US shift seen to Pakistan, Afghanistan
WASHINGTON – In a shift with profound implications, the Bush administration is attempting to re-energize its terrorism-fighting war efforts in Afghanistan, the original target of a post-Sept. 11 offensive. The U.S. also is refocusing on Pakistan, where a regenerating al-Qaida is posing fresh threats.

President Bush to Curtail Congressional Earmarks
Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) — President George W. Bush will begin “unprecedented steps” to trim billions of dollars earmarked by lawmakers for pet projects, a White House spokesman said.
He’s got to scrape up every penny he can find for his foreign wars.

Bush presses Congress on FISA (by: Mike Allen, Politico)
The White House told Democratic congressional leaders Saturday that President Bush opposes a 30-day extension of an expiring eavesdropping law… “The president would veto a 30-day extension,” a senior administration official said… Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called the veto threat “shamefully irresponsible” and “simply posturing in advance of Monday’s State of the Union address.” “There will be no terrorism intelligence collection gap,” Reid said. “But if there is any problem, the blame will clearly and unequivocally fall where it belongs: on President Bush and his allies in Congress.”
I want to believe, Sen. Reid, I really do.  But I just haven’t seen any evidence of Democrats fighting back, or even putting the blame where it belongs.

Mukasey: I may never say if waterboarding is torture. (Think Progress)
Earlier this week, ThinkProgress noted that two months into his tenure as Attorney General, Mike Mukasey still would not answer whether waterboarding is torture. The New York Times reports that yesterday, Mukasey hedged even more. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t answer it,” he said at a news conference. “I didn’t say that I would.” When asked about the nomination of torture advocate Steven Bradbury to the Office of Legal Counsel, Mukasey said, “Steve Bradbury is one of the finest lawyers I’ve ever met. … I want to continue working with him.”

South Carolina Supreme Court Allows 20 People Who Flunked Bar to Pass — Including Children of Powerful Attorneys (by Jonathan Turley)
In a positively mind-blowing decision, the South Carolina Supreme Court decided to allow 20 people who flunked the bar to become lawyers rather than inform one individual that he had been incorrectly told that he had passed… [T]wo of those [twenty] people were the daughters of two powerful bar members: S.C. House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Harrison, R-Richland, and longtime Circuit Judge Paul Burch of Pageland. Both men admit that they contacted court officials after learning that their daughters had flunked.
Is anyone else reminded of the 2000 election?

Obama Wins in South Carolina, Clinton Places Second
Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) — Illinois Senator Barack Obama won the South Carolina Democratic primary by a more than 2-to-1 margin over New York Senator Hillary Clinton, claiming a crucial victory in his race for the party’s presidential nomination.

What the Exits Say (by David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo)
Starting to get a look at the vote breakdown: Blacks made up 53% of voters, and Obama dominated, winning 82% of black men and 79% of black women. Edwards won among white men, with 43%. Hillary won white women with 44%. But Obama fared better with white men than perhaps expected. Hillary barely beat him among white men, 29% to 27%.

HUGE Turnout for the Democrats in SC tonight — surpassed GOP vote from last week by wide margin (by Joe Sudbay at AMERICAblog)
Today, Democratic turnout far surpassed the GOP’s performance. With 98% of precincts reporting, over 520,000 Democratic votes were counted.

USAT/Gallup Polls: McCain, Clinton lead in California, New York (On Politics, USA Today)
Two new USA TODAY/Gallup Polls today show John McCain and Hillary Clinton leading the Republican and Democratic fields in New York and California.

Republicans quarrel over Iraq in White House race
FORT MYERS, Florida (Reuters) – The Iraq war reclaimed the spotlight in the Republican race for the White House on Saturday as front-runner John McCain accused rival Mitt Romney of backing a set withdrawal of U.S. troops — a charge Romney angrily denied.

Texas Justice (American Constitution Society)
After a grand jury returned an indictment against [Texas Supreme Court Justice David] Medina [for arson and other crimes], the Harris County District Attorney’s office dropped the charges, claiming insufficient evidence to go to trial. The District Attorney, Chuck Rosenthal, is also under investigation for allegedly sending campaign-related, pornographic, and racist emails through his work email account as well as allegedly deleting 2,500 emails ordered released as part of a civil rights lawsuit against the county’s Sherriff’s Department.

Ballot measure would phase out rent control laws
More than 100 owners and operators of apartment buildings and mobile home parks spent nearly $2 million to put an initiative on the June 3 ballot to phase out California’s rent control laws. About 1.2 million people statewide are covered by such laws.