Right slams Obama as ‘shady Chicago socialist’  —  Republicans are out to crush Barack by painting him as a leftwinger with dubious support  —  LEADING Republicans believe they can trounce Barack Obama in the presidential election by tarring him as a shady Chicago socialist.

NY Times on “The Cult of Personality”  —  The Times constrasts “the cult of personality” with charisma.  It's a long article.  Here are the quotes I took from it:  —  I'll give the first round to the challenger, Barack Obama: … Next round goes to Sean Willnetz, a Princeton Historian and friend of Hillary's, who says:

Israel kills terror chief with headrest bomb  —  Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv, Hala Jaber in Beirut and Jon Swain  —  NOTHING seemed very remarkable about the short, bearded man who mingled with other guests on Tuesday evening at a reception in Damascus, the Syrian capital …

It's an Election, Not a Revolution  —  IT has become common wisdom that the battle for the presidency is all about the economy.  Voters are being told that the country's economic health depends on pulling the right lever in the polling booth.  —  This election is certainly important.

Gallup Daily: Tracking Election 2008  —  Based on polling conducted Feb. 13-15, 2008  —  PRINCETON, NJ — For several days, nationwide Democratic voters' preferences have been shifting toward Barack Obama in Gallup Poll Daily election tracking.  Now, the Illinois senator enjoys …

Suicide bomber kills 80 in Afghanistan  —  KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide bombing at an outdoor dog fighting competition killed 80 people and wounded scores more Sunday, a governor said, in what appeared to be the deadliest terror attack in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

The World's Worst Panderer  —  Even for those of us who shudder at many of John McCain's positions, there is something refreshing about a man who wins so many votes despite a major political shortcoming: he is abysmal at pandering.  —  What sets Senator McCain apart isn't so much his physical courage …

Steadfast McCain ally sparks veep talk  —  Even through the McCain campaign's darkest days in 2007, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty remained a steadfast ally to the Arizona senator in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.  —  As a result, with John McCain as the clear GOP frontrunner …

Russia: US Satellite Shot a Weapons Test  —  MOSCOW (AP) - Russia said Saturday that U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite may be a veiled test of America's missile defense system.  —  The Pentagon failed to provide “enough arguments” to back its plan to smash …

A Smiling, Fidgeting McCain, Learning to Rein Himself In  —  WASHINGTON — So this is what it looks like when the maverick becomes The Man.  —  Senator John McCain was sitting in the front of his fancy-pants front-runner's plane, trying to get comfortable.

New York ‘Crack Tax’ Proposal Is Derided  —  Many States Aid Enforcement With Levy on Illicit Drugs  —  NEW YORK — If you can't beat it, tax it.  —  That seems to be the axiom in New York these days, where Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer (D), struggling to close a $4.4 billion budget gap …

Clinton backers fault campaign  —  Supporters outline errors as focus turns to big states  —  It may be hard to recall the shield of inevitability that once surrounded Hillary Clinton, but a December 2007 cover story in a liberal magazine is a reminder.  —  “Has Hillary Locked It Up?” …

Captive to History's Caprice  —  Maybe we are the ones we've been waiting for.  Or maybe we are not.  —  Perhaps when Barack Obama uses that trippy line, he is just giving false Hopi, since the saying, which he picked up from Maria Shriver's New Age-y L.A. endorsement speech, is credited to Hopi Indians.

Change and Barack, America's First Leftist President?  —  The provocative claim of this piece from Mexico's La Jornada is that Barack would be the U.S.' first true leftist president - a conclusion drawn after broad (and generous) surveys of both Democratic candidates' strengths and qualifications.

Al Gore to the Rescue?  —  Stumper's Take: He foresaw global warming.  He “took the initiative” on the Internet.  And he knew exactly how Iraq would turn out.  Who's to say that Al Gore hasn't known all along that the Democratic race would descend into some weird state of gridlock …