Defending Iraq War, Defiant Cheney Cites 'Enormous Successes'  —  Vice President Cheney said yesterday that the administration has achieved "enormous successes" in Iraq but complained that critics and the media "are so eager to write off this effort or declare it a failure" …

Kerry won't run for president in '08  —  WASHINGTON —An emotional Senator John F. Kerry today said he will not run in the 2008 presidential race and vowed to use his Senate perch to hasten an end to the war in Iraq, saying he would work with lawmakers from both parties to reverse President Bush's troop …

Minimum Wage Bill Suffers Setback in Senate  —  WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 — Prospects for an increase in the minimum wage suffered a setback today in the Senate, where a move fell short, at least for now, to raise the minimum by $2.10 an hour without tax breaks for small businesses

Take The Pledge  —  Take the pledge.  This is the temporary site.  The full-service site will be up soon.  —  If you are a blogger who has taken the pledge and linked to the site, please send me a note so I can add your support here.  —  I interviewed Tony Snow at the top of the program today …

Hillary's Hollywood Friends Switch Sides  —  Steven Spielberg and David Geffen Invite Hundreds of Stars to Their Big Barack Obama Fundraiser  —  Is Hollywood abandoning Hillary?  —  On Wednesday morning, hundreds of Hollywood's movers and shakers received an invitation that they may find hard to refuse.

Source: Saudis, Iran working on deal to end Lebanon crisis  —  Saudi Arabia and Iran, backers of the main rivals in Lebanon's political crisis, are negotiating a deal to end the standoff, Lebanese political sources said.  —  According to the sources, Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan held talks …

2 election workers convicted of rigging '04 presidential recount  —  CLEVELAND (AP) — Two election workers in the state's most populous county were convicted Wednesday of illegally rigging the 2004 presidential election recount so they could avoid a more thorough review of the votes.

Ayatollah's snub pressures Iran president  —  Internal pressure on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to abandon his confrontational policies with the West has intensified after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme spiritual leader, snubbed a request for a meeting on the country's controversial nuclear programme.

China's Hu vows to "purify" Internet  —  BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Communist Party chief Hu Jintao has vowed to "purify" the Internet, state media reported on Wednesday, describing a top-level meeting that discussed ways to master the country's sprawling, unruly online population.

Fox's Gibson: CNN Reporter Who Debunked Obama Smear Probably Went To The Same Madrassa  —  Last week, Fox News highlighted a right-wing report alleging that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) attended an Islamic "madrassa" school as a 6-year-old child.  In a memo released today, Obama's office specifically called …

CNN defends host's use of the word "faggot" - network slammed by lead gay anti-defamation group  —  Apparently, no one at CNN has heard of Isaiah Washington, and what happens to TV networks that think the word "faggot" is nothing more than a "naughty name."  —  So CNN is now defending its host …

Senate Panel Votes Against Bush on Iraq  —  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today passed a nonbinding resolution opposing a troop surge in Iraq, rebuffing the key element of President Bush's new strategy to end the 46-month-old war, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 U.S. service members.

Big States' Plan for Earlier Primaries Scrambles Race  —  As many as four big states — California, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey — are likely to move up their 2008 presidential primaries to early next February, further upending an already unsettled nominating process and forcing candidates …

Yes, Rudy Giuliani Is a Conservative  —  And an electable one, at that.  —  Not since Teddy Roosevelt took on Tammany Hall a century ago has a New York politician closely linked to urban reform looked like presidential timber.  But today ex-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani sits at or near …