Obama Spends Heavily to Seek Knockout Blow  —  COLUMBUS, Ohio —Taking advantage of his huge financial edge, Senator Barack Obama is buying large amounts of advertising and building extensive get-out-the-vote operations in Ohio and Texas in an effort to deal Hillary Rodham Clinton twin defeats …

McCain Channels His Inner Hillary  —  BEFORE they were sidetracked into a new war against The New York Times, the Rush Limbaugh posse had it right about John McCain.  He is a double agent.  Some Democrats do admire and like him.  So does Jon Stewart, and so do many liberal editorial boards …

We Scream, We Swoon.  How Dumb Can We Get?  —  Here's Agence France-Presse reporting on a rally for Sen. Barack Obama at the University of Maryland on Feb. 11: “He did not flinch when women screamed as he was in mid-sentence, and even broke off once to answer a female's cry of 'I love you …

Iran leader's Iraq visit eclipses US, Arab ties  —  Pomp and ceremony greeted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his arrival in Iraq on Sunday, the fanfare a stark contrast to the rushed and secretive visits of his bitter rival U.S. President George W. Bush.

DISSECTING THE 60 MINUTES SCANDAL  —  We've written a couple of times about the 60 Minutes story last Sunday that claimed former Alabama governor Don Siegelman was the victim of a Republican conspiracy that sent him to prison for bribery and mail fraud.  The story implicitly accused …

Marion Cotillard's 9/11 conspiracy theory  —  Oscar-winning Marion Cotillard was facing embarrasment with her new American public last night after it emerged that she doubted the official account of the September 11 attacks.  —  The 32-year-old French star has swept this year's best actress awards …

Barnstorming Obama plans to pick Republicans for cabinet  —  As he jets across two key states whipping up the support that could finish off Hillary Clinton this week, the Democratic frontrunner is already mapping out a government of all the talents.  Our writer joins him aboard Obama One

Media Expert Decries Campaign Coverage  —  DALLAS (AP) - The founder of a prestigious institute on media and politics added his voice Saturday to the chorus of complaint over perceived press bias in favor of Democrat Barack Obama.  —  Walter Shorenstein, a prominent San Francisco-based real …

Friday with Ambassador  —  From Dr. Moayad, an Iraqi cardiologist in South Baghdad:  —  Many people in South Baghdad and other Sunni areas were upset when the Iraqi Prime Minster Nuri al-Maliki returned directly from London to Karbala, Iraq to participate in the Shiite memorial of Arbaeen …

Skeptics on Human Climate Impact Seize on Cold Spell  —  The world has seen some extraordinary winter conditions in both hemispheres over the past year: snow in Johannesburg last June and in Baghdad in January, Arctic sea ice returning with a vengeance after a record retreat last summer …