Gov. Perry Won't Rule Out Another Race
If you were among the 61 percent of voters in the Texas governor's race last year who opposed the re- election of Republican Gov. Rick Perry, and now are trying to keep from slashing your wrists while you wait out his remaining three and a half years, ponder this: He may be less than halfway through his time as governor.

Obama Solicits La Raza Backing
Sen. Barack Obama told the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group yesterday that he earned their support for his presidential campaign by marching in last year's May 1 immigrant rallies and challenged them to learn whether others met that standard.

Gingrich Wows N.Y. Conservatives
Newt Gingrich was not the first choice or even second choice for the Republican presidential nomination among the wealthy conservative donors who gathered at a Manhattan hotel over the weekend.

Poll Shows Clinton With Solid Lead Among Democrats
By a wide margin, Democrats view Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) as the party's candidate best positioned to win the general election, and she holds a double-digit lead over Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in the race for the nomination, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll.

Clinton and Obama Campaigns Spar Over Debate
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton sharply criticized Senator Barack Obama for the first time yesterday as inexperienced on national security, calling him "irresponsible and frankly naïve" for saying he would be willing to meet without preconditions with leaders of Iran, North Korea and three other nations during his first year as president.

Some Texans Eager for Thompson to Jump into GOP Presidential Fray
Jerry Patterson, the Republican state land commissioner, shrugs off most of his party's presidential candidates.

Reluctant Warrior Thompson in Texas
On his first trip to Texas since announcing his presidential exploratory committee, Fred Thompson is presenting himself as the contender more conservative than Rudy Giuliani, more consistent than Mitt Romney and more viable than John McCain.

Thompson, Giuliani May Be Winners as McCain Struggles
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, a champion of conservatives, and Rudy Giuliani, a favorite of political independents, may be the biggest beneficiaries if John McCain's bid for the Republican presidential nomination collapses, political experts say.

Major Candidates Say They're Skipping Texas GOP Straw Poll
Two Republican presidential hopefuls, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, will not attend a straw poll convention of Texas GOP activists, their campaigns say.

Giuliani, Obama Target Younger Voters at Dallas Fundraisers
Gara Hill, 26, used to be someone political fundraisers avoided. She's not far removed from college and doesn't have a lot of money to throw at political campaigns.

Surge Is Working; Defeatists Don't Care
by Gary Bauer
By the day, evidence is growing that the U.S. "surge" in Iraq, declared a failure even before it had begun, is in fact working. The U.S. military, as usual, is performing courageously on the field of battle, dislodging Al Qaeda and its allies from strongholds, reducing their sanctuaries and doing it all with minimal civilian casualties.

Edwards Sees The Enemy And Gets Tough
by Gary Bauer
I tuned in to last night's Democrat/YouTube debate just in time to see former Senator John Edwards finally get tough on the Islamofascists - or at least so I I thought.

Impending Crackdown on Illegals Suspected
Reports that the country's largest chicken processing company has begun firing undocumented workers in East Texas have business leaders and immigration experts bracing for a nationwide crackdown on employers who hire illegal aliens.

Senate OKs $3 billion to Guard Border
Border security prevailed in the first major skirmish on immigration since President Bush's broad guest- worker bill collapsed last month.

Reyes Says Agents' Case Shows Need for New Law
U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he did not think Wednesday's House vote to free two imprisoned El Paso Border Patrol agents was the best way to help them.

Support for Initial Invasion Has Risen, Poll Shows
Americans' support for the initial invasion of Iraq has risen somewhat as the White House has continued to ask the public to reserve judgment about the war until at least the fall. In a New York Times/CBS News poll conducted over the weekend, 42 percent of Americans said that looking back, taking military action in Iraq was the right thing to do, while 51 percent said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq.

Poll Finds Democrats Favored On War
Most Americans see President Bush as intransigent on Iraq and prefer that the Democratic-controlled Congress make decisions about a possible withdrawal of U.S. forces, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Bush Links al Qaeda to Iraq Militias
In his most direct effort to date to connect al Qaeda to the Iraq war, President Bush yesterday cited declassified intelligence to tie terrorists operating in Iraq with September 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, saying new evidence "clearly establishes this connection."

Democrats Shift Approach on Abortion
Sensing an opportunity to impress religious voters - and tip elections - Democrats in Congress and on the campaign trail have begun to adopt some of the language and policy goals of the antiabortion movement.

Dems Hope Nominee Can Unseat Cornyn in Senate
A soldier and a lawyer will be fighting for the hearts, minds and, most important, the votes of Texas Democrats next year, as they try to become the party's nominee for the U.S. Senate.

White's Gold
Being the mayor of Houston has been a political dead end rather than a springboard to bigger and better things. None of the city's top elected officials has gone on to win a seat in Congress or a statewide office.

Maverick Leads Charge for Charter Schools
Steve Barr, a major organizer of charter schools, has been waging what often seems like a guerrilla war for control of this city's chronically failing high schools.

UT Grad Files Federal Complaint Against University
A Washington-based watchdog group led by a University of Texas graduate filed a complaint Friday with the U.S. Department of Education about UT's use of race in its admission decisions.

Texas Ranked No. 1 in Teen Birth Rate
A newly released study on the well-being of children says Texas had the highest teen birth rate in the nation in 2004, a ranking that the Lone Star State may not want to brag about.

Watts Gets Support from Hidalgo County Leaders
Some Hidalgo County leaders said Thursday they will back U.S. Senate Democratic exploratory candidate Mikal Watts in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn next year.