US Says 12,000 US Troops to Leave Iraq by Sept.

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN | Associated Press

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military announced Sunday that 12,000 American and 4,000 British troops will leave Iraq by September — hours after a suicide bomber struck police and recruits lined up at the entrance of Baghdad’s main academy, killing 32 people.

The blast — the second major attack to hit Iraqis in three days and the deadliest to strike Baghdad in nearly a month — was a bloody reminder of the ability of insurgents to defy security improvements and stage dramatic attacks as the U.S. begins to draw down its forces.

Maj. Gen. David Perkins said the troop withdrawals will reduce U.S. combat power from 14 brigades to 12 along with some supporting units. The U.S. also plans to turn over 74 facilities and areas under its control to the Iraqis by the end of March as part of the drawdown.

President Barack Obama has decided to remove all combat troops by the end of August 2010 with the remaining forces leaving by the end of 2011. The 4,000 British troops due to leave are the last British soldiers in Iraq.

The U.S. withdrawal will be gradual at first, leaving most troops in place for parliamentary elections at the end of this year. There are currently about 135,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Remaining American forces will be repositioned in coordination with Iraqi authorities to ensure the most dangerous areas of the country are protected, Perkins said …

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Alaska Legislator Resigns from State Senate, Takes Job in Obama Administration

By Anne Sutton | The Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska – Alaska Sen. Kim Elton, a key figure in the abuse of power investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin, announced Monday that he was leaving his legislative seat for a job in the Obama administration.

The Juneau Democrat will serve as the Director of Alaska Affairs for the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C., starting March 16.

Ending weeks of speculation about the pending appointment, Elton announced his resignation on the Senate floor, then left the room to his colleagues’ applause …

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Obama Kicks Up White House Entertaining

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE | Associated Press

WASHINGTON – The White House is the place to be on Wednesdays.

Since the presidency changed hands less than six weeks ago, a burst of entertaining has taken hold of the iconic, white-columned home of America’s head of state. Much of it comes on Wednesdays.

The stately East Room, where portraits of George and Martha Washington adorn the walls, was transformed into a concert hall as President Barack Obama presented Stevie Wonder with the nation’s highest award for pop music on Wednesday.

A week before that, the foot-stomping sounds of Sweet Honey in the Rock, a female a cappella group, filled the East Room for a Black History Month program first lady Michelle Obama held for nearly 200 sixth- and seventh-graders from around the city.

Cocktails were sipped during at least three such receptions to date, all held on Wednesdays …

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Amid Obama’s Change, There’s also More of the Same

By NANCY BENAC | Associated Press

WASHINGTON – For all the sweeping changes that President Barack Obama has delivered, there also has been an ample helping of more-of-the-same.

The Bush policy of imprisoning enemy combatants in Afghanistan without trial? The Obama White House is OK with that.

The Bush tax cuts for the rich that candidate Obama promised to wipe out early? President Obama will let them run their course.

The Bush team’s claim of a “state secrets” privilege to avoid releasing information? The Obama White House has agreed thrice over, even as it reviews the policy.

Across the landscape of government, there are plenty of other instances in which Obama is staying his Republican predecessor’s course — at least for now …

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Senate 2010: A Look at the Republicans

A Commentary By Larry Sabato | Rasmussen Reports

Two weeks ago we discussed the basic framework for 2010′s thirty-six Senate elections. Last week we reviewed the seventeen Democratic Senate seats that are on the ballot in the midterm year. Now let’s see how the nineteen Republican-held seats for 2010 are shaping up in the initial stages …

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Meghan McCain: GOP Not Tech Savvy

By ANDY BARR | Politico

Arizona Sen. John McCain’s daughter Meghan criticized the Republican Party on Thursday for lagging behind Democrats on the Web.

“The Republican Party isn’t exactly Internet savvy. That’s no secret,” McCain wrote in a post on The Daily Beast.

McCain said that while blogging on her father’s presidential campaign, she “got the sense that people on the campaign thought I was wasting my time.”

“Unless the GOP evolves as the party that can successfully utilize the Web, we’ll continue to lose influence. I think nothing confirms this fact to be more true than this recent election,” she wrote. “When I first suggested launching a blog chronicling my experience on my father’s campaign for president, I was met with confusion and resistance. A few people even asked me, ‘What’s a blog?’” …

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Senate 2010: A Three-Peat for Democrats or Comeback for the GOP?

Larry J. Sabato | Rasmussen Reports

Last week in the Crystal Ball, we looked at the historical background of off-year Senate elections and laid the groundwork for the earliest possible projection of the 36 contests on the ballot in 2010. This week we call the Senate roll among sitting Democrats to see who appears safe and who might be in trouble. Next week, in our final round-up, the Republican seats will be under the microscope.

In many cases, since all candidates have not announced and the party nominees have not been chosen, it is impossible to do more than set the scene for an upcoming Senate battle. In other states, we already have a good idea about the likely match-up.

And now, in alphabetical order and without a drum roll, here are the Democratic Senate players of 2010 …

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Campaign 2010 Begins

Democrats launch radio ads attacking 28 House Republicans, taking some facts out of context.

FactCheck.org

Here we go again.

The first round of attack ads in the 2010 midterm elections was announced this week by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Its new radio spots accuse 28 Republican House members variously of voting against tax breaks for working people, voting against money for schools, voting against creating jobs and voting against health insurance coverage for millions of children.

The ads aren’t exactly false, but they don’t tell the whole story. Popular programs that the GOP members opposed actually were small parts of a huge package of spending and tax-cut measures that Republicans criticized as poorly designed and wasteful. And some of the ads attack Republicans for supporting measures, such as last year’s financial rescue package, that Democrats also supported in even greater numbers …

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