Gail Collins had her trenchant wit on full display in a weekend op-ed column, “A Bad Year to Be a Mallard,” in the New York Times.

In the wake of the nation’s largest beef recall in history, food safety and animal welfare have become part of presidential campaign season. I wrote yesterday that Senator Hillary Clinton issued a statement calling for better safeguards in our food inspection system.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a massive recall of 143 million pounds of beef—four times larger than what was previously the biggest beef recall in the nation’s history—after revelations that sick and injured cows were abused in horrifying ways and fed to the nation’s school children and other consumers.

At the Humane Society Legislative Fund, one of our goals is to let constituents know where their elected officials stand on animal protection issues. We publish the Humane Scorecard, which tracks legislators’ voting records and co-sponsorships on key animal welfare measures. We celebrate lawmakers who use their skills and talents to advance the humane treatment of animals, and we hold those accountable who are hostile to modest and common-sense reforms to stop cruelty and abuse.

When the early returns trickled in last night in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, it was clear that Senators Barack Obama and John McCain would sweep the Potomac Primary. But there were a couple other Chesapeake Challenges that captured my attention all night long, and weren’t settled until early this morning.

Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada have weighed in, but the race to the White House is still wide open for both Democrats and Republicans.  A number of states will be making their party nominations in the coming weeks, including more than 20 states on “Super Tuesday,” February 5th.

After winning the New Hampshire primary and Nevada caucuses, Sen. Hillary Clinton has largely made it a race between her and Sen.

I've been asking animal advocates to raise the question of animal protection when they see candidates stumping on the campaign trail, and I was thrilled today to see that a supporter from Nevada took the issue to heart. 

U.S. Rep.

New Hampshire’s somewhat surprising presidential primary results Tuesday—with Hillary Clinton and John McCain emerging as victors—have thrown the races wide open.