

Obama tells Jews: ‘I never practiced Islam’  —  U.S. Sen. Barack Obama confronted rumors that he is a secret Muslim in a conference call with the Jewish news media.  —  “It is very important for everybody to know that it is fake,” Obama, a Democratic presidential contender, said Monday.

State of the Grab Bag Adress 2008  —  I'll be liveblogging the State of the Union Address at 8pm Eastern, if I can drag myself out of depression.  Electile dysfunction.  Whatever it's called.  These annual rituals have become dreary exercises in grand government grab-bag rhetoric.

An insider's guide to Florida's primary  —  On Tuesday, millions of Florida voters will head for the polls.  Being Floridians, many of them will become confused and drive into buildings, canals, cemeteries, other Floridians, etc.  But some will actually make it to the polls …

Bush, GOP earmark cave-in: Conservatives are a base in search of a party  —  The White House is now confirming that President Bush won't be signing an executive order that could stop the vast majority of earmarks.  Instead, he's going to sign one “directing agencies to ignore …

The Economy Is Fine (Really)  —  It is hard to imagine any time in history when such rampant pessimism about the economy has existed with so little evidence of serious trouble.  —  True, retail sales fell 0.4% in December and fourth-quarter real GDP probably grew at only a 1.5% annual rate.