An Obama Refrain Bears Echoes of a Governor's Speeches  —  CHICAGO — Senator Barack Obama adapted one of his signature arguments — that his oratory amounts to more than inspiring words — from speeches given by Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts during his 2006 campaign.

System Worries Clinton Backers  —  Supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are worried that convoluted delegate rules in Texas could water down the impact of strong support for her among Hispanic voters there, creating a new obstacle for her in the must-win presidential primary contest.

How Evangelical Leaders Blew It  —  Dan Gilgoff does a post-mortem on how the evangelical movement managed to allow John McCain to win the Republican Party nomination over two candidates more amenable to their cause.  Gilgoff focuses on their failure to back Romney, and makes it plain …

Democrats Should Read Kipling  —  Browsing through a used-book store Friday — in the Milwaukee airport, of all places — I came across a 1981 paperback collection of George Orwell's essays.  That's how I happened to reread his 1942 essay on Rudyard Kipling.

WOULD YOU MAKE A “PLEDGE” WITH THIS MAN?  —  The first great skirmish of an Obama-McCain general election has broken out over a matter of such arcane policy-wonkery that until this weekend, you would find it only here at TAPPED: the precise relationship between a loan and public financing …

BILL CLINTON CONTINUES DOUBLE-EDGED ROLE ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL  —  Former President Bill Clinton is on a tear, traveling around the country to help his wife win the Democratic presidential nomination.  But his repeated returns to his own administration have again raised questions about whether he is helping or hurting Hillary Clinton.

Why Torts Trumped Terrorism  —  A closed-door caucus of House Democrats last Wednesday took a risky political course.  By 4 to 1, they instructed Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call President Bush's bluff on extending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to continue eavesdropping on suspected foreign terrorists.

The Dungeon of Fallujah  —  “This is not Norway here, and it is not Denmark.”  - Lebanese Forces militia leader Bashir Gemayel.  —  FALLUJAH - Next to the Joint Communications Center in downtown Fallujah is a squalid and war-shattered warehouse for human beings.  Most detainees are common criminals.

More Obama and Patrick  —  Mike Allen has more on a pretty striking borrowing, seen in the videos below.  —  Also, I'd be interested in how others hear this, but it's striking to see Obama deliver the same lines, almost verbatim, as another politician; it really gives you a sense of what's …

KILLING JOKE  —  The Coen brothers' twists and turns. … The Coen brothers' “No Country for Old Men” casts an ominous and mournful spell from the first shot.  Over scenes of a desolate West Texas landscape, an aging sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones), ruminating on the new viciousness of crime, says that he's not afraid of dying.

It's All Uphill From Here  —  It was 15 degrees outside on a wind-whipped Pennsylvania Avenue as Hillary Clinton, smile firmly fixed in place, made an early-morning stop for a primary she didn't have a prayer of winning.  —  Inside the high-ceilinged office of the National Council of Negro Women …