Thoughts on waterboarding, by someone who has experienced it: The waterboard must go back to the realm of SERE training our operators, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. We must now double our efforts to prepare for its inevitable and uncontrolled use of by our future enemies. Until recently, only a few countries considered it effective. [...]

The Clinton campaign was quietly ecstatic over the news this weekend that Barack Obama would “start confronting Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton more directly.” They interpret almost any even vaguely negative remark on Obama’s part as an opportunity to portray the young senator as a hypocrite for failing to keep his promise to hew to a [...]

David Vitter sticks by his partner in crime: The Senate last week voted on the nomination of Henrietta Holsman Fore to head USAID. She replaces Randall Tobias, who resigned after his name was linked to the D.C. Madam’s escort service. The sole GOP vote against Tobias’s replacement? Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), whose number also appeared [...]

Some folks are very excited about the new University of Iowa poll that shows, among the Dems, Clinton pulling away in a state that’s been hard for her, and among the Republicans, shows Huckabee finally cracking the top tier. Woo-hooo! But maybe we should calm down. The U of I poll suffers from the Olestra [...]

Huffington Post has latched on to the news nugget that the dread Ahmed Chalabi is back in Nancy Youssef’s excellent latest from Iraq, but the real value of the story is to show how utterly hapless the central government is…and how the excellent work being done by the U.S. military will be futile unless that [...]

Chris Dodd announces he will vote against President Bush’s nominee for Attorney General: “Mr. Mukasey’s position that the President does not have to heed the law disqualifies him from being the chief attorney for the United States. We have seen for too long, and at great expense to our national security, an Administration that has [...]

It’s come to this. The State newspaper in South Carolina publishes the stats for the two candidates who claim favorite-son status, including this from Colbert: “John Edwards left South Carolina when he was 1 year old. He had his chance. Saying his parents moved him — that’s the easy answer.” To which Edwards’ ever-vigilant spokesman [...]

If you are looking for signs that a dark horse is moving up in the presidential field, there is a more telling indicator to watch than poll numbers. It’s when the opposition decides he is becoming enough of a threat to take a shot at him. That’s why there was special signficance, an arrival of [...]

A look at Mike Huckabee’s improved standing in the polls, and the challenges he still faces: (Delayed about 5 hours due to technical difficulties. Sorry)