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 …

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?

ROAD MAP  —  Hopefully, everyone can now see the McCain strategy for running against Barack Obama.  Yes, we have some general points on taxes, culture wars and McCain as war hero who can protect us in ways that flash-in-the-pan pretty boy Barack Obama can't.  —  But that's not the core.

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.

I'm Not Running for President, but ...  WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign, you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates — smart, all of them — must know better.  They must know we can't fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade.

William F. Buckley: Mandarin of Right-Wing TV  —  One night in early 1962, William F. Buckley was Jack Paar's guest on The Tonight Show.  At 36, Buckley had been an infant phenom, writing the book God and Man at Yale (he was pro-God, anti-Yale) and an indulgent biography of Senator Joseph McCarthy.

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.

Louisiana Governor Pierces Business as Usual  —  BATON ROUGE, La. — Downstairs, legislators gnashed their teeth, while upstairs at the Capitol here this week, the new governor claimed victory against the old customs down below.  —  Six weeks into the term of Gov. Bobby Jindal …

“60 Minutes” Too?!!... MAJOR SCANDAL Brewing Over Rove Hit Piece!  —  Alabama GOP Asks For Proof on Karl Rove Hit Piece...  Or, demands that the network retract the story!  —  Did CBS learn nothing from their last major scandal?  —  The chairman of the Alabama Republican Party sent a letter to …

Prediction  —  In the next few days, there will be a wave of liberals — Frank Rich comes particularly to mind — who will use WFB's memory to beat up on today's conservatives.  Ramesh and I wrote a piece about this tendency last year.  Liberals today bemoan how wonderful the conservatives …

Some hateful, radical ministers — white evangelicals — are acceptable  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  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 …

Chief Justice Roberts defends Exxon.  —  Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on how much money ExxonMobil should be forced to pay as damages for its Exxon Valdez oil spill 19 years ago.  The Washington Post's Dana Milbank notes that Chief Justice John Roberts appeared “bothered” …

NYT's Greenhouse Takes Buyout Offer  —  NEW YORK — Linda Greenhouse, who has covered the Supreme Court for The New York Times for 30 years, said Wednesday that she has accepted a buyout package from the newspaper.  —  Greenhouse joined the Times in 1968 and started covering the court in 1978 …

Heralded New Law Is Vetoed by Iraq's Presidency Council  —  BAGHDAD — Political momentum in Iraq hit a sudden roadblock on Wednesday when a feud between the largest Shiite factions led to the veto of a law that had been passed with great fanfare two weeks ago.