<><>DEMOCRATS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

THE FIELD

Edwards Dropout Offers Boost to Obama

By Justin Wolfers and Eric Zitzewitz
Wall Street Journal
January 31, 2008

If Tuesday is primary day, Wednesday must be dropout day…

Moynihan Backed Clinton; His Widow Backs Obama

By Sam Roberts
New York Times
January 31, 2008

The widow of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the New York senator, has endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination…

CLINTON

An Ex-President, a Mining Deal and a Big Donor

By Jo Becker and Don Van Natta Jr.
New York Times
January 31, 2008

A Canadian financier who traveled to Kazakhstan with Bill Clinton and won a big mining deal later donated millions to Mr. Clinton’s charitable foundation…

EDWARDS

Edwards's Exit Weighs on Outcome
Rivals Scramble to Pick Up Votes and Contributions; In Leaving, No Endorsement

By Amy Chozick, Christopher Cooper and Nathan Koppel
Wall Street Journal
January 31, 2008

John Edwards's exit from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination yesterday leaves rival campaigns scrambling for the backing of his donors and largely white, liberal supporters…

For John Edwards, A Moment of Truth

By Kevin Merida
Washington Post
January 31, 2008

Politics demands that some truths cannot be told. You cannot divulge how much you ache inside, how difficult defeat is to swallow until you swallow it…

Losing More Than a Campaign
The Edwardses Will Miss the Distractions From Illness

By Tracy Grant
Washington Post
January 31, 2008

What John and Elizabeth Edwards bid farewell to yesterday was not only a presidential campaign. They did not let go of the dream of changing the world while living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue…

John Edwards ends presidential bid

By Peter Wallsten
Los Angeles Times
January 31, 2008

After continually being overshadowed by Democratic hopefuls Clinton and Obama, the former senator makes his announcement in New Orleans, where he began his campaign…

<><>REPUBLICANS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

THE FIELD

Candidates Spar Over GOP Credentials

Associated Press
January 30, 2008

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- Mitt Romney said Wednesday that John McCain is out of the conservative mainstream, as the rivals for the Republican presidential nomination vied for votes in next week's multistate primary…

Romney and McCain Tangle at Debate, but Also Try to Mold a Two-Man Race

By Michael Cooper and Michael Luo
New York Times
January 31, 2008

In a fiercely contentious debate, Mitt Romney tried to halt the momentum propelling Senator John McCain after his victory in the Florida primary…

4 Men in the Ring, but Main Event Is McCain-Romney

By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post
January 31, 2008

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 30 -- In their final debate before next week's Super Tuesday voting, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney called Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) "outside the mainstream" of conservative thought while McCain accused Romney of raising taxes while governor and leaving his state in debt…

Republican candidates debate in Simi Valley

By Don Frederick and Andrew Malcolm
Los Angeles Times
January 30, 2008

Blog: Ariz. Sen. John McCain has always performed best as the underdog; here he acted like a front-runner…

Romney, McCain face off in GOP debate

By David Jackson
USA Today
January 31, 2008

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — John McCain sought Wednesday to rally rank-and-file Republicans behind his surging candidacy, while Mitt Romney offered himself up as the conservative alternative to the maverick Arizona senator…

GIULIANI

Giuliani Fund-Raisers Sit on Fence for Now

By Laurie P. Cohen and Glenn R. Simpson
Wall Street Journal
January 31, 2008

Rudy Giuliani, the onetime Republican presidential front-runner, retreated from the race and backed John McCain. But Mr. Giuliani's well-heeled supporters might not throw their money behind the cash-strapped Arizona senator so fast…

Giuliani’s Pre-Debate Show

By Michael Cooper
New York Times
January 30, 2008

"I'm going to campaign with John as much as he wants -- or not,’’ the former front-runner said…

They Kind of Knew It Wouldn’t Work

By James Barron
New York Times
January 31, 2008

Few New Yorkers are surprised that Americans didn’t embrace former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in his presidential bid…

McCAIN

McCain Takes the GOP Lead
Many Conservatives, Not in the Least Happy, Ponder the New Reality

By Jackie Calmes and Alex Frangos
Wall Street Journal
January 31, 2008

For the first time in a presidential campaign already a year old, Republicans have a clear front-runner in Arizona Sen. John McCain. By nearly all accounts, he is the candidate many Democrats least want to face, the one who would best remake his party's battered image and draw independent voters needed to win in November…

Like Giuliani, New York G.O.P. Rushes to McCain

By Sam Roberts
New York Times
January 31, 2008

New York’s Republican establishment rushed to embrace Senator John McCain, hoping that his appeal to independents could help fend off a Democratic sweep that might cost them the State Senate in November…

Schwarzenegger likely to back McCain

By Mark Z. Barabak and Evan Halper
Los Angeles Times
January 31, 2008

The governor had said he wouldn't make an endorsement, but Giuliani's decision to drop out apparently clears the way for the move…

The GOP could have its unifier

By Peter Wallsten
Los Angeles Times
January 30, 2008

McCain's victory in Florida shows that he may be able to cobble together a new type of coalition…

<><> PRIMARY CONTESTS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

CALIFORNIA

Sprawling, Diverse State Poses Special Challenge for Candidates

By Jennifer Steinhauer
New York Times
January 31, 2008

California has long been viewed by presidential aspirants as a microcosm of the country, but its vastness and costs make campaigning difficult…

NORTH DAKOTA

Big-Donor Politics Elude North Dakota

By Monica Davey
New York Times
January 31, 2008

North Dakota residents have (proudly) trailed the nation in large donations per capita to the presidential candidates, an analysis shows…

THE WEST

The Mountain West, once GOP turf, is now competitive

By Ben Arnoldy
Christian Science Monitor
January 31, 2008

The interior West has added new independent and Latino voters who are up for grabs…

<><>RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE<><><><><><><><><><><>

Narrowed Fields Hurtle Toward Big Voting Tests

By Elisabeth Bumiller
New York Times
January 31, 2008

John Edwards and Rudolph W. Giuliani both quit the race, and Mr. Giuliani endorsed John McCain. Mr. McCain’s aides said he would also be endorsed by Arnold Schwarzenegger…

Trio of Front-Runners Put Climate on Front Burner

By Rebecca Smith
Wall Street Journal
January 31, 2008

The narrowed field of presidential candidates increases the likelihood that the winner will favor stepped-up efforts to fight global warming…

A Scramble for Fundraisers
As Candidates Pull Out, the Survivors Swoop In

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post
January 31, 2008

When Democrat John Edwards and Republican Rudolph W. Giuliani abandoned their presidential bids yesterday, their exits marked the beginning of an open season on the supporters who had helped them raise a combined $100 million last year…

Edwards, Giuliani Withdraw From Race
Ex-N.Y. Mayor Endorses McCain

By Dan Balz and Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post
January 31, 2008

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 30 -- With Democrat John Edwards and Republican Rudolph W. Giuliani retreating to the sidelines, the presidential nomination battles narrowed to a pair of head-to-head contests Wednesday as the remaining candidates dug in for five days of intensive campaigning before a critical Super Tuesday showdown next week…

Florida win propels McCain into Super Tuesday

By Linda FeldmannChristian Science Monitor
January 31, 2008

Romney remains competitive. But the Jan. 29 outcome ends the bids of Giuliani and, on the Democratic side, Edwards…

<><>2008/CONGRESS<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

G.O.P. Faces Challenge in Efforts to Reclaim House

By Carl Hulse and David M. Herszenhorn
New York Times
January 31, 2008

An exodus of senior Republican incumbents from the House is threatening to cripple Republican efforts to topple the Democratic majority in November…


<><>WAR/TERROR<><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Mukasey Not Specific on Torture

By Evan Perez
Wall Street Journal
January 31, 2008

Attorney General Michael Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he couldn't render an opinion on waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates the sensation of drowning…

Three Young Men Try Waterboarding And Tell the Tale

By Yochi J. Dreazen
Wall Street Journal
January 31, 2008

RIO RANCHO, N.M. -- One night last month, Jean-Pierre Larroque drove into the desert here, lay down in the road and waited for one of his best friends to waterboard him…

<><>OTHER NEWS AND VIEWS<><><><><><><><><><><><>

Senate Stimulus Plan Heads for Floor Showdown

By Sarah Lueck
Wall Street Journal
January 31, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Economic-stimulus legislation cleared another hurdle yesterday, winning approval from the Senate tax committee. It now heads for a showdown on the Senate floor…

Showdown Nears on Stimulus Bill
Senate Panel's Version More Generous Than Bush-House Plan

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post
January 31, 2008

With bipartisan support, the Senate Finance Committee yesterday approved a $157 billion economic stimulus plan that rivals the measure fashioned by President Bush and House leaders, setting up a Senate showdown today that could determine who will receive rebates from the federal government and how quickly the checks will arrive…