A Dud From Team Clinton  —  David Axelrod, the seasoned Chicago Democratic operative who is chief strategist for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, was taken by surprise in the last minute of CBS's "Face the Nation" on Dec. 2.  Howard Wolfson, Sen. Hillary Clinton's spokesman, accused Obama of running a "slush fund."

In Iowa, a Scrambling Lesson for Clinton  —  When senior advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton awakened to the fact that they faced a serious problem in Iowa, they knew they needed a summit.  For the divided staff, the question was where.  —  It made sense to fly to Iowa, where support for Clinton …

Clinton Aide Sees Problem for Obama  —  DES MOINES — A top adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Senator Barack Obama's admission of illegal drug use as a young man could threaten his electability and be seized on by Republicans if he won the Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton's Caucus Crunch  —  There are a number of reasons why Hillary Rodham Clinton has had trouble mastering the intricacies of how the Iowa caucus system works, starting with the fact that her husband - Bill Clinton - never competed in any competitive Iowa caucuses when he ran for president in 1992 and 1996.

Democrats Bow to Bush's Demands in House Spending Bill  —  House Democratic leaders yesterday agreed to meet President Bush's bottom-line spending limit on a sprawling, half-trillion-dollar domestic spending bill, dropping their demands for as much as $22 billion in additional spending …

Democrats show Beltway "strength," avoid being depicted as weak  —  (updated below)  —  In the world of the Beltway pundit, Bush Dog Representative, and Democratic strategist, this is how Democrats prove how "strong" and tough they are and avoid being demonized as "weak" and "soft"; this is all just from today: