Winging It  —  John McCain has a golden opportunity to make peace with conservatives.  Will he take advantage of it?  —  John McCain has to decide just how comfortable he wants the conservative base of the Republican Party to be with his candidacy.  Although he touts his conservative credentials …

Obama Rally with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, and Caroline Kennedy  —  Here are the remarks of Caroline Kennedy as prepared for delivery...  Here are the remarks of Senator Ted Kennedy as prepared for delivery...  Here are the remarks of Senator Obama as prepared for delivery...

Obama takes big risk on driver's license issue  —  (01-28) 04:00 PST Washington — Sen. Barack Obama easily won the African American vote in South Carolina, but to woo California Latinos, where he is running 3-to-1 behind rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, he is taking a giant risk …

Jackson: Not Upset by Clinton Remarks  —  The Rev. Jesse Jackson said late Sunday that he was not offended by comments on Saturday by former President Bill Clinton, who brought up Mr. Jackson's name in response to a question about Senator Barack Obama.  —  Mr. Clinton had noted that Mr. Jackson …

Bush, Congressional Conservatives Fearmonger On FISA: ‘The American People Should Be Frightened’  —  Last week, Senate Republicans refused to allow votes on any amendments to Senate Intelligence Committee legislation extending the expansion of FISA.  Democratic support of the bill …

Huckabee challenges Romney over fried chicken  —  PENSACOLA, Florida (CNN) - Mitt Romney's failure to eat fried chicken with the skin on is nothing short of blasphemy here in the South, according to GOP rival Mike Huckabee.  —  Romney, of Massachusetts, dug into a piece fried chicken at KFC …

January 28, 2008 - McCain, Romney Tops In Florida GOP Race, As Giuliani Fades, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Clinton Has 20-Point Lead Among Democrats  —  Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are running neck and neck among Florida likely Republican voters …

Bush, GOP earmark cave-in: Conservatives are a base in search of a party  —  The White House is now confirming that President Bush won't be signing an executive order that could stop the vast majority of earmarks.  Instead, he's going to sign one “directing agencies to ignore …

Author Toni Morrison Endorses Obama  —  ABC News' Rick Klein and Sunlen Miller Report: Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison — who famously declared Bill Clinton to be the nation's “first black president” in a 1998 essay — today endorsed Barack Obama for president, via letter from Morrison to the Illinois senator.

NY NOW: “Betrayal!”  —  Whoa.  The New York State chapter of the National Organization for Women attacked Ted Kennedy for his endorsement today with some real heat.. The Times Union reported it first (writing, “'Scathing' feels inadequate here."), and I confirmed its authenticity with the president of the organization, Marcia Pappas.

Janet Reno endorses Clinton  —  Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, who served in Bill Clinton's administration, is backing his wife in Tuesday's presidential primary.  —  Reno, who ran for governor in 2002 and served as Miami-Dade State Attorney, is one of Florida's best-known politicians.

The Truth About Jena  —  In the fall of 2006, Mychal Bell was a football hero, and his hometown, Jena, Louisiana, loved him for it.  As his high-school team posted its best season in six years, Bell scored 21 touchdowns, rushed for 1,006 yards, and was named player of the week three times by The Jena Times.

The Economy Is Fine (Really)  —  It is hard to imagine any time in history when such rampant pessimism about the economy has existed with so little evidence of serious trouble.  —  True, retail sales fell 0.4% in December and fourth-quarter real GDP probably grew at only a 1.5% annual rate.

The Final Mission, Part I  —  FALLUJAH - At the end of 2006 there were 3,000 Marines in Fallujah.  Despite what you might expect during a surge of troops to Iraq, that number has been reduced by 90 percent.  All Iraqi Army soldiers have likewise redeployed from the city.