Clinton Goes Nuclear; Obama Camp Fires Back  —  ABC News' David Wright, Sunlen Miller, Andy Fies & Nitya Venkataraman Report: Closing in on the March 4 contests, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., debuted a campaign ad on Friday with ominous undertones.  —  “It's 3:00am and your children are asleep,” a voice over says in the ad.

State Democrats say Clinton camp may sue  —  Legal action could disrupt or delay caucuses, party says  —  AUSTIN — The Texas Democratic Party warned Thursday that election night caucuses scheduled for Tuesday could be delayed or disrupted after aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton threatened …

New Clinton ad is the scariest of cycle  —  Clinton is up with the scariest ad of the cycle, one that echoes, in a soft-focus way, some of President Bush's 2004 campaign spots.  —  It features a child sleeping in bed and an unnamed emergency ringing the White House phone …

Opponents slam Obama after CTV story on NAFTA  —  Allegations of double talk on NAFTA from the Obama and Clinton campaigns dominated the U.S. political landscape on Thursday.  —  On Wednesday, CTV reported that a senior member of Barack Obama's campaign called the Canadian embassy within …

DUMB SPIN.  —  Sometimes, I really wonder how dumb the Clinton campaign thinks we are. … So if Obama doesn't outright win the states Clinton is favored in — if he merely closes the gap — Democrats are “having second thoughts about him.”  —  Who is this aimed at?  Political reporters know it's dumb.

Copycat.  —  I feel bad about what I'm going to do here.  —  I've had a lot of fun at Tim Goeglein's expense over the last few months.  Mean-spirited fun, certainly, but my problem with him has always been one of personal taste.  In his columns for The News-Sentinel, my old newspaper …

Police: Deadly toxin found at Las Vegas hotel  —  (CNN) — Police in Las Vegas, Nevada, are investigating the discovery of what they said is the deadly poison ricin in a hotel room.  —  Authorities were called to an Extended Stay America hotel around 3 p.m. PT Thursday after a man brought …

Israel prepares for assault on Gaza  —  As Hamas drew Ashkelon into the circle of communities coming under heavy rocket attacks, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Foreign Ministry on Thursday began preparing both Israeli and world opinion for the possibility of a large-scale incursion into Gaza.

CHUTZPAH.  —  I'm sort of busy today, but if some other enterprising blogger wants to collect pictures of George W. Bush meeting with leaders “who put [their] people in prison because of their political beliefs,” I'll certainly link to it.  The idea that Bush — who regularly hangs out with …

Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle Poll: Obama Builds Lead Over Clinton in Texas, But Dem Race Too Close To Call in Ohio...  Zogby News Releases

John McCain ‘Accidentally’ Calls Himself A “Liberal Republican”  —  At a town hall meeting in Richardson, Texas, Thursday afternoon, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., made a gaffe that will surely provide myriad conservative radio talk show hosts confirmation of their views, by accidentally calling himself a liberal.

Hillary's New Ad  —  Hillary Clinton has a new ad out.  You can see the original here.  —  In watching the ad, which is about security and which candidate will keep us safe, I noticed the ad had a fundamental flaw in its logic.  I've fixed it at no charge to the Clinton campaign.

Hope and fear  —  Democratic economic policy sounds worryingly populist  —  FOR a man who has placed “hope” at the centre of his campaign, Barack Obama can sound pretty darned depressing.  As the battle for the Democratic nomination reaches a climax in Texas and Ohio …