McCain makes unannounced trip to Iraq  —  BAGHDAD - Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for president who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, was in Baghdad on Sunday for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic and military officials, a U.S. government official said.

Clinton campaign wants Texas to postpone party conventions  —  As final results from the Texas Democratic caucus remain unknown, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign wants signatures from the March 4 contest verified before party conventions are held around the state later this month.

The Wit & Wisdom of Barack Obama  —  Some of it may sound familiar.  —  There's still room for whimsy at the New Yorker magazine, I don't care what you've heard.  Just the other day two of the New Yorker's bloggers (now there's a phrase to send Harold Ross spinning) were chewing over the widely noted eloquence of Barack Obama.

Obama, Clinton brace for three-month deadlock  —  The Democratic race has entered its World War I phase, a bloody fight between two adversaries making only the most incremental of gains.  And there is no reason to think either side will emerge from the trenches anytime soon.

Why the #$@! is AG Mukasey speaking out against execution for 9/11 plotters and suggesting US justice is sadist?  —  I have never quite figured out what's going on with the Justice Department under the leadership of AG Michael Mukasey, but this new piece from ABCNews has me really scratching my head.

Iraq Insurgency Runs on Stolen Oil Profits  —  BAIJI, Iraq — The Baiji refinery, with its distillation towers rising against the Hamrin Mountains, may be the most important industrial site in the Sunni Arab-dominated regions of Iraq.  On a good day, 500 tanker trucks will leave the refinery filled …

The Intelligence Cover-Up  —  For more than two years now, Congress, the news media, current and former national security officials, think tanks and academic institutions have been engaged in a profound debate over how to modernize the law governing electronic spying to keep pace with technology.

A Novel Take on an Ending  —  Back when I was teaching fiction writing, I used to pitch my students, especially the beginners, on complexity.  They seemed to think that readers would be attracted to their characters' virtue and would recognize shared humanity in their strength and courage …

Perino: men know more about war ‘by osmosis.’  —  Perino: men know more about war ‘by osmosis.’  —  On Fox News Sunday today, White House press secretary Dana Perino was named the “Power Player of the Week.”  She explained to host Chris Wallace that, in addition to the pressure to look good …

Through Bush-Colored Glasses  —  President Bush admitted on Friday that times are tough.  So much for the straight talk.  —  Mr. Bush went on to paint a false picture of the economy.  He dismissed virtually every proposal Congress is working on to alleviate the mortgage crisis, sticking to his administration's inadequate ideas.

Obama's gains  —  A pretty stunning gain out of Iowa for Obama, where an Iowa Democratic official confirmed to me just now that the county convention results will translate into a 25-14-6 edge for Obama over Clinton and Edwards.  —  That's a gain of nine for the Illinois senator …