Texas Democratic Presidential Primary  —  Texas: Clinton 54% Obama 38%  —  When Election 2008 began, long before the first votes were cast, Senator Hillary Clinton led in the national polls but trailed Barack Obama in the key state of Iowa.  Many remarked upon the difference between those national and state numbers.

WON'T GO THERE  —  In the thick of a campaign it is easy to overrate the importance of an endorsement or a political hit.  But it is difficult to overstate the significance of John Lewis' switch from the Clinton to Obama camps because it is a devastating blow on two or three levels wrapped together in a single person.

Matthews Calls Clinton Press Shop “Lousy”, “Kneecappers”  —  Chris Matthews fired a salvo at the Clinton campaign this morning after both he and his MSNBC colleague were privately and publicly rebuked for recent comments deemed misogynistic or inappropriate.

The Clintons' Beef With the Media  —  Are the news media being beastly to Hillary Clinton?  Are political reporters and commentators — as Bill Clinton suggested but didn't quite come out and say in a radio interview Tuesday — basically in the tank for Barack Obama?

Clinton Camp May Regret Largely Turning Its Back on Caucus States  —  Among the costliest decisions Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign has made this year was to largely cede caucus states to Barack Obama.  It is one that, in retrospect, baffles Democratic strategists and, even more so, the operatives on Obama's team.

BAE: papers reveal Saudi threats  —  Spectre of ‘another 7/7’ led Tony Blair to block bribes inquiry, high court told  —  Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.

WISC-TV statewide presidential primary poll  —  The WISC-TV Poll was conducted from February 13 through February 14, 2008.  A total of 600 likely voters who vote regularly in state elections were interviewed statewide by telephone.  The poll was conducted by Research 2000 and was paid for by WISC-TV.

Waxman Regrets Hearing Was Held  —  WASHINGTON — A day after a dramatic, nationally televised hearing that pitted Roger Clemens against his former personal trainer and Democrats against Republicans, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said Thursday …

Jihadis throw a wild bash over the Protect America Act  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  What can one even say about this quote, included in Carl Hulse's NYT article on the Democrats' refusal yesterday to pass the Senate's FISA bill before expiration of the Protect America Act:

Christine Pelosi: Superdelegates Should Not Overturn Majority Dem.  Vote  —  Christine Pelosi, daughter of the Speaker and (more notably at the moment) a superdelegate, warns of a massive disillusionment of voters should Democratic Party officials back a presidential nominee that didn't win the pledged delegate vote.

Confidence or Derangement?  —  “This is death by a thousand cuts.”  That's what they keep saying about Hillary Clinton.  —  Think of what this week was for her.  She awoke each day having to absorb new sentences in a paragraph of woe:  —  Three more primary losses, not even close.

Mao offered U.S. 10 million women  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid a discussion of trade in 1973, Chinese leader Mao Zedong made what U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called a novel proposition: sending tens of thousands, even 10 million, Chinese women to the United States.

White men hold superdelegate power balance  —  In an ironic twist to the historic Democratic nominating contest between an African American and a woman, the balance of power may be held by a more familiar face: the white male.  —  According to a Politico analysis, close to half …

Obama's Chicago Ties Might Fuel ‘Republican Attack Machine’  —  Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — Hillary Clinton questions whether Barack Obama would be able to withstand what she calls the “Republican attack machine.”  If Obama does become the Democratic presidential nominee, his Chicago ties might provide the fuel.

Putin vs. Clinton  —  When Hillary Clinton said, way back in New Hampshire, that Vladimir Putin “doesn't have a soul,” I figured that would be the sort of thing the Russian wouldn't be pleased about.  But when I called the foreign ministry the next day for comment, it was Orthodox Christmas, and I let it slide.