Ickes: Blame Penn  —  Harold Ickes definitely doesn't buy the argument that Mark Penn isn't responsible for everything that has happened to the Hillary Clinton campaign.  —  “Mark Penn has run this campaign,” said Ickes in a brief phone interview this morning.

Clinton raises $35 million in February  —  Hillary Clinton's camapign is set to announce later today that she's on track to raise roughly $35 million in the month of February, a huge month by any standard measure of political fundraising and her best of the campaign.

Obama staffer gave warning of NAFTA rhetoric  —  Barack Obama has ratcheted up his attacks on NAFTA, but a senior member of his campaign team told a Canadian official not to take his criticisms seriously, CTV News has learned.  —  Both Obama and Hillary Clinton have been critical …

Disturbing New Photos From Abu Ghraib  —  NSFW: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.  As an expert witness in the defense of an Abu Ghraib guard who was court-martialed, psychologist Philip Zimbardo had access to many of the images of abuse that were taken by the guards themselves.

Obama's Open Letter To Gay Americans  —  Money quote: … The full thing after the jump:

Press Conference of the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.  Laura and I, as you know, recently came back from Africa, where we saw firsthand how the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is saving lives.  I had a chance to go to the — speak to the Sullivan Foundation the other day about our trip …

Today's Must Read  —  You can understand their exasperation.  The administration and Congressional Republicans have done everything in their power to protect the telecoms.  They used every legislative tactic at the ready, made every speech or public pronouncement possible …

State GOP asks ‘60 Minutes’ for evidence or retraction  —  MONTGOMERY - The chairman of the Alabama Republican Party sent a letter to “60 Minutes” producers asking for a retraction unless they could provide evidence backing up a segment on former Gov. Don Siegelman's prosecution.

Prince Harry in Taleban fighting  —  Prince Harry has been fighting the Taleban on the front line in Afghanistan, the MoD has confirmed.  —  Harry, 23, who is third in line to the throne, has spent the last 10 weeks serving in Helmand Province.  —  The prince joked about his nickname …

Pelosi Letter to Attorney General Mukasey on Contempt Citations of Miers and Bolten  —  February 28th, 2008 by Office of the Speaker  —  Washington, D.C. - Today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the following letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, informing him of the referral letter sent …

McCain's Canal Zone Birth Prompts Queries About Whether That Rules Him Out  —  WASHINGTON — The question has nagged at the parents of Americans born outside the continental United States for generations: Dare their children aspire to grow up and become president?

Some hateful, radical ministers — white evangelicals — are acceptable  —  One of this week's hysterical press scandals was that Minister Louis Farrakhan praised Barack Obama's candidacy even though Obama had previously denounced numerous Farrakhan remarks and the Obama campaign did nothing to seek out the Farrakhan praise.

Iran ‘number one world power’: Ahmadinejad … President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Thursday that Iran was the world's “number one” power, as he launched a bitter new assault on domestic critics he accused of siding with the enemy.  —  “Everybody has understood that Iran is the number …

POLL: MCCAIN LOOKING GOOD IN FL  —  From NBC's Domenico Montanaro  —  McCain leads both Obama and Clinton in potential general-election match ups with either candidate in the all-important swing state of Florida, according to a Mason-Dixon poll out today.  —  McCain leads Obama 47%-37% and Clinton 49%-40%.

Obama Has The Lead, But Potential Problems Too  —  Increasing Optimism About Iraq  —  Summary of Findings  —  Barack Obama is riding high as the March 4 primaries approach.  Obama has moved out to a broad-based advantage over Hillary Clinton in the national Democratic primary contest …

Geldof and Bush: Diary From the Road  —  I gave the president my book.  He raised an eyebrow.  “Who wrote this for ya, Geldof?” he said without looking up from the cover.  Very dry.  “Who will you get to read it for you, Mr. President?”  I replied.  No response.

McCain: 'Chris carries on the spirit of his dad with a great sense of humor.'  —  John McCain, in between fund-raisers and events in Texas, held another conference call with bloggers.  Selected highlights:  —  McCain: My one opening comment is on Senator Obama's comment that he would consider …

McCain in A Glass House  —  Certain kinds of conservatives, distrusting Richard Nixon's ideological elasticity, rejected him — until 1973.  Although it had become clear that his administration was a crime wave, they embraced him because the media were his tormentors.