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THE El Nino weather system has run its course and the weather bureau says the worst drought in a century could be coming to an end, as heavy rain soaked parched southeastern Australia. Inland NSW and north-east Victoria enjoyed heavy rainfall today, with reports from 20-30mm falling in some areas and as high as 53mm in country Victoria, Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) senior forecaster Phil King said. Mr King confirmed the rainfall was promising for all industries, as farmers fought to survive on the land. And western NSW has received a drenching not seen for seven years.

Fred Thompson, the “Law & Order” actor and former senator from Tennessee, has moved beyond pondering a bid for the White House and begun assembling the nucleus of a campaign should he decide to run, according to people involved in the effort. Thompson has not yet decided to seek the Republican presidential nomination. But “he is getting more serious every day,” said an adviser familiar with Thompson's plans. Thompson’s coming-out as a candidate-in-waiting will be a May 4 appearance at the 45th annual dinner of the Lincoln Club of Orange County in the heart of Ronald Reagan country in Southern...

Let's be clear: There's no "Bedtime for Bonzo" in Fred Thompson's past. That's not to say there haven't been a few cinematic duds for the lawyer-actor-U.S. senator. But for someone contemplating a presidential run — as a Republican, of course — his bio on the Internet Movie Database is hefty enough to make Warren Beatty jealous. Consider: Thompson has played a district attorney (currently on "Law & Order"), an FBI agent, a detective, a White House chief of staff, a CIA director, a lieutenant colonel, a rear admiral, a major general, some guy named "Big John" in Tom Cruise's "Days...

Ohio voters favor Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton over other Democratic presidential contenders, although her lead over Sen. Barack Obama has narrowed since January, according to a poll released Thursday. The Quinnipiac University poll also found that former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani leads the Republican contenders among voters in Ohio, which tipped the 2004 election for President Bush. Giuliani is favored by 31 percent of Republicans, compared with 20 percent for Sen. John McCain, 8 percent for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and 6 percent each for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson. On...

I first met Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama almost ten years ago when, as my representative in the Illinois state senate, he came to speak at the University of Chicago. He impressed me as progressive, intelligent and charismatic. I distinctly remember thinking 'if only a man of this calibre could become president one day.' On Friday Obama gave a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Chicago. It had been much anticipated in American Jewish political circles which buzzed about his intensive efforts to woo wealthy pro-Israel campaign donors who up to now have generally leaned...

WASHINGTON - United States Senator Barack Obama, a Democrat from Illinois who is competing for his party's presidential nomination, told Haaretz on Thursday that the United States should help protect Israel from its "dangerous" enemies. "My view is that the United States' special relationship with Israel obligates us to be helpful to them in the search for credible partners with whom they can make peace, while also supporting Israel in defending itself against enemies sworn to its destruction," he said. "Israelis want more than anything to live in peace with their neighbors, but Israel also has real - and very...

Rudy Building Lead Over McCain... [Rich Lowry] ...according to the new Fox News Poll. Asked who would they support in a Republican primary if the choices were McCain or Giuliani, 56% of Republicans said Giuliani, and 31% said McCain. 50% of Independents said Giuliani, and 27% said McCain. This represents a big bump for Giuliani since early December. Then, 42% of Republicans said they would pick Giuliani, 40% McCain, and 35% of Independents said they would support Giuliani while 41% said they would go with McCain. 02/15 05:34 PM

Rudy- love him or hate him, he's going to be on Larry King live at 9 pm eastern. This is the thread to discuss what he has to say.

While the White House is taking a hands-off approach to the 2008 GOP presidential primaries so far, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is quietly seeing an administration cheerleading section grow. One insider said that it is built on the fact that Giuliani continues to beat Sen. John McCain in the polls and also because he is offering to stick with several Bush programs, including an aggressive stance against terrorists, and promises to name conservative judges to the court. One Bush official today noted Giuliani's pledge to nominate conservative judges and applauded the New Yorker for making that claim in...

Looks like he got an enthusiastic reception.

Following is a transcript of Mayor Giuliani’s address today to the SC GOP’s executive committee in Columbia, South Carolina, with regard to the mayor’s judicial philosophy: On the Federal judiciary I would want judges who are strict constructionists because I am. I’m a lawyer. I’ve argued cases in the Supreme Court. I’ve argued cases in the Court of Appeals in different parts of the country. I have a very, very strong view that for this country to work, for our freedoms to be protected, judges have to interpret not invent the Constitution. Otherwise you end up, when judges invent the...

Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Rudy Giuliani is holding on to the top spot among Republican Party sympathizers in the United States, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 29 per cent of respondents would support the former New York City mayor in a 2008 presidential primary. Arizona senator John McCain is second with 19 per cent, followed by former House of Representatives speaker Newt Gingrich with 16 per cent, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with eight per cent. Support is lower for former Kansas senator Sam Brownback, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, and Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel.

This is an interview with Rudy in NH posted on youtube.