Amnesty Day for Bush and lawbreaking telecoms  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  The Senate today — led by Jay Rockefeller, enabled by Harry Reid, and with the active support of at least 12 (and probably more) Democrats, in conjunction with an as-always lockstep GOP caucus …

Gov. ‘Blunt Talk’ Rendell (and other topics)  —  So many topics, so little space:  —  Gov. Ed “Don't Call Me ‘Fast Eddie’ ” Rendell met with the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week to talk about his latest budget.  But before turning the meeting over to his number-crunchers …

Obama Unplugged  —  Lost without a Teleprompter.  —  USUALLY WHEN BARACK OBAMA gives a major speech, the overdone hosannas from the liberal commentariat follow as surely as night follows day.  The American Prospect's Ezra Klein wrote of Obama's post-Iowa victory speech, “I've been blessed to hear many great orations.

Inside the Clinton Shake-Up  —  Like so much involving Hillary Clinton, Sunday's departure of her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, has gotten tons of attention, but its larger significance has been somewhat misunderstood.  I've spent a fair amount of time over the last two years reporting on …

Cool on O'Bama  —  All this emoting over Barack Obama's wonderful, wonderful personality is starting to trigger my gag reflex.  —  What are we electing here, a faith healer?  What is Obama's view of the executive power?  How, exactly, does he propose to “bring us together”?  Just by being half-black?

Senate Votes to Give Retroactive Immunity for Telecoms  —  Let there be no doubt: a majority of senators, and a large number of Democrats, think the telecoms should not suffer the hazard of accountability for cooperating with the administration's warrantless wiretapping program.

Why the Right is Behind Online  —  From Erick Erickson, Redstate editor and influential Republican. … Now, being a doctor who performs abortions is in fact a job, so one might find conflicting narratives in Erick's quote.  And if the way to use the internet well politically is to up the number …

Outside the Beltway and Off the Rails  —  James Joyner is rushing to do damage control for Barack Obama: Obama Che Guevara Flag ‘Scandal’.  He takes particular exception to an “insinuation” (his word) he says I made: … “Loyalty oath?”  Where the hell does that come from?

John McCain's Top 24 Potential Picks For Vice-President  —  Predicting whom a particular candidate will take as Vice-President is always difficult because so many factors play into it.  Do both candidates get along?  Is the presidential nominee looking to carry a particular state, region …

William and Mary president resigns in disgrace  —  The head of the College of William and Mary, Gene Nichol, has resigned in disgrace.  Several readers send along his resignation letter.  You'll recall that he roiled the campus with his decision to hide the cross at the famous school chapel to make it “less faith-specific.”

Why I Voted for Obama  —  College Park Rally, originally uploaded by Barack Obama.  —  I grew up in the 1990s loathing Bill Clinton.  He and his wife represented everything that was bad about politics — from the corruption and lies they brought from Arkansas to the immoral and embarrassing behavior in the White House.

Go with the tough guy  —  The new ‘axis of evil’ doesn't fear the U.S. McCain could change that.  —  Some conservatives are having conniptions over the rise of John McCain as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.  Personally, I am less interested in what Rush Limbaugh …

When Reality Bites  —  There's a big difference between the Republican and Democratic campaigns: The Republicans have split on policy grounds; the Democrats haven't.  There's been a Republican divide between center and right, yet no Democratic divide between center and left.

Finding 11-Day Sentence Not Too Little but Too Late  —  Matthew Sinor was in his second year of law school at Ohio State a couple of years ago when he heard that an Army buddy had gotten into trouble with the law.  Mr. Sinor rescheduled two exams and flew to Mobile, Ala. …