Suicide bomber kills 80 in Afghanistan  —  KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide bombing at an outdoor dog fighting competition killed 80 people and wounded scores more Sunday, a governor said, in what appeared to be the deadliest terror attack in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

The Charisma Mandate  —  TAKING office in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt confronted a country in crisis.  Four in 10 working-age Americans were jobless.  Banks were collapsing.  There were long lines outside tellers' windows as people rushed to withdraw their savings.

Old Clinton Ties and Voters' Sway Tug at Delegates  —  WASHINGTON — The dwindling group of elected officials and party leaders publicly undecided in the Democratic presidential contest — about 300 out of the 795 so-called superdelegates who may determine the party's nominee …

Right slams Obama as ‘shady Chicago socialist’  —  Republicans are out to crush Barack by painting him as a leftwinger with dubious support  —  LEADING Republicans believe they can trounce Barack Obama in the presidential election by tarring him as a shady Chicago socialist.

It's an Election, Not a Revolution  —  IT has become common wisdom that the battle for the presidency is all about the economy.  Voters are being told that the country's economic health depends on pulling the right lever in the polling booth.  —  This election is certainly important.

Israel kills terror chief with headrest bomb  —  Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv, Hala Jaber in Beirut and Jon Swain  —  NOTHING seemed very remarkable about the short, bearded man who mingled with other guests on Tuesday evening at a reception in Damascus, the Syrian capital …

'I don't hate Muslims.  I hate Islam,' says Holland's rising political star  —  Geert Wilders, the popular MP whose film on Islam has fuelled the debate on race in Holland, wants an end to mosque building and Muslim immigration.  Ian Traynor met him in The Hague

The World's Worst Panderer  —  Even for those of us who shudder at many of John McCain's positions, there is something refreshing about a man who wins so many votes despite a major political shortcoming: he is abysmal at pandering.  —  What sets Senator McCain apart isn't so much his physical courage …

Sunday Morning Election News  —  Here's some early morning news items:  — A new Alabama poll shows McCain would sweep the state in November by double digits, and it might happen throughout the deep south.  —  Alabama has voted for the Republican nominee every year since 1980.

The Price of Reform  —  I thought there were plenty of congenial ideas in David Brook's latest stab at formulating a reformist conservative agenda, but I wonder a bit about his math.  Brooks writes that “Income taxes are not going to be coming down, but they need to stay where they are.”

New York ‘Crack Tax’ Proposal Is Derided  —  Many States Aid Enforcement With Levy on Illicit Drugs  —  NEW YORK — If you can't beat it, tax it.  —  That seems to be the axiom in New York these days, where Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer (D), struggling to close a $4.4 billion budget gap …

Steadfast McCain ally sparks veep talk  —  Even through the McCain campaign's darkest days in 2007, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty remained a steadfast ally to the Arizona senator in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.  —  As a result, with John McCain as the clear GOP frontrunner …

Clinton backers fault campaign  —  Supporters outline errors as focus turns to big states  —  It may be hard to recall the shield of inevitability that once surrounded Hillary Clinton, but a December 2007 cover story in a liberal magazine is a reminder.  —  “Has Hillary Locked It Up?” …