Democrat poster-child abuse, the nutroots' pushback, and the continued campaign to silence the Right  —  I received an e-mail from a NYTimes reporter this afternoon: … I gave him these comments: … I also told him this: … Here's the NYTimes story, which actually turned out much fairer and more balanced than I expected.

Smile, Though Your Head Is Aching  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in a determinedly good mood when she sat down to lunch with reporters yesterday.  She entered the room beaming and, over the course of an hour, smiled no fewer than 31 times and got off at least 23 laughs.

An Israeli Strike on Syria Kindles Debate in the U.S.  —  A sharp debate is under way in the Bush administration about the significance of the Israeli intelligence that led to last month's Israeli strike inside Syria, according to current and former American government officials.

The Republican Debate  —  The following is a transcript of the Republican Presidential debate in Dearborn, Mich., as provided by the Federal News Service.  —  PARTICIPANTS:  —  FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI  —  FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR MIKE HUCKABEE  —  FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY

From Former Bush Aide, A Candid Assessment Of the GOP Candidates  —  A former adviser to President Bush has a brutally candid analysis of the Republican presidential nomination contest: Fred D. Thompson is the campaign's "biggest dud," Mitt Romney has "a real problem in the South" …

Residents of a famously liberal city appear to be changing views  —  San Francisco - the liberal, left-coast city conservatives love to mock - could be undergoing a transformation when it comes to homeless people.  Although the city would still be a poor choice for a pep rally for the war in Iraq …

Generation Q  —  I just spent the past week visiting several colleges — Auburn, the University of Mississippi, Lake Forest and Williams — and I can report that the more I am around this generation of college students, the more I am both baffled and impressed.

Ups and Downs for Gore  —  While Al Gore is the favorite to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a British court has found that his film is both partisan and contains no fewer than eleven material inaccuracies that need to be drawn to students' attention if it is going to be shown in schools.

4 Democrats Pull Out of Michigan Primary  —  Four of the Democratic presidential candidates announced today that they would not take part in the Democratic primary in Michigan, all but ceding the contest in that major battleground state to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is ahead in the polls there and is staying in.

Blogs target jihadis online  —  Ordinary Americans are tracking down U.S. Web sites used by al Qaeda and jihadi sympathizers and then using the Internet to persuade the service providers to snuff out the sites.  —  "I do this because it has to be done," says one blogger who calls himself a …

AP Poll: More see economy as top problem  —  WASHINGTON - A growing number of people say the economy is the nation's top problem, with the less educated among the most worried, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll showed Tuesday.  —  Yet even with a credit crunch and soft housing market …

Why Fight For Anyone's Freedom?  —  In the backlash against President Bush's democracy agenda, conservatives are increasingly taking the lead.  It is inherently difficult for liberals to argue against the expansion of social and political liberalism in oppressive parts of the world — though …

Clinton Cites Lessons of Partisanship  —  CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed back against criticism from fellow Democrats that she is too polarizing to unite the country as president, arguing that the political battles she has been through make her uniquely equipped …

President Spock  —  What if Barack Obama told his wife he wouldn't say "I love you" anymore?  —  Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he doesn't tell his wife he loves her any more, because "I love you" has become a substitute for "true love."