Quick Sum Up  —  Some very quick thoughts.  The debate was a surprisingly substantive discussion of a number of issues that actually resonate in people's lives.  Which means it wasn't really anything like a political debate.  I thought both candidates had a good debate.

WH funds race: Clinton, Obama crush GOP-ers  —  Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama out-raised the four Republican presidential candidates - John McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul - $49.6 million to $42.2 million in the last three months of 2007, according to finance reports made public Thursday night.

Here's the problem with McCain (Remember Alcibiades?)  —  If there is any justice in the world, Sen. John McCain's hopes of winning the 2008 Republican presidential nomination will suffer a body blow when people are reminded of a well-sourced story published last year by The Hill describing …

Self-Funding In An Age Of BCRA  —  Late last night, Mitt Romney's campaign released its fourth-quarter funding figures, and as everyone expected, Romney significantly self-funded.  He raised $9 million, which stacks up well against the other Republicans, but added twice as much into the kitty from his own pocket.

Coulter: If McCain's the nominee, I'll campaign for Hillary  —  The ne plus ultra of conservatives crapping away Iraq in a fit of spite at Maverick: “I think she would be stronger on the war on terrorism.”  Madness.  —  Blowback

Clawing for a Legacy  —  Legacy?  What legacy?  —  There was general amazement when (the now-muzzled) Bill Clinton did his red-faced, attack-dog, race-baiting performance in South Carolina.  Friends, Democrats and longtime media sycophants were variously perplexed, repulsed, enraged …

The Edwards Effect  —  So John Edwards has dropped out of the race for the presidency.  By normal political standards, his campaign fell short.  —  But Mr. Edwards, far more than is usual in modern politics, ran a campaign based on ideas.  And even as his personal quest for the White House faltered …

Times Reporter Subpoenaed Over Source for Book  —  WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena to a reporter of The New York Times, apparently to try to force him to reveal his confidential sources for a 2006 book on the Central Intelligence Agency, one of the reporter's lawyers said Thursday.

McCain's Critics on Right Look Again  —  WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain has long aroused almost unanimous opposition from the leaders of the right.  Accusing him of crimes against conservative orthodoxy like voting against a big tax cut and opposing a federal ban on same-sex marriage …

Countdown Special Comment: On FISA and Telecom Immunity  —  Keith Olbermann's Special Comment tonight on Countdown was yet another scathing rebuke of President Bush and his lies about the pending FISA legislation and fear tactics during his final State of the Union address earlier this week.

A Rebellion and an Awkward Embrace  —  In the most exciting and confounding election cycle of my lifetime, Rudy Giuliani, the Prince of the City, is out because he was about to lose New York, John Edwards is out, the Clintons are fighting for their historical reputations …

Obama Won  —  It was, I think, his best debate in the campaign so far.  The one-on-one format elevated him instantly and he commanded the stage and the occasion.  Hillary Clinton did not do poorly.  All her strengths were on show: the policy mastery, the gaffe-free talking points, the Clinton record in the 1990s.