Having failed thus far to corral Florida and Michigan behind the Feb. 5 “window,” Democratic officials from Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina are putting new pressure on the candidates themselves to bring “this uncertainty (and potential chaos) to an end” by refusing to campaign in those states. The state officials are asking the [...]

Not exactly unexpected, but just about the last thing the Republicans needed at the moment. It puts Virginia very much in play for the Democrats, especially if the enormously popular former Governor Mark-No-Relation-to-John Warner decides to run for Warner’s Senate seat. And as we have noted before, the map was already a very difficult one [...]

Well, it’s about time. The point is to get to 60 votes in favor of a withdrawal. And then to get to 67 votes in favor of a withdrawal. UPDATE: Ezra agrees. Klein caucus unanimity a significant turning point in national debate.

Peter Wehner, former White House propagandist and now a fellow at the “Ethics and Public Policy Center” is worried that the long-term impact of the Larry Craig affair will be to “make those who are perceived as holding ‘moralistic’ views more hesitant to speak out on moral matters. “ Well, I certainly hope so–especially those [...]

I was following Elizabeth Edwards today in New Hampshire, and got a chance to hear her talk about her conscription into the Mommy Wars. So now that I’ve come home, set my suitcase in the hall, helped one Swampkid with his high school Spanish homework, watched a television show with the Fifth Grader who claimed [...]

Juan Cole has some fascinating stuff here. Actually, Jay: Allawi is a former Ba’ath Party member, and always had ties to the Ba’athist segment of the Sunni insurgency. And this kind of confirms that Allawi’s support, such as it is, comes from an alliance of the powerless.

Bobby Ghosh reports that the Baath Party — yes, that Baath Party – is endorsing Ayad Allawi to replace Nouri al-Maliki as Iraq’s prime minister. You’d think, for a Shi’ite, that an endorsement from the Sunni-dominated outfit that Saddam rode to power and used to consolidate his dictatorship would be the political equivalent of a [...]

Eric Pooley spent a lot of time on the campaign trail with John and Elizabeth Edwards trying to capture the essence of the candidate, his populist message and his Iowa-focused strategy for leapfrogging Clinton and Obama on his way to the nomination. Pooley’s excellent piece appears in the new print issue of Time, and on-line [...]

David Ignatius has a fascinating column this morning, in which it is claimed that Condoleezza Rice and Nancy Pelosi–now there’s a duet!–prevented the CIA from covertly supporting moderate and secular politicians in the 2005 Iraqi elections, even as Iran was backing the Shi’ite religious list with lots of dough. Rice’s faith in democracy is touching, [...]