Road to Nowhere  —  The most impressive thing about Mitt Romney is his clarity of mind.  When he set out to pursue his party's nomination, he studied the contours of the Republican coalition and molded himself to its forms.  —  Earnestly and methodically, he has appealed to each of the major constituency groups.

2 days to go and poll shows Iowa all tied up  —  DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) — With two days to go until the Iowa caucuses, a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll out Tuesday shows both the Democratic and Republican presidential nomination races tied at the top.  —  But with a quarter …

In 2008, a 100 Percent Chance of Alarm  —  I'd like to wish you a happy New Year, but I'm afraid I have a different sort of prediction.  —  You're in for very bad weather.  In 2008, your television will bring you image after frightening image of natural havoc linked to global warming.

Edwards' ‘Mudcat’ gives tasty dish on Clinton  —  Storm Lake, Ia.  — John Edwards' most colorful adviser let fly today with complaints that Hillary Clinton's campaign is already trying to spin its way out of a possible loss in Iowa.  —  Dave “Mudcat” Saunders told a van full of reporters …

Clinton errs on Pakistan  —  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was praised in the wake of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for demonstrating her command of the players and the issues at stake in Pakistan, even as another candidate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee …

THE STRUGGLING GOP CANDIDATE TRIES TO GET THE PRESS TO AIR HIS ATTACK ADS FOR HIM.  —  Can a former Baptist preacher throw a Hail Mary?  Mike Huckabee, who soared to the top of the polls in Iowa only to see his lead disappear under an advertising assault from Mitt Romney, has just finished a very strange press conference.

Our Boys blitz Taliban bash  —  On patrol ... British soldier in Helmand province  —  BRITISH commandos launched a devastating blitz on the Taliban - as the evil terrorists held a party to celebrate Benazir Bhutto's murder.  —  The dawn raid was staged after messages were intercepted …

The Mendacity of Hope  —  John Edwards lied about the cost of his haircuts.  Fred Thompson lied about lobbying for a pro-choice outfit.  John McCain insists that the United States was founded as a “Christian nation."  Mitt Romney concocted the story about how his father marched …

Poll: Clinton, McCain lead in NH  —  From NBC's Domenico Montanaro  —  With exactly a week to go until New Hampshire, McCain has pulled ahead of Romney and Clinton has opened back up a double-digit lead in New Hampshire, according to a 7News/Suffolk University poll.

Still Reeling After All These Years  —  It promised to be a very good year.  But then anything would be better than 1967, with its angry kids burning the flag, and the war raging, and American cities going up in flames one after another.  —  A Page 1 headline in The New York Times said: “World Bids Adieu to a Violent Year.”

Bhutto report: Musharraf planned to fix elections  —  NAUDERO, Pakistan — The day she was assassinated last Thursday, Benazir Bhutto had planned to reveal new evidence alleging the involvement of Pakistan's intelligence agencies in rigging the country's upcoming elections, an aide said Monday.