Obama visits Edwards  —  Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) paid a secret visit to his former rival, John Edwards, in quest of his endorsement on Sunday.  —  The meeting in Chapel Hill, N.C., where Edwards lives, is the latest effort by Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to win …

Kosovo Declares Its Independence From Serbia  —  PRISTINA, Kosovo — The former Serbian province of Kosovo declared independence on Sunday, sending tens of thousands of ethnic Albanians swarming through the streets to celebrate what they hoped was the end of a long and bloody struggle for national self-determination.

Transcript: DNI Mike McConnell on ‘FNS’  —  WASHINGTON — The following is a partial transcript of the Feb. 17, 2008, edition of “FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace”:  —  “FOX NEWS SUNDAY” HOST CHRIS WALLACE: A law which gives President Bush powers to monitor communications among terrorism suspects expired at midnight.

“That Root,” “youths,” and why Reuters is a disgrace  —  In “Portrait of an Age,” G. M. Young's classic overview of early Victorian England, there are a few melancholy pages devoted to the devastating Irish potato famine of the mid 1840s.  Young notes in an aside that Sir Robert Peel …

Hillary Clinton Not Conceding Wisconsin  —  Saw this headline over at Huffington Post this morning: … But I noticed that the article it pointed to was written on Friday, prior to the article Jonathan linked to yesterday reporting on her “scaling back” her Wisconsin schedule.  So which is it?

The Fun and Excitement of Civilization Wars (fought from afar)  —  In response to my post on Friday pointing out that nobody outside of the handful of Muslim-obsessed faux-warriors is moved any longer by the Government's endless exploitation of Terrorism to secure more and more unchecked power, National Review's Mark Steyn said:

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 …

Clinton keeps up health care attack  —  This mailer, provided by the Obama campaign, is the latest salvo from Hillary on health care.  It also includes a quote from Paul Krugman accusing Obama of “unscrupulous demagoguery” on the issue.  Obama has a conference call shortly …

Is The Media Biased Against Hillary Clinton?  —  My response - is the Pope Catholic?  Via Taylor Marsh, I see Eugene Robinson has, an, um, more nuanced view: … Whatever you say Gene.  How's that NBC gig working out for you?  More . . .  Robinson continues: … Yes, “less settled” is one way to put it.

Barack Obama, Leftist?  —  Two foreign newspapers introduce the notion of Barack Obama as a Leftist.  The Times of London reports that Republicans intend on painting him as such in the general election, based on his voting record in the Senate and in the Illinios state legislature.

Lessons Learned  —  Spencer Ackerman travels the world, assembling apropos anecdotes.  For example, when he was in Mosul he saw a Provincial Reconstruction Team helping to oversee a terrorism trial and teach the Iraqis a thing or two about the rule of law: … Let freedom ring.

New McCain Rips Old McCain's Argument That Bush Tax Cuts Benefit The ‘Wealthy’  —  On ABC's This Week today, host George Stephanopoulos asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about Democratic proposals to protect “middle-income Americans” and “only raise” taxes “on the wealthy.”

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 …

'I don't hate Muslims.  I hate Islam,' says Holland's rising political star  —  Geert Wilders, the popular MP whose film on Islam has fuelled the debate on race in Holland, wants an end to mosque building and Muslim immigration.  Ian Traynor met him in The Hague