Romney Tactics Seem Good News for McCain  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major boost for John McCain, Republican presidential rival Mitt Romney signaled Wednesday he's not ready to commit to a costly campaign in the states holding primaries and caucuses next week.

An Ex-President, a Mining Deal and a Big Donor  —  Late on Sept. 6, 2005, a private plane carrying the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra touched down in Almaty, a ruggedly picturesque city in southeast Kazakhstan.  Several hundred miles to the west a fortune awaited …

McCain Derangement Syndrome: A reply to Roger L. Simon  —  Roger L. Simon, whose blog I usually enjoy, makes some serious errors today: … Put me in the same boat as Elder as to the woman who purportedly denied McCain was a war hero, but Simon manages to start from faulty premises and work …

The Next 12 Hours  —  Reading this morning's analysis on line, I'm a little shocked by the number of people writing about the GOP race who think that “It's still competitive, it will go on a long time, they're really going to slug it out. ..."  I think, to the contrary …

Transcript of GOP debate at Reagan Library  —  This is the transcript of the GOP debate at the Reagan Library Wednesday January 30.  —  (CNN) — ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: The first question is actually a question that will go to all of you, but I'll start with Governor Romney.

Sen. Obama's Speech In Denver, CO Will Contain Four Misleading Attacks On Hillary In One Sentence  —  Just 24 hours after Sen. Obama asserted he has run a consistently positive campaign, he released excerpts of a speech to be delivered this morning in Denver, CO that distorts Hillary's record …

The Orcinus fundraiser  — by Dave  —  Fund-raisers can be something of a mixed bag — simultaneously inspiring and deflating, especially when you're like me and really don't care for certain things required of people who use them as the revenue sources for their blogs.

POST ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA  —  Democrats in 22 states across America go to the polls next Tuesday to pick between two presidential prospects: Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.  —  We urge them to choose Obama - an untried candidate, to be sure, but preferable to the junior senator from New York.

Soldier Suicides at Record Level  —  Increase Linked to Long Wars, Lack of Army Resources  —  Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside, a psychiatric outpatient at Walter Reed Army Medical Center who was waiting for the Army to decide whether to court-martial her for endangering another soldier and turning …

Stop behaving as whiner of first resort  —  The same voices that supported tough macroeconomic policies to deal with the excesses of spending and borrowing in east Asia, Russia and Latin America are today pushing for a significant relaxation in the US to deal with the so-called subprime crisis.

Election 2008: Massachusetts Democratic Primary  —  Massachusetts: Clinton 43% Obama 37%  —  A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Massachusetts Democratic Presidential Primary finds Hillary Clinton attracting 43% of the vote while Barack Obama earns 37%.

An Angry, Defensive McCain  —  John McCain won over few if any conservatives tonight, and his display of bad temper and his rambling filibuster of his wrongful “timetables” attack on Romney from last weekend may even have lost him some moderates.  In the spin room heads were shaking.

Nader Says He's Considering a New White House Run  —  Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) — Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate who ran for president in 2000 and 2004, said he is considering another bid for the White House because he believes the current contenders aren't standing up enough to corporate interests.

Is McCain a Conservative?  —  As John McCain neared his momentous primary election victory in Florida after a ferocious campaign questioning his conservative credentials, right-wingers buzzed over word that he had privately suggested that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was too conservative.