Obama Lands in Afghanistan for First Tour of War Zones  —  WASHINGTON - Senator Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan early Saturday morning, opening his first overseas trip as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to meet with American commanders there and later in Iraq to receive …

Gramm stands down  —  Former Sen. Phil Gramm is stepping down from his post as national co-chair for John McCain a week after creating headaches for the campaign by calling Americans “whiners” and saying the country was only experiencing a “mental recession.”

Democratic Party Unity Proves Elusive at Netroots Gathering  —  Susan Davis reports from Austin, Texas, on Netroots Nation.  —  Can Democrats bridge the ideological divides within the party?  A lunch keynote session at the Netroots Nation annual convention here in Austin tried to address …

‘Stunningly Shameful’  —  The Bush administration flip-flops on Iran.  —  On January 23, 2008, during her keynote speech at the glitzy World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Condoleezza Rice made a surprisingly friendly gesture to the Iranian regime.  She said, in this final year …

Eyes Off the Price  —  Durham, N.C.  —  AS I stand at the gas station filling my tank, the meter tallies how much it's going to cost me.  At this station, a gallon is $4.26, and as the meter passes the $20 mark, then the $30, I realize that I am paying too much attention to the price of gasoline.

McCain, 71, nods off on ‘Late Night with Conan’  —  By the time Sen. John McCain gets on NBC's “Late Night with Conan O'Brien” tonight, it's gonna look like it's way past the veteran senator's bedtime.  —  The show was, of course, taped this afternoon, a little bit late due to a very surprising event …

Acceptance of Gay People in Military Grows Dramatically  —  Public attitudes about gays in the military have shifted dramatically since President Bill Clinton unveiled what became his administration's “don't ask, don't tell” policy 15 years ago today.  —  Seventy-five percent of Americans …