THE NEVADA CAUCUS: Poll: Nevada going to Clinton, Romney  —  Obama picks up no ground; Giuliani fades  —  Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Mitt Romney have comfortable leads in Nevada going into Saturday's presidential campaign caucuses, according to a new Review-Journal poll.

Mitt Romney's Lobbyist Connections  —  In a tense exchange with an AP reporter on Thursday, Mitt Romney insisted that even though a registered lobbyist is one of his senior advisers, lobbyists do not “run” his campaign.  —  The claim is part of Romney's new self-styled outsider message …

The Constitution is Not a “Living, Breathing Document”  —  This morning I heard that one of the other candidates commented that the Constitution is a “living, breathing document."  —  Frankly, I assumed this came from Senator Clinton or Senator Obama.  It is identical to what Al Gore …

Obama Debuts New Act in Vegas  —  LAS VEGAS (AP) - The White House campaign has brought a new act to Vegas.  Barack Obama has stepped up his campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton, and he's trying to use humor to bring her down before this weekend's Democratic presidential caucus.

McCain, You Depress Me  —  My colleague Leon has been “rather stirred” by many things about John McCain, including his “decency about immigrants."  I'm rather stirred by that too — it is my favorite thing about McCain, his capacity to argue that it's a profoundly American imperative …

Callous Conservative  —  After watching Fred Thompson debate his Republican rivals, I have often wondered why he is not in the top tier of candidates.  He seems to have John McCain's honesty, without his razor-sharp edges, and Mitt Romney's conservatism, without his jaw-dropping inconsistencies.

Placing the Candidates  —  Interesting chart from the Pew Center.  One piece of bad news for liberals is that it seems that the self-assessed ideology of the American people is still somewhat right of center.  It's also funny how unhinged Republicans' views of Hillary Clinton are.

Hillary Personally Slams Obama Over Reagan Comments  —  The Hillary campaign clearly made a decision to go all out on Obama's Reagan comments today.  Hillary herself just lit into Obama over them in Las Vegas, according to a transcript provided by her campaign:

Chris Weitz on His “Golden Compass” Fiasco: Blame the Media  —  The writer-director of “The Golden Compass,” Chris Weitz, is peeved.  The movie tanked so badly that the second and third installments are not going to be made (it did fairly well overseas, but unfortunately for New Line Cinema …

Thompson really needs a South Carolina win  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. — Up until now, every Republican presidential candidate who has really had to win a state has done so.  —  Saturday, in South Carolina, Fred Thompson really has to win the Republican primary, because you can't get the nomination …

Mauling survivor said he yelled at tiger  —  (01-17) 18:05 PST SAN FRANCISCO — One of the two survivors of the San Francisco Zoo tiger attack that left a 17-year-old dead told the victim's father that the three had yelled and waved at the animal while standing atop the railing of the tiger's exhibit …

McCain Lies His Head Off; NY Times Asleep at Switch  —  One of the most common-supply-side talking points is that tax cuts always lead to higher tax revenues.  It's not really true (revenues crashed after the 2001 Bush tax cuts) but even if it were, it's misleading: Tax revenues tend to rise …

Misjudging McCain  —  He was right about the nuclear option.  —  JOHN MCCAIN HAS COME UNDER HEAVY FIRE from conservatives critical of his alleged apostasies.  To be sure, several of his stances—on tax cuts, illegal immigration, campaign-finance reform—stand at odds with the current mainstream of American conservatism.