Too Bad  —  President Bush has torn the conservative coalition asunder.  —  What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration.  They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting …

RNC fires phone solicitors  —  The Republican National Committee, hit by a grass-roots donors' rebellion over President Bush's immigration policy, has fired all 65 of its telephone solicitors, Ralph Z. Hallow will report Friday in The Washington Times.  —  Faced with an estimated 40 percent fall-off …

Kyl Unmasked as 'Senator Secrecy' on FOIA Reform; Defends Big Government's First Line of Defense  —  Sen. Jon Kyl, R-AZ, has conceded that he is the senator behind the secret hold on the proposed Open Government Reform Act of 2007, which would provide much-needed improvements in the federal Freedom of Information Act.

Senate Panel Questions C.I.A. Detentions  —  The Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday questioned the continuing value of the Central Intelligence Agency's secret interrogation program for terrorism suspects, suggesting that international condemnation and the obstacles it has created …

Sunni Insurgents Battle in Baghdad  —  Residents of Western Neighborhood Join Groups' Fight Against Al-Qaeda in Iraq  —  Sunni residents of a west Baghdad neighborhood used assault rifles and a roadside bomb to battle the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq this week …

Bush's 'new climate strategy'  —  Today's headlines are full of the news that President Bush is &;  quot;unveiling a new climate strategy.&;  quot; If your immediate reaction is cynicism, well ... looks like you learned something over the last seven years.  Let's look a little closer.

Exclusive: Diane Sawyer Speaks to TB Patient  —  Sawyer Interviews Andrew Speaker, TB Patient in Isolation  —  Andrew Speaker has asked for forgiveness from the airline passengers he exposed to a rare strain of tuberculosis, and told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview …

Top Bush Aide Leaving White House  —  WASHINGTON — Dan Bartlett, one of President Bush's most trusted advisers and his longest-serving aide, said Friday he is resigning to begin a career outside of government.  —  The move was announced on Bartlett's 36th birthday.

One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow  —  Last Christmas, Senator Barack Obama flew to Hawaii to contemplate a presidential bid in the peace of his childhood home.  But there, on a humid playground near Waikiki Beach, he found himself being roughed up by some of his best friends.

Administration Rebukes Putin on His Policies  —  A top Russia expert at the State Department issued an unusually sharp public criticism on Thursday of Moscow's behavior under President Vladimir V. Putin, describing the Kremlin as bullying its neighbors while silencing political opponents and suppressing individual rights at home.

Boehner Leads Effort to Polish GOP 'Brand'  —  Their president's approval ratings are at historic lows.  The war in Iraq is grinding down their political prospects, and their party is showing deep divisions on issues such as education and immigration.  —  But to House Minority Leader John A. Boehner …

Can Any Immigration Bill Be Saved?  —  Another day of interviews and calls, and my overwhelming sense is that the immigration bill as drafted is as dead as dead can be.  The president's speech on Tuesday had the effect of throwing gas on the flames, and the anger has multiplied, and it isn't nativist in the least.

Get in Line, Einstein  —  Beware legislative behemoths.  Beware "comprehensive immigration reform."  Any bill that is 380 pages long is bound to have nooks and crannies reflecting private deals, quiet paybacks and ad hoc arrangements that you often don't learn about until it's too late.

Raging Caging  —  WHAT THE HECK IS VOTE CAGING, AND WHY SHOULD WE CARE?  —  Last week, in her testimony before the House judiciary committee, Monica Goodling referred several times to "vote caging" possibly done by Arkansas' soon to be ex-interim, never-confirmed U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin.

Brokeback Hill  —  Mike Rogers has outed so many closeted gay politicos, he's starting to make Capitol Hill look like Brokeback Mountain.  —  WASHINGTON - Members of the 110th Congress consider yourselves warned: Mike Rogers is making his list.  —  Rogers is a muckraking gay blogger …