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.

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 …

U.S. Payrolls Decline for First Time in Four Years  —  Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. unexpectedly lost jobs for the first time in more than four years, increasing the odds the economy will fall into a recession and making it likely the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates another half point next month.

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 …

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 …

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

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.

Why's This Debate in Hollywood Debate Blogging  —  Obama kicks it off.  —  8:08 PM ... What GOP operative masterminded holding this debate at the Kodak theatre with a bunch of movie stars in the audience?  —  8:12 PM ... The forces of niceness begin in the ascendent.  —  8:13 PM ... Excellent.

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 …

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.

The McCain Transition  —  John McCain is exhausted.  He hasn't had a full-night's sleep in forever.  It took him 10 hours to get to California because of flight trouble.  He underperformed in the debate Wednesday night, as his staff understands.  He took some shots at Mitt Romney …

Republicans make Fox News sick  —  When the GOP catches a cold, everybody at Fox News is ailing.  No wonder its ratings are in the pits.  —  My guess is that Fox News guru Roger Ailes has been reaching for the Tums more often than usual early in the New Year, and there are lots of reasons for the hovering angst.