The New Republic

Look, almost everything is possible in a tiny country that has some some 10% of the world's oil reserves and only 370,000 citizens.  The other inhabitants (about 1.4 million souls) are visitors to second- and third-homes but mostly indentured laborers who, on arrival, are deprived of their passports and ordinary civil rights.  Oh yes, and guests in the many hotels (including one in the "seven star" class).  The world's tallest building will soon attract more visitors to Abu Dhabi which ABC reports (surely erroneously) whose citizens have READ MORE >>

I've gotten around to this a little late, but for those who haven't had the guilty pleasure of reading David Segal's Washington Post exploration of the less-than-amicable divorce proceedings of Clinton-tormenting billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, you can find it here. It is, as advertised, "like a visit to Gettysburg, minus the gravitas." --Christopher Orr  READ MORE >>

A prominent New Hampshire activist dumps Fred Thompson for John McCain, perhaps neatly underscoring Noam's point about Thompson as a "holding pen." --Michael Crowley READ MORE >>

Over at TPM,  Eric Kleefield has accepted the harrowing chore of perusing Shirley MacLaine's new book and has discovered a delightful story about how her friend, Dennis Kucinich, told her that during a visit to her Washington state home, he communed with a UFO: READ MORE >>

  Everyone (including Chuck Norris) seems to be getting very excited about Mike Huckabee--and with good reason. READ MORE >>

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins pens a "Washington Update" to his organization's supporters: READ MORE >>

Party Discipline: [Steven Ohlenmacher, AP]: "Republican Party leaders on Monday recommended punishing five states for shifting their nomination contests earlier, moving to strip New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wyoming of half their delegates."   READ MORE >>

  A report from a group of law students called "Building a Better Legal Profession" showed up in my e-mailbox the other day. The students did a survey of the big law firms to see how they measured up on a variety of diversity issues -- women partners, minority partners, etc. Since law firm hiring is a market, why shouldn't female and minority students at least know what they were buying into? READ MORE >>

Adam Nagourney makes a great point in his web column today: Mr. Romney argued that his appearance at the Values Voters Summit was a victory because he eked out a small win in a straw poll there. But straw polls are given to easy manipulation by campaigns, and this one should be taken with more than a few grains of salt. READ MORE >>

Like Amy Sullivan, Marc Ambinder highlights the split between elite and grassroots social conservatives on the subject of Mike Huckabee. Marc's theory, which I agree with, is that the elites are lukewarm on Huckabee precisely because he's one of them--and, therefore, doesn't need them to reach conservative evangelical voters. READ MORE >>