William F. Buckley Jr. Is Dead at 82  —  William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn.

Rove: Don't “Hussein” Obama  —  No less an authority figure than Karl Rove has warned Republican operatives from demagoguing Barack Obama's middle name.  —  At a closed door meeting of GOP state executive directors in late January, Rove said the safest way to refer to Obama would be to use his honorific, “Sen. Obama.”

24% Have Favorable Opinion of New York Times  —  Just 24% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the New York Times.  Forty-four percent (44%) have an unfavorable opinion and 31% are not sure.  The paper's ratings are much like a candidate's and divide sharply along partisan and ideological lines.

Lewis says he's supporting Obama  —  WASHINGTON — Hoping to put an end to a month of confusion and dismay, Rep. John Lewis on Wednesday said he's switching his support from Sen. Hillary Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

OBAMA'S SILENCE ON KADDAFI  —  Can we ignore Sen. Obama's silence about Muammar Kaddafi?  —  We know that Louis Farrakhan has said positive things about Barack Obama.  And he's not the only one.  This is the same Louis Farrakhan who has travelled to Libya to meet with and say positive things …

Micro Mark  —  Hillary Clinton's Svengali, Super Micro-Trend Pollster Mark Penn: ‘People Misunderstand,’ He Says Campaign ‘Never About the Small Things,’ And, ‘If We Lose, I Will Take My Share of the Responsibility’  —  ‘When you wake, you will have won!’  The Great  —  Penn-gali with Senator Hillary Clinton and

Post-racial  —  Even white supremacists don't hate Obama.  —  David Duke was on the phone, talking about Barack Obama.  Yes, that David Duke: After a query lodged at his website, the infamous ex-Klansman had responded via a mysterious e-mail address—he appeared in my inbox as “info45.”

Expertinent: Why the Obama “Brand” Is Working  —  Logo at left; ‘Change We Can Believe In’ is written in Obama's signature ‘Gotham’ typeface.  —  Expertinent is a regular Stumper column featuring interviews with experts on the news of the day.  (For more on Obama's branding, check out this addendum.)

White House Blames Clintons for Document Delay  —  ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: The White House on Wednesday blamed the Clintons for a month-long delay in the release of some 11,000 pages of records relating to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's years as first lady, despite Sen. Clinton's contention …

Bill Cunningham says McCain campaign told him to throw out the Red Meat during intro.  —  Yesterday one of the big stories was when walkie-talkie Bill Cunningham voraciously attacked Barack Obama warming up a crowd for John McCain.  He was so over the top that supposedly the McMaverick campaign told John …

The dangerous protectionism of Barack Obama  —  Barack Obama, the likely Democratic presidential candidate, has proposed tax breaks for US corporations that invest at home rather than abroad.  This column argues that his proposal is protectionist, reactionary, and economically unsound.

‘I AM NOT A MUSLIM’: OBAMA WOOS THE JEWS  —  Barack Obama laid it on the line to Israel's most popular newspaper — Yediot Aharonot — Wednesday: “I am not a Muslim and I never have been.  I never studied at a Madrassa and I have never sworn on the Koran.  I am committed to Christianity.”