Poll: It's all tied up for Dems in Texas  —  CNN Deputy Political Director  —  (CNN) — Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in a statistical dead heat in Texas, according to a poll released eight days before the state's crucial presidential primary.

Clinton Campaign Starts 5-Point Attack on Obama  —  After struggling for months to dent Senator Barack Obama's candidacy, the campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is now unleashing what one Clinton aide called a “kitchen sink” fusillade against Mr. Obama, pursuing five lines …

In-Laws' Political Dispute Ends In Stabbing  —  UPPER PROVIDENCE, Pa. (CBS 3) ― The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office is investigating a politically motivated stabbing that left one in-law hospitalized and another in prison.  —  Authorities said brother-in-laws Jose Ortiz …

Obama responds to CNN's smear: Join In against ‘right wing hack attacks’  —  Obama responds to the new smear campaign against him quite deftly.  CNN and the AP should be ashamed of themselves.  I didn't know lapel pins were so important to national security.

Ding Dong!  The Witch Is Dead!  —  From the DoD, via TPMMuckraker: … Pardon me while I dance about my study, cackling with glee.  That's some of the best news I've had since, well, since the announcement of the ceasefire in Northern Uganda.  (Hard to top that.)

Hillary Spokesperson Wolfson Strongly Denies Campaign Officially Pushed Obama Turban Pic  —  On a conference call with reporters just now, Hillary spokesperson Howard Wolfson strongly denied any official campaign role in pushing the photo of Obama in a turban and Somali garb.

McCain Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email  —  On the stump, Sen. John McCain often cites his work tackling the excesses of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff as evidence of his sturdy ethical compass.  —  A little-known document, however, shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect …

Rove denies 60 Minutes charges, claims he wasn't contacted.  —  On Fox News's Election HQ today, former White House political adviser Karl Rove denied allegations made by a former GOP operative on CBS's 60 Minutes last night that he personally told her to find evidence that former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman (D) was cheating on his wife.

HALPERIN'S TAKE: Things McCain Can Do to Try to Beat Obama That Clinton Cannot  —  Nomination fights are tribal matters.  There are certain lines candidates from the same party cannot cross when trying to win.  In general election battles, there are fewer rules and constraints.

I feel for their sickness  —  Wow, how does it feel now for some bloggers, having crossed the line from representing a voice for progressive values to parroting the legitimization of Drudge Report as a news vehicle.  It's a sad day when any Democratic candidate have to deny any report on Drudge …

Jackboots and Whole Foods  —  Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning  —  In graduate school I had a professor, a famous Marxist, who devoted a significant portion of a lecture to the subject of artifacts.

An early look at how Clinton deals with crisis  —  In a presidential campaign focused on the future, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama spend a lot of time talking about their pasts.  —  Both lean heavily on tales of early, formative experiences - she running a law clinic in Arkansas …

Forget global warming: Welcome to the new Ice Age  —  Snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966.  —  The U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that many American cities and towns suffered record cold temperatures in January and early February.