Revelations Began in Routine Tax Inquiry  —  The rendezvous that established Gov. Eliot Spitzer's involvement with high-priced prostitutes occurred last month in one of Washington's grandest hotels, but the criminal investigation that discovered the tryst began last year in a nondescript …

The Red Phone in Black and White  —  ON first watching Hillary Clinton's recent “It's 3 a.m.” advertisement, I was left with an uneasy feeling that something was not quite right — something that went beyond my disappointment that she had decided to go negative.  Repeated watching of the ad on YouTube increased my unease.

Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida  —  WASHINGTON — An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network.

Obama adviser says Clinton must ‘repudiate’ backer's comments  —  (CNN) — A senior adviser to Barack Obama's presidential campaign called on Hillary Clinton to “repudiate” a comment by one of her top fundraisers that Barack Obama would not be a major presidential contender if he were not black.

Obama Memo: “No Support For Claim That Clinton Has Passed ‘Commander-In-Chief Test’”  —  Signaling a sustained and more aggressive counterattack against Hillary's “commander-in-chief test” assault, the Obama campaign has a new memo out from foreign policy adviser Greg Craig that goes …

Reality and the Iraq war  —  Is the progress today the first glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel?  Maybe, maybe not.  But the Democrats shouldn't act as though it's an oncoming train.  —  Most Democrats — in fact, most Americans — believe that the Iraq war has been a huge mistake for this country.

House Surveillance Bill Contains Provision to Aid Telecom Suits  —  As The New York Times reports this morning, the House leadership's draft proposal for a surveillance bill contains a provision that would reject giving retroactive immunity to the telecoms.  Instead, it would give …

Sinbad Unloads on Hillary Clinton  —  Finally, the Barack Obama campaign has found a big gun to help shoot down Hillary Rodham Clinton's self-proclaimed foreign policy experience.  And he may be the wackiest gun of all: Sinbad, the actor, who has come out from under a rock to defend Obama in the war over foreign policy credentials.

Rep. Abercrombie gets Craiged  —  While reporters were hovering outside a Capitol Hill conclave of the Michigan and Florida delegations last Wednesday night, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) just happened to come by to use the restroom, which he did.  —  But when he emerged …

Murdoch: There's no ‘conservative’ agenda  —  In his first visit to the Wall Street Journal's D.C. bureau, Rupert Murdoch told staffers Friday that he would put more resources into Washington coverage and take on the New York Times, while reassuring them that he is not a “conservative” pushing an agenda in the news pages.

How the Democrats Could Lose  —  By official count, The Post's 10th most e-mailed column of 2007 was published last June under the headline “How the GOP Could Win.”  It said that the Republican Party would promote national security as the salient issue of the campaign, making a silk purse …

UCLA experts don't buy recession  —  In a contrarian view, the Anderson Forecast focuses on strength in industry and spending.  —  Brushing aside conventional wisdom, UCLA economists say California and the nation will survive the housing slump and job losses without plunging into recession …

Man shoots sister then congratulated by family  —  Police arrest 24-year-old man from Naura, an Israeli-Arab town in northern Israel, who shot his 19-year old sister to preserve 'family's honor.' Family members arrived to congratulate shooter  —  Familial endorsement for murder.