McCain's Veep Options  —  While congratulations are still premature, with Mitt Romney dropping out of the race yesterday it is now very likely that the Republican Party will nominate Sen. John McCain for president.  If that happens, the GOP will, for the first time since 1976 …

MSNBC's Shuster to Offer On-Air Apology to Clinton  —  Using a prostitution metaphor for the daughter of a presidential candidate is a surefire way for a journalist to get into trouble.  —  On MSNBC yesterday, correspondent David Shuster went there, amazingly enough, while interviewing …

Can Mrs. Clinton Lose?  —  If Hillary Clinton loses, does she know how to lose?  What will that be, if she loses?  Will she just say, “I concede” and go on vacation at a friend's house on an island, and then go back to the Senate and wait?  —  Is it possible she could be so normal?

Mormons Dismayed by Harsh Spotlight  —  Mitt Romney's campaign for the presidency brought more attention to the Mormon Church than it has had in years.  What the church discovered was not heartening.  —  Critics of its doctrines and culture launched frequent public attacks.

The Sun Also Sets  —  Climate Change: Not every scientist is part of Al Gore's mythical “consensus.”  Scientists worried about a new ice age seek funding to better observe something bigger than your SUV — the sun.  —  Back in 1991, before Al Gore first shouted that the Earth was in the balance …

Bush Declares That Cheney Is ‘The Best Vice President In History’  —  During his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this morning, President Bush told the crowd of raucous right-wing activists that he “appreciates the fact that” they “invited Vice President Cheney” to speak.

A Long Story  —  The economic news has been fairly dire this week.  The credit crunch is getting worse, and a widely watched indicator of trends in the service sector — which is most of the economy — has fallen off a cliff.  It's still not a certainty that we're headed into recession, but the odds are growing greater.

Boy wants to return to school as a girl  —  HIGHLANDS RANCH - The issue of being transgender usually pops up with students in high school.  However, a 3rd grade boy wants to dress as a girl and wants teachers and students to address him with a girl's name.  —  “As a public school system …

Bush, Congress hit bottom in AP poll  —  WASHINGTON - It's almost as if people can barely stand the thought of President Bush and Congress anymore.  Bush reached his lowest approval rating in The Associated Press-Ipsos poll on Friday as only 30 percent said they like the job he is doing …

Leprosy outbreak causes concerns in Northwest Arkansas  —  SPRINGDALE - The medical community is warning the public: a leprosy outbreak in Springdale could blossom into an epidemic, if something isn't done soon.  —  Doctors say at least nine cases of leprosy have been confirmed in Springdale.

Smear or Be Smeared?  —  The DNC plans “unlimited” spending against McCain; some of its claims are misleading.  —  The Democratic National Committee proposes to spend unlimited amounts of money to “tell the real story” about John McCain before Republicans can “start smearing” the eventual Democratic nominee.

The Fall of Romney, Inc.  —  In fairness to Team Romney, they did more right than not.  They rose from single digits in the national polls to receiving 32% of the primary votes cast to date.  They became the conservative establishment's choice.  They leveraged mechanical and resource superiority …

More on the Delegate Discrepancy  —  To secure the Democratic nomination for president, either Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama will need to secure 2,025 delegates.  Depending on which account you accepted Friday morning, Ms. Clinton was either leading the delegate race …

Iraq's Civil War, the Sadrists and the Surge  —  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS  —  The dramatic decline in bloodshed in Iraq - at least until last week's terrible market bombings in Baghdad - is largely due to Muqtada al-Sadr's August 2007 unilateral ceasefire.