New NBC-WSJ poll  —  From NBC's Chuck Todd  —  As expected, one of the two major Democratic candidates saw a downturn in the latest NBC/WSJ poll, but it's not the candidate that you think.  Hillary Clinton is sporting the lowest personal ratings of the campaign.

In Letter, Top Clinton Donors Chastise Pelosi For Statements About Super-Delegates  —  Twenty top Hillary fundraisers and donors have sent a scathing private letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, chastising her for publicly saying that the super-delegates should support the winner …

US: Saddam Paid for Lawmakers' Iraq Trip  —  Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.  —  An indictment unsealed in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti …

Pentagon says new Iraq fighting arises from surge's success  —  WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Pentagon on Wednesday said an eruption of violence in southern Iraq, where US-backed government forces were battling Shiite militias, was a “by-product of the success of the surge.”

Blackwater Fever  —  It's new, it's so bad they named it after the hated American mercenaries, because it kills the innocent just like they do.  Slamming Blackwater is always fun and really adds some zing to this story suggesting that an Iraqi malaria epidemic is being kept secret.

Federal judge: Michigan's presidential primary law unconstitutional  —  DETROIT — A federal judge on Wednesday ruled Michigan's presidential primary law unconstitutional and blocked the state from giving voter lists from the Jan. 15 election to the state's major political parties.

BREAKING: Condi Rice Flirts With VP Possibility — Speaks to Grover Norquist's Wednesday Group Meeting  —  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is speaking this morning to Grover Norquist's weekly powerhouse gathering at Americans for Tax Reform of conservative associations, think tanks, and political operations.

BILL: ‘SADDLE UP’  —  From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli  —  PARKERSBURG, W.V. — Bill Clinton kicked off a day of campaigning here by making a personal appeal to voters, saying Hillary's success depends on “real” people like those who came to see him.  And as the rhetoric heats up between the Democratic campaigns …

The Company Obama Keeps  —  Marc Ambinder wrote today of Obama's troubles with McPeak and Rev. Wright: … Fair enough.  But there comes a point when one looks at the people Obama has surrounded himself with and begins to wonder.  On Israel, Obama has no real track record …

Report Assails Auditor for Work at Failed Home Lender  —  In a sweeping accusation against one of the country's largest accounting firms, an investigator released a report on Wednesday that said “improper and imprudent practices” by a once high-flying mortgage company were condoned and enabled by its auditors.

Welcome to the age of the sound blast  —  If 1960 was the year that TV displaced radio as the main platform for political persuasion, then the 2008 primary fight between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton may go down in history as the moment when the Internet ended the dominance of television.