Mary Katharine Ham

There is an apple tree in my parents’ backyard. Its bark is blackened, limbs reaching unevenly and feebly into the sky. If an art-house filmmaker needed a metaphor for resilience in a war-ravaged country, he would choose this tree. It looks like it’s growing in spite of something, straining against…

When Talking Points Memo is calling him the "poster child for the angry Left" and tweaking him in headlines—"That poll is bogus. I'm totally winning."— surely some of the shine has worn off this lefty Internet folk hero.

Rick Sanchez is the host of CNN's "Rick's List" and the author of newly released "Conventional Idiocy: Why New America is Sick of Old Politics."

So great are the powers of nefarious, progress-blocking Republicans that even in the vast congressional minority they can hold hostage bills that do not even exist:

So great are the powers of nefarious, progress-blocking Republicans that even in the vast Congressional majority, they can hold hostage bills that do not even exist:

The rumor is he'll be campaigning for mayor of Chicago by Monday:

Obama, to Rolling Stone, in an interview released yesterday:

Bill Clinton channels Friedrich Hayek.

It turns out smearing your mainstream Republican, Baptist opponent as Talibanesque by altering video of him doesn't play that well in a moderate House district or among Independents.

President Obama will hold a rally in deep-blue Madison, Wisconsin today in an attempt to rally one of his most enthusiastic voting blocs from 2008. But as the president tries to fire up young voters, recent polling shows they're increasingly cool on the president's policies.

It's about as predictable as Alan Grayson airing a hateful, dishonest ad caricaturing conservatives, but alas, it's news because the president said it. The headline at CNN gets right down to the nub of Obama's criticism in a way that's a bit more explicit and creepy than coverage of his past…

This is a tale in which we learn that becoming a folk hero for the online left, under the guidance of former MyDD scribe Matt Stoller, does not necessarily endear one to a center-right district that went Democrat for the first time in 25 years in 2008.

The San Francisco Chronicle doesn't endorse Boxer.

Here is video of comedian Stephen Colbert testifying before the House Judiciary subcommittee at the request of Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, on the subject of illegal migrant workers. The pretense for his being an expert witness was Colbert's one day laboring with migrant workers in New York.

The GOP will officially release its modern Contract With America today at an event in Sterling, Va., but the commentary on the 21-page document is already plentiful.

"Just eight months after taking office, Mr. Christie is in demand by Republican candidates across the country, political consultants say, receiving many more invitations than he can accept. His appearances with Ms. Whitman are the first of many he has scheduled over the coming weeks, including…

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has launched a write-in bid for reelection after being beaten by Tea Party favorite Joe Miller in the Alaska Republican primary, will lose her committee position tomorrow, according to Senate Republicans:

Hey, how come no one's talking about what's happening to Molly Norris?

The Florida Democratic Party sent out a mailer this week that disclosed the Social Security number of a Tea Party favorite in Florida's 22nd District race.

Because demonizing the populist movement has been so successful thus far, Obama aides may be thinking about a national TV ad campaign to rally the base with the idea of zombie Christine O'Donnells...or something.

Lefty activist: Chris Coons harrassed me for my political activism

I bought an accordion coupon organizer last week. It’s a wallet-sized device that straps to the cart as you’re grocery shopping. It comes with 24 durable tab dividers, to prevent the coupons for meat, dairy, and Hannah Montana paper dishware from commingling.

Jeri Thompson, a political commentator I admire and wife of former Sen. Fred Thompson, wrote a column for "The American Spectator" this week suggesting anyone skeptical of Christine O'Donnell is skeptical because they're sexist, boys-club types afraid of strong, anti-establishment women.

"This fact marks our political age: The pendulum is swinging faster and in shorter arcs than it ever has in our lifetimes. Few foresaw the earthquake of 2008 in 2006. No board-certified political professional predicted, on Election Day 2008, what happened in 2009-10."

Cook giveth and Cook taketh away.

Last month, everyone was wondering if the First Lady, whose approval numbers are higher than Obama's at 66 percent, would take to the campaign trail for Democrats. That popularity has been the work of 18 months of carefully crafted messages and feel-good issues.

Greg Mankiw answers, "How much would the president actually raise the top tax rate?"

Well, this is odd... and quite helpful to Christine O'Donnell's message when facing Coons:

The country's first primary state was hardly first with its returns last night, as glacial vote-counting in New Hampshire had Republican Senate candidates Kelly Ayotte and Ovide Lamontagne unsure of the outcome of their close race until this morning.

Well, well, well, Charlie Cook. Maybe you'd like to retract some of your earlier projections for a Republican tidal wave? Because Democrats are about to design their way to victory!

The state of Delaware is posting election results here.

As the Republican primary for the Senate seat from Delaware manages to become even more heated than it's been thus far, the newest charge of O'Donnell backers is that Rep. Mike Castle voted to impeach President George W. Bush.

McConnell introduces that Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2010.

When we last saw seven-term Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, he was helping a young man with a video camera understand that American voters must be prepared to explain themselves to elected officials before asking questions of them in public. The fact that he helped the young man…

Sen. Joe Lieberman joined former Obama budget director Peter Orszag in calling for a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts today when he spoke at a Connecticut Chamber of Commerce meeting:

Change: "Two years after arriving in Washington on a message of hope and change, Democratic candidates are not extolling their party’s accomplishments, but rather distancing themselves from their party’s agenda."

Alas, I wish there were more press conferences for me to synopsize, but the president being who he is, we must satisfy ourselves with what we have. What we have today is an hour-and-17 minute press conference in which he took 22 questions, stuttered no fewer than five times, and laughed…

In an interview with Tom Joyner this morning, it seems the president debuted a new vaguely violent automotive metaphor for the ailing economy. Until now, the economy has been a mere car that Republicans had piloted into a ditch, and which Obama was valiantly if unsuccessfully trying to get running…

In my head, when I picture the relationship between Barack Obama and Joe Biden, this is what I see.

You may remember that for a brief time, singer Wyclef Jean flirted with the idea of running for president of Haiti, citing as his qualifications the fact that he is Haitian, knows Shakira, and put out that awesome solo album in '98.

President Obama avoided being "perfectly clear" today about whether he would veto an extension of all the Bush tax cuts if it came to his desk. The president's preferred course is to raise the current tax rate for the wealthy and leave it as is for the middle class. In an inventive rhetorical…

Axe: Rahm has the skill set to be mayor of Chicago. In what one imagines would be the words of Rahm, "No &*%%^!, Sherlock."

Assuring everyone that they're unwilling to listen to economic reason, even from the man employed as their budget director a month ago, the White House spokespeople were sent forth this morning to refute the former OMB director's inaugural New York Times column.

Freshman Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who beat Ted Stevens in 2008, says the national party shouldn't be counting out Lisa Murkowski's seat in his home state. They just need a little faith:

How could the Obama administration have miscalculated the economic trajectory of the summer so badly as to have given them what some have called the biggest premature victory declaration since the USS Abraham Lincoln?

"They talk about me like a dog." (To be fair, Bo's gotten better press than anyone in Washington for two years, so maybe he didn't mean it in a bad way.)

WEEKLY STANDARD writer Steve Hayes got plenty of attention from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today, who used his Twitter account to carry on a long back-and-forth with Hayes over the small business bill the White House has been touting this week, but which stalled in the Senate earlier…

Well, this is heartening:

It's 80 miles south of Vermillion Bay in the Gulf Mexico. Early reports called it an explosion, but later reports call it a fire. Robert Gibbs announced at the White House press briefing that the Mariner Energy platform was "not in active production" and the depth of the water at the site is about…

In this episode of "Better Know Your Democratic Governor," longtime Obama ally (and speech donor) Deval Patrick seems to commit a Kinsleyan gaffe when asked about the Glenn Beck rally held on the Mall August 28.

Christina Romer's full farewell speech.

Great breaking news from Silver Spring, MD, where a several-hour stand-off with a gunman holding hostages has ended with the hostages safe and the gunman shot and in custody.

Police and media are now identifying the gunman holding hostages at the Discovery Channel corporate headquarters as James Jay Lee.

This started popping up on Twitter a few minutes ago, and now Fox News is reporting there's a full SWAT team at the scene. The Washington Post has a short write-up with the scant details:

These ideological, impractical, probably racist mobs of Tea Partiers who understand nothing of politics and long to do nothing but obstruct...

Chris Matthews comes home. "[Obama] is almost pluperfect, and they don't like him!"

Nate Silver, the left-leaning statistician recently hired by the New York Times after running his own polling blog for several years, is warning Democrats not to dismiss the GOP generic ballot lead as a mere outlier.

Never before has there been such a candidate of integrity, moral certitude, and iron spine:

Newsweek turns on the president.

Uncertain whether the last 18 months of dismal health-care speeches and rallies had entirely destroyed the myth of the Obama administration as gifted, uplifting message mavens, Kathleen Sebelius bravely ventured into the rhetorical orchards and brought forth this rotten fruit:

Greetings from northern climes! I have been on the ship for about five days, and I believe we're traversing the St. Lawrence River at the moment on our way to Quebec City. This being my first cruise experience, I have enjoyed the intelligent conversations with our WEEKLY STANDARD cruisers, the…

I'll say this for 'em. Maxine Waters and Charlie Rangel are not going out without a very public fight, bordering on Blagojevichian levels of boldness. Rangel took his case to the House floor this week, hijacking the get-together Pelosi planned to bail out the states and unions with a 37-minute…

I always like it when we can notch a win for the non-cheaters, even if it is 10 years too late. Earlier this spring, the International Olympic Committee disqualified the 2000 Chinese women's Olympic team for having an underaged competitor. China placed third in the Sydney Olympics, with the…

I look forward to the national media asking every New Hampshire Democrat and every leading national Democrat to denounce this sort of thing immediately. After all, words matter:

Maybe if Rory Reid weren't having to distance himself from his father to the point of forgoing his last name, Harry Reid would be more familiar with the idea of a Nevadan, Hispanic Republican. In his quest for the Nevada governorship, Rory Reid is getting trounced in polls at the moment by Brian…

The party of ideas, folks. After proclaiming that their skin color should prevent people of Hispanic descent from voting any which way they please, Reid isn't backing down:

Bennet and Buck bring home wins in Senate primary in Colorado.

Washington was hot today, and Democrats were tearing at each other's hair like a clatch of tween frenemies fighting for the front row at a Justin Bieber mall appearance.

In the wake of the death of Ted Stevens, "Alaskan of the Century" Sarah Palin pays tribute on her Facebook page:

Yep, Greg Gutfeld wants to open a gay bar in the property adjacent to the Ground Zero Mosque, as a celebration of tolerance.

California Rep. Maxine Waters has been formally charged by the House Ethics Committee with three ethics violations:

So desperate is the United States Congress to spend $26 billion to bail out state governments—ensuring state governments have no incentive to stay within budgets, so that we can bail them out repeatedly until the end of time— that they didn't even name the bill.

Keith Hennesey explains who advises the president on economics.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says the Obama administration can't double-count Medicare savings as simultaneously paying for Obamacare and strengthening Medicare's future. The Congressional Budget Office says the administration can't double-count Medicare cuts.

What next for California's gay marriage case? The facts matter.

ABC was first to report at the end of July that at least some of the oil spewed by the Deep Horizon well seemed to be breaking up, evaporating, and dispersing on its own— so much so that cleaning crews were having trouble finding the slick.

Barack Obama, July 29: "The one thing that does frustrate me sometimes is the sense that we shouldn't be campaigning all the time. There is a time to campaign and then there is a time to govern. What we've tried to do over the last 20 months is to govern."

On the road to passing Obamacare, Democrats made it their business to dismiss the concerns of the majority of Americans who opposed the bill.

Obamacare mandate loses in Missouri referendum, 71.1-28.9. No worries It's not like it's a bellwether. Oh.

Ha: Obama finally finds a leader worth bowing to.

This week in The Weekly Standard, James Ceasar argues that "Barack Obama has accomplished a rare feat: The longer he holds office, the more he diminishes in stature." He has wandered far and frequently down the road to populism, Ceasar argues, thereby frittering away all the stature his lofty…

If only our representatives would be as steadfast in caring for every dollar of our money:

Five days after the House ethics committee charged Rep. Charlie Rangel with possible violations, and Rangel professed to be "looking forward" to fighting the charges in a public trial, the congressman is reportedly trying to do a last minute deal:

Bush, Bush, Bush!

Though he'll regretably be remembered most for his turn in Rolling Stone, we should not forget Gen. Stanley McChrystal's contributions to his country, the Army, and the conflict in Afghanistan.

I knew Obama's post-partisan promise would bear fruit some day. I'm happy to come together with my ideological foes in the simple, human recognition that "Special Comments" are totally blowhardy.

I don't know why y'all would think that a subcommittee on ethics not convened since James Traficant would worry Charlie Rangel. I guess 40 years in a safe Congressional seat makes a man supremely confident. Rangel told reporters yesterday, after a House committee revealed he would be charged with…

Journolistas even clam up in unison.

Rangel's lawyer tried to settle but was rebuffed. The man who writes the tax law you must follow:

I wrote yesterday that cries of racism without just cause and serious proof are damaging to the falsely accused, the political process, race relations, and those who suffer from actual racism. I was talking mostly about the left's cynical and frequent use of "racism" accusations to marginalize…

We are on Day Two of JournoList revelations at The Daily Caller.

Sarah Palin: An intolerable mistake on hallowed ground.

The FBI detonated a bomb in Pennsylvania made of the components Faisal Shahzad intended to use before he resorted to cheaper alternatives. In May, Shahzad left his SUV in the middle of Times Square, where it merely smoked instead of exploding:

If you ever had any doubt that the left's incessant cries of "racism" have become largely a cynical political ploy designed to marginalize and shut up political opponents, behold the birth of a racism accusation in all its naked glory as discussed on the infamous JournoList.

CNBC to Christina Romer: So, how many jobs has the stimulus actually created or saved? "It's very hard to say exactly—you don't know what the baseline is."

No reconciliation for Dems because they didn't pass a budget?

Jimmy Carter's National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski showed up on "Morning Joe" today to hang another Carter analogy on Obama.

West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin is expected to pick his former general counsel Carte Goodwin to fill the late Sen. Robert Byrd's vacant seat until a special election can be held, likely this fall. The appointment of a close aide suggests once again that Manchin does indeed have his eyes on the seat.

The people and wildlife of the Gulf are getting a respite, at least for the moment, from the millions of gallons of oil that have been flowing into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20:

As a rule of thumb, when lauding the modern manufacturing made possible by the president's $900 billion stimulus package, it is wise not to use the theme song of a popular early-80s sitcom.

First Olbermann didn't know MSNBC was running a Twitter account for him and now this? So much for the tech-savvy libs.

One study calculates Toyota lost $250 million in brand equity (about 1/4 of what BP's lost in the oil spill) during the media and Congressional furor over its alleged problems with "sudden acceleration." But a new study, conducted by the federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety…

It's definitely going to take Obama's superior conflict management skills to smooth this over. Democrats are not-so-privately fuming over Robert Gibbs' admission on "Meet the Press" this week that Dems could lose the House.

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, endangered Democrat of South Dakota, apparently didn't read Mark Halperin's March assessment of how dangerous opposing Obama's awesome health care bill could be.

Sadly, it is too late for any of us to meet Charlotte McCourt. The Nevada grandmother passed away this week at the age of 84 after a long illness. But it is not too late for Charlotte to tell everyone exactly how she feels.

CBS poll: 13 percent of Americans believe Obama policies have helped them; 52 percent believe he's spent too little time on the economy.

I can't help but feel there may be hope for the nation yet when progressives start getting nervous about what Democrats are saying on entitlements.

Shoe box bomb injures oil exec's wife. Darn violent Tea Partiers.

Who'da thunk it? The man who would not rest until the oil leak was stopped but has taken three vacations since it started, the man who spent a year pushing a giant health-care bill a majority of Americans vocally opposed, is now making Democrats look increasingly out of touch by pushing an…

Political prognositcator Charlie Cook, who last week wrote that a GOP hurricane might be on its way, has been pegged as more bullish than most on the GOP's November chances.

It reminds me of a quote attributed to Ansel Adams: "Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."

Sad: "Lance Armstrong said his hopes of Tour de France victory are finished after he struggled in the Alps and was caught up in three crashes during an eighth stage won by Andy Schleck of Luxembourg on Sunday."

File this away in your "Democrats embodying stereotypes of Republicans" folder, along with pro-impeachment Democrat Kesha Rogers of Texas. In Rep. Carolyn Maloney's Upper East Side district (NY-14), constituents who are employed by Wall Street are none too happy with the rhetoric out of Washington,…

Barbie's a libertarian!

The National Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent body within the IRS meant to iron out taxpayer problems with IRS systems, said in a report today that the new health care bill has charged the agency with doing things it's not prepared to do:

Tragic: An 82-year-old man shoots at thieves stealing his truck. After being shot, they admit to stealing his truck, at which point the homeowner defending himself is charged with attempted murder and the admitted thieves are charged with...nothing.

To hear liberals tell it, the Citizens United decision unleashed a torrent of frightful, unregulated free political speech that will drown out the voices of regular citizens in favor of powerful and nefarious corporate forces.

Here's some anti-government violence from an out-of-control mob you won't hear much about, from Illinois:

Public servants: Teachers unions will avoid reforms if Washington keeps bailing them out.

I know it's less fun to blame the feds when Obama's in charge, HuffPost headline writers, but the folks actually using the force of law to keep media away from oil spill areas are not BP, but the Coast Guard, with support from the Obama administration.

Eric Holder v. Jan Brewer:

Well, I guess now we know why Kal Penn left the administration. It wasn't because he suddenly realized he'd given up a plum regular role on a top-rated network TV show for a wholly unfulfilling career as a flack for Obama administration policies, which— let's face it— didn't give him nearly the…

Three things the U.S. should do.

After the Supreme Court affirmed this week in McDonald v. Chicago that Second-Amendment rights for individuals do indeed apply even within a 25-mile radius of organic grocers and a liberal city council, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley went to work to subvert his constituents' newfound right to self…

Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani, a 42-year-old mother of two, confessed to the crime of adultery in 2006 after being subjected to 99 lashes. She later recanted her statement, but was found guilty despite the fact that there were no witnesses to her adultery, as is supposed to be required in the Iranian…

Err: "The Obama administration has not ruled out turning sick people away from an insurance program created by the new healthcare law to provide coverage for the uninsured."

Rasmussen, June 22, 2010:

Last week, Sarah Palin, a former vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party and grassroots darling who serves in no elected or official capacity, tweeted a link to a Thomas Sowell column that included a reference to Nazi tactics. Democrats were outraged that she seemingly endorsed the…

The BP CEO for Gulf Restoration will take questions live on YouTube this afternoon, if you'd like to submit some questions that aren't from emo teenagers and climate-change activists asking about cap-and-trade.

Smell that? Smells like redemption:

Today, 70 days into the oill spill in the Gulf, the U.S. accepted international assistance from 12 countries and foreign organizations to help with the mess.

A great week for the left. The JournoList archives have a price of $100K on them, and Markos Moulitsas is suing his pollster, who is in turn countersuing him! Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming about divisions within the right.

Joe Biden is in the Gulf today, and Bobby Jindal talked to NBC about his problems with federal response:

The hearing is being shown on all three cable nets right now, live, and is on CSPAN-3 and CSPAN.org.

Sure, it's easy to get blue about our blue-state friend when he flips to become the deciding vote on gigantic financial regulation reform with more unintended consequences than, well, the last giant piece of legislation with a bunch of blanks to be filled in at a later date by regulators.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of individual gun rights today, striking down Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban almost two years to the day after the Court struck down the D.C. gun ban.

The Senate loses its longest-serving member. Robert Byrd passed away at the age of 92.

Hope. Change. Technicalities:

The New York Times runs a lovely tribute to the late Manute Bol today. The affable 7'6" Dinka tribesman, formidable NBA shot-blocker, and activist died at 47 of kidney complications related to a rare skin disease he developed after his basketball career.

Facebook publicists announced today that President Barack Obama and pop performer Lady Gaga are running neck-and-neck to become the first living person with 10 million fans. 

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Richard Socarides: Ted Olson's better on gay rights than Obama.

Ed Rendell has been dogged for months by rumors of a possible romantic relationship with a 40-year-old aide. A Philadelphia magazine reports on the rumors in an issue hitting newsstands Friday, but apparently finds no one who will go on the record, and no real concrete evidence.

The left on generals resigning during the Bush years...

Hamid Karzai, who had built a close relationship with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, releases this somewhat cool statement through a spokesman today:

The tone is respectful to McChrystal, but mindful of his breach. Obama takes the opportunity to reinforce the American commitment to victory in Afghanistan rather than back away from it. And, the speech is blissfully, only eight minutes long. 

A 72-year-old Missouri man, David Jungerman, painted a message on the side of an 18-wheeler trailer and placed it on his farm land, within view of a high-traffic highway:

The Washington Post notes that the Republicans of South Carolina just elected an Indian-American governor and nominated Tim Scott, who is black, over Strom Thurmond's son for a Congressional seat he's expected to win. But never fear; Republicans are probably still big racists, which is what the…

When the going gets tough, the tough go to court. Isn't that the saying?

Well, the most glamorous power nerd after Barack Obama, of course. Office of Management and Budget head Peter Orszag is leaving the White House, Robert Gibbs confirmed in the White House press briefing today. He will be the first member of the Obama cabinet to leave the administration. 

Hey, they were going to boycott the state of Arizona on account of its crackdown on illegal immigrants, which L.A. considers heavy-handed, potentially onerous to law-abiding citizens, and Big-Brother-ish, until the city realized it needed an Arizona company to help it run its red-light cameras. Hm.

Kesha Rogers won the Democratic nomination in a suburban Houston district (TX-22) on a platform of impeachment of Obama and colonization of Mars. A professional activist in the Lyndon LaRouche movement, she carries posters of Obama with a Hitler mustache and calls him a "Wall Street and London…

Baghdad

Remind me. Has the State Department ever had to issue a travel warning for the greater Topeka metro area due to potential violence from Tea Party protesters?

Another week, another documented example of physical violence by a protester, another instance in which the violence is not perpetrated by a conservative.

Today, a conference committee begins hashing out differences between the House and Senate visions for financial regulatory reform. As Congress begins deliberations on another sweeping overhaul of a complex national system with broad, international implications, one would hope they are well informed…

Political junkies, there are 37—that's right, 37—governor's races this fall, so in case you thought you were going to get by only boning up on House and Senate races, think again, kid. The stage had already been set for historic, err, change, due to the relatively small number of incumbents running:

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The international community may be determined to ignore videos clearly showing flotilla "peace activists" beating the mess out of IDF soldiers before they even hit the deck of the boat, but the rest of the world is tuning on on YouTube.

Finally: White House approves Jindal berm plan.

I noted earlier that it sure felt like Obama was spending very little of his speech today on his purported top priority— the oil spill in the Gulf. The transcript is below the fold (also here), but here are the totals:

Well, a lawyer has been deployed.

The laws being contested in Citizens United treated unions and corporations the same. The Citizens United decision treats unions and corporations the same. In fact, campaign finance law has attempted to treat unions and corporations the same for 43 years.

Rep. Artur Davis lost his bid to become the first black Democratic nominee for governor in Alabama Tuesday by a huge margin, falling to state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks by 24 points.

Kirsten Powers: "Politics as usual" is not an acceptable excuse for Obama in l'affaire Sestak.

The Washington, D.C. region has two large counties—one in Virginia and one in Maryland— that offer a helpful snapshot of good and bad budgeting. The bottom line: Virginia law doesn't allow public employees to unionize, while a Maryland county's government is stocked entirely with Democrats looking…

"[T]oday the Moynihan Report is largely forgotten. Sadly, its predictions about the decline of the black family have proven largely correct."

I think Charles Krauthammer hits the nail on the head when he says the Gulf Oil spill is Obama's Katrina, but not for the reasons everyone's saying:

Real life or The Onion?

The man is a parody of himself. He's always on message. It's just never actually his party's message:

Dino Rossi, the Washington real-estate developer and former state senator who lost the controversial 2004 governor's race to Christine Gregoire by 133 votes, announced today he wants to take on Patty Murray for a spot in the U.S. Senate.

Dino Rossi, the Washington real-estate developer and former state senator who lost the controversial 2004 governor's race to Christine Gregoir by 133 votes, announced today he wants to take on Patty Murray for a spot in the U.S. Senate.

Wherefore art that famous temperament? "He needs to take a Valium before he comes in and talks to Republicans," Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., told reporters. "He's pretty thin-skinned."

You know, I think the administration's latest move on the border is reflective of a "troubling trend in our society." The plan is "fundamentally unfair," and "invites profiling." 

Dick Blumenthal is finally saying what he should have said last week, sending an apology for his exaggerations about his Vietnam service to the Hartford Courant in Connecticut:

Somebody needs to reread the Cairo speech.

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Count this among the very few things an Obama speech has brought to fruition that I'm enthusiastically behind:

How much debt will be too much? "In the wake of the financial crisis and recession, Moody's Investors Service has brought new transparency to its sovereign ratings analysis — so much so that 2018 lights up as the year the U.S. could be in line for a downgrade if Congressional Budget Office…

Fighting within the party over two Democrats on the ballot —former Rep. Ed Case and state senator Colleen Hanabusa— has led national Democrats to abandon the race, "effectively ceding the race to Republicans and likely setting the party up for what could be their first special election loss of the…

The formal announcement came around 10 a.m. C-SPAN will have video of the nomination available, here, shortly. 

Just 13 years after a famine that wiped out millions of its people and three years after a flood that aggravated frequent food shortages, caused by an authoritarian dictator who doesn't allow citizens to farm or sell food privately and has a history of rejecting international humanitarian aid, the…

“Something must be done. This is something. Therefore we must do it.”

Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef and host of the Travel Channel's very popular "No Reservations" does not mince words about the possibility future overbearing salt regulation.

I could have told you this was coming as soon as the terrible news about the death of UVA student Yeardley Love broke.

A military jury in Norfolk, Va. acquitted the third and final Navy SEAL court martialed in connection with the alleged assault of an Iraqi suspected in the 2004 murders of four U.S. contractors in Fallujah.

Jobs numbers: 290K jobs added, 66K are temporary census jobs, unemployment up to 9.9 percent.

Robert Gibbs declined to answer repeated questions today about Obama's use of the offensive term, "teabagger" to refer to Tea Party activists, as reported in Jonathan Alter's new book, "The Promise: President Obama, Year One."

The Dow fell nearly 1,000 points today and MSNBC's Savannah Guthrie informed White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs of it at the daily press briefing. Her question was the first he had heard of it, and he answered the question with generalities about the "Treasury monitoring Europe and the Greek…

Small business owners and freelancers, meet your new administrative burden:

This did not save this morning, for some reason (probably user error), so here it is now. Apologies.

News is breaking from several sources that Rep. David Obey is planning to announce his retirement at a 1 p.m. press conference. A testament to how rough this cycle will be on incumbent Democrats, Obey has represented his district in Congress since 1969. He was elected two years before his…

Washington Post editor: “The web is a place where people want to come to the news of the day and developments in the political world and public policy from different vantage points, so you’re trying to offer people online a pretty robust smorgasbord,” by hiring a diverse group of liberal bloggers.…

There's been a controversial immigration law passed, sometimes violent protests in its wake. There's an oil slick the size of a Northeastern state making its way into the marshlands and beaches of the Gulf Coast, potentially ruining miles of coastline and thousands of livelihoods for a long time to…

Everyone's being hard on tween pop star Justin Bieber today because he's caught in an interview not knowing what the word, "German" means.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg put his ignorance of the situation and the suspect to great use last night jumping to conclusions that might earn him a long-jump spot in the London Olympics if he decides not to put his dough toward a presidential run that year:

An FBI official says Faisal Shahzad was put on a no-fly list hours before his arrest, but he was apprehended on a flight he booked on the way to the airport and which he paid for in cash.

The Hawaii special election to replace Rep. Neil Abercrombie is an odd, winner-take-all, three-way election that will be decided via mail-in ballots due by May 22. The Republican underdog Charles Djou is polling up eight points in Obama's home state partly because there are two Democrats splitting…

To catch a terrorist on Craigslist: "Law enforcement officials were able to track down Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, by recovering his number from the cell phone of the woman who sold him a Pathfinder SUV just weeks before Saturday night's failed bomb attempt."

You know, it's really a shame Frank Rich's deadline came up before the May Day riots in Santa Cruz and elsewhere this weekend, because I'm sure he's very anxious to tell all of us what that "rage" is really all about.

The New York Times talks to financial experts who have weighed Dodd's bill and found it wanting:

Interesting. It's about two weeks from primary day, and evangelical leader Dr. James Dobson has retracted an endorsement of establishment candidate Trey Grayson in favor of endorsing Rand Paul.

The havok of the PIGS: “The EU can afford to bail-out Greece and even Portugal, but it cannot afford bailing out Spain.”

Several bloggers are calling Rush Limbaugh the equivalent of a 9/11 Truther for alleging on his radio show that the oil-rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico was an inside job perhaps perpetrated by the Obama administration.

Rep. Brown-Waite is citing health problems as she becomes the 20th Republican to announce retirement this year, on filing day in Florida.

I saw this yesterday. It's a lot of fun, and fit to go viral, so here it is for your enjoyment. My favorite part is the info posted by Aaron Melcher, who uploaded the video: "We have more scenes to cut, and edit, however with guys always on mission it is harder to film than you think." I can…

Harrison Ford owns seven airplanes, but only flies "one at a time." For environmentalist critics who say this is a contradiction, he has this message:

The guy who wrote the Arizona law explains what's in it.

No one's seriously talking about a VAT, nutters.

After making an early bid for top techie of the Republican 2012 field with a buzzed-about Facebook town hall in March, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is following up by letting supporters of his Freedom First PAC help pick the PAC's endorsements.

Gov. Rick Perry carries a pistol when he does trail runs in places where there are predators. On this particular sunrise run, a coyote was coming after his dog. I'll just reproduce the quotes, which make me wish I lived in Texas, where this is just plain talk from a politician:

...when Nazi symbolism, vandalism, nasty signs, misspelled signs, violence, and arrests at protests (even without proof) would have deligitimized an entire movement and caused months of media coverage about the threat to the Republic posed by such barbarians? These are different times, now.

The Arizona numbers: "Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Republicans support the law along with 62% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Democratic voters are evenly divided on the measure."

Skype is a practically free video-conferencing service Congress could be using to communicate with constituents, but it is forbidden, so members instead use taxpayer money to conduct video-conferencing without the common application, undoubtedly costing more money and frustration for all parties…

Tom Tancredo thinks Arizona law goes too far.

In the tradition of the proverbial carpenter and his nails, if you're Barack Obama, every political problem looks like 2008. Today, the DNC signaled its willingness to use 2008's rhetoric to win in 2010 with a half-hearted rallying video recorded by Obama asking his base to show up at the polls in…

As with many SNL skits, it's a bit on-the-nose and runs too long, but I applaud the spirit and smiled a couple times. An able-bodied host on 100-percent disability introduces a surly DMV worker who takes pride in going full days without helping anyone, an elevator inspector working two government…

George W. Bush memoir coming in November.

Everyone's having a big laugh over the Supreme Court's alleged lack of tech savvy, as illustrated during oral arguments in a case (Ontario vs. Quon) focusing on text message privacy for a city employee using a city-provided pager.

Heckuva a job, Sternie: "SEIU is $85 million in debt, down from its 2008 high of $102 million, and has been forced to lay off employees. Mr. Stern has led protests against Bank of America, calling for the firing of Chief Executive Ken Lewis. Yet the union owes $80 million to Bank of America and $5…

On this day, often dedicated to genuflecting to Gaia and her regulatory, busy-body apostles, it's worth remembering that capitalism bought us the luxury of having environmentalists in the first place, and the free market has greened large parts of the world without their help.

The CBO released an analysis today that estimates 3.9 million Americans, many of them middle class, will be subject to the penalty payment required of those without government-approved insurance by 2016.

Rump party: "We're not counting on one region of the country, nor should we. The Republican Party and the NRCC is a national organization with national reach, with national implications, and we will pick up on the tempo that has been embodied not just within what you've seen [with] the tea party…

ClickZ reports today that the GOP is quantifiably outperforming Democrats in online buying for House races in 2010:

The reach of American right-wing anger is wider than expected, infecting even liberals in Britain.

Questioning the timing: Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight committee, is demanding a slew of documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission, asserting that the timing of civil charges against Goldman Sachs raises “serious questions about the commission’s…

Police closed Lafayette Park today to public and press during a public protest of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, according to video shot on the scene. A handful of gay servicemembers chained themselves to the White House fence, and were removed and arrested, but the protest didn't…

This is a fantastic story about the Oregon Tea Partiers, and a statement on the power of good-humored, good-hearted messaging. Oregon teacher Jason Levin was put on administrative leave from his middle-school teaching position this week in connection with his work on the Crash the Tea Party…

To use one of the president's favorite words, this expansion of the Nanny State is unprecedented. The federal agency believes that, without further authorization from Congress, it can go ahead and take charge of our palates.

When did all these reasonable, Northeastern Republicans get so radical?

Where's the civility, I ask you? Was it not just this weekend that former President Bill Clinton warned that words have power, and that in voicing dissent, we should be careful not to get out of hand? And yet, here we have a group of protesters registering their discontent with the government…

Brussels: Vacations are a human right.

In defense of the Americanization of the British election.

You may be able to tell more about the tone of yesterday's Tax Day protest by the coverage it's getting at the Huffington Post. These are the Top 20 "most outrageous" signs the site could muster. Incredibly tame stuff, and one of the pictures is of a Tea Party infiltrator, not a Tea Partier. Even…

How fat are we these days? This fat.

A couple buddies are in a video contest being held by the Chamber of Commerce to celebrate free enterprise. All three videos below are entertaining and inspiring, so watch them to cheer you on this Tax Day. There's no voting required. They're judged on traffic, so watch and pass along if you like.

It's nothing too earth-shattering. Coats, dressed in a casual checked shirt, calls himself a "conservative" leader who likes tax cuts, babies, and the 2nd Amendment.

The Milwaulkee Journal-Sentinel caught the former governor before he gave a speech to a Tea Party gathering at the Wisconsin State Capitol today:

You know what else they probably have in common? Self-awareness.

When Sen. Chris Dodd decided to retire instead of seeking another term as senator, the conventional wisdom held that popular Connecticut Attorney General Dick Blumenthal would turn an at-risk seat into an easy win for his party.

The testimony of Rep. Heath Shuler, a Blue Dog Democrat of North Carolina, has been cited as corroborating evidence of Tea Partiers slinging racial slurs since the accusations were made after a March 20 health-care rally in Washington, D.C.

Cubans in Miami not ready to get on their feet for Gloria Estefan's latest collaboration.

Cubans in Miami not ready to get on their feet for Gloria Estefan's latest collaboration.

The President said on April 1 that it would take a little while for people's real feelings to register on health care:

Twitter has made it:

From the man who called his constituents "political terrorists" twice for showing up at town hall meetings to criticize him.

"Significant unintended consequences." Who woulda thunk it?

If there was ever an example of how little faith senators have in the free market, this is it. When Spirit Airlines announced last week it would start charging up to $45 for carry-on baggage, it caused an uproar with, well, everyone. In the media, around the water cooler, on Facebook walls around…

Barney Frank vs. the opthamologists at 30,000 feet. Are you ready to rumble?

Our freedom-loving lawyer friends at The Volokh Conspiracy have compiled a post exploring Obama's possible SCOTUS nominees' positions on the Second Amendment.

During 2009, Bob McDonnell ran a campaign many political observers hailed as a model for the post-Obama Republican, with good reason. His Northern Virginia roots combined with conservative values and tech savvy to create a promising Republican who stuck to pocketbook issues in a purple state and…

Hmm. CQ has reclassified California's Senate race:

Hawaii's special election to fill Rep. Neil Abercrombie's seat has been getting generous buzz for a week as Republican candidate Charles Djou has unexpectedly pulled even with possible Democrat challengers in Obama's home district. Abercrombie is running for governor.

Remind me. What is it that happens when you transparently call in sick with a fake illness for most jobs?

New Jersey's new Republican Gov. Chris Christie is not amused by an internal memo from a Bergen County teachers' union official, which "prays" for his death.

Third party candidate can't even save Reid, says new poll.

Peggy Noonan translates the testimonies to the Financial Industry Inquiry Commission.

There's a Voyeur joke in that headline, I'm sure of it...

The economy is the No. 1 concern for a majority of voters heading into 2010's midterm elections, but the deficit comes in close behind, particularly with all-important independent voters, according to a new Gallup poll.

White House advisor Paul Volcker made news this week by calling a value-added tax (VAT) "not as toxic an idea" as it's been in the past for tackling the nation's deficit problem. Today, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf confirmed he's been getting "a lot of questions" about the…

White House advisor Paul Volcker made news this week by calling a value-added tax (VAT) "not as toxic an idea" as it's been in the past for tackling the nation's deficit problem. Today, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf confirmed he's been getting "a lot of questions" about the…

There's a reason he's been called "an inspiration to dour, foolish men everywhere."

This is just fun TV. Rudy keeps it nice and clean while Scarborough plays bad cop. Scarborough's lines about Huffington's former support of Newt Gingrich and her run for California governor are particularly delicious.

"Basically, they’re going to try to make the election a referendum on that “Miss Me Yet?” billboard."

25 dead in West Virginia mine explosion.

We're all anti-statist home micro-brewers, now.

If only it had been a campaign promise to show up during every single important sporting event in the country during his first year in office, Obama would have quite an accomplishment under his belt.

Betsy Markey, a pro health-care vote whose district opposed it 60-30, thinks the health care issue could fade by November.

Color me surprised. Letterman invited a Tea Party activist onto his show, treated her kindly, did not seek to delegitimize her concerns at every turn, but nonetheless asked some tough questions. The result was a friendly, interesting interview:

Sarah Palin will host her first episode of "Real American Stories" Thursday April 1 at 10 p.m., with a line-up of celebrity guests and the story of a Medal of Honor recipient.

It does make me all warm and fuzzy:

Obamacare will make it more difficult for young adults to buy their own insurance because restrictions on age-based pricing will shift the costs of insuring the old and infirm to the young and healthy:

You'll be glad to know that, as with the Obama presidency before it, we have now moved from the "everything will miraculously change" portion of the Obama health-care pitch to the "I never said everything would miraculously change" portion. This comes from his speech selling health-care reform in…

House GOP leadership No. 2 Rep. Eric Cantor's home office in Richmond was shot at Wednesday night. It was his campaign office, not his congressional office:

I read an account from the Politico last night of Tea Party protesters allegedly placing a coffin outside the St. Louis home of Rep. Russ Carnahan.

If Verizon weren't in the mix, I'd be tempted to say this was a rural dudes with heavy machinery tax.

The Gallup poll that suddenly found a 49 percent favorability rating for the heretofore disliked Obamacare plan made a well-timed talking point for Democrats, but today we get two more polls that point in the opposite direction, emphatically.

The messaging mavens are working overtime once again on behalf of Democrats, who decided the best way to commemorate their passing of a bill 62 percent of the American public objects to was to order in lobster in honor of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.

This month's "Mad" magazine cover, below the fold:

This is Obama selling another element of his health-care plan that will go into effect this year, yesterday at the signing ceremony:

Obama, yesterday, touted the centerpiece of the health-care reforms that will go into effect this year. This is what he and Democrats are to run on for November. These are the advantages of the bill that are to bring about public opinion's swift and total 180:

Stimulus watchdog Earl Devaney has taken to his blog to clear up some "misconceptions" about the stimulus bill— "misconceptions" that came to light, oh, about a year ago. No word on why he's using a Pony Express time table to respond to criticism or how that might reflect on his ability to…

Poor Barack Obama can't catch a break with this guy around. All the historical import of this moment, all the lofty promises, and beautiful exhortations offered by the president.

Now, don't click before you guess!

Democrats claim the postponement happened because they don't want to miss the health-care bill signing or the White House party celebrating its passage.

Behold, the mindset of government officials who would perpetuate social ills to perpetuate their own funding. This is why government programs never die.

The White House has a slideshow up of Obama's furrowed brow in various positions along the path to health care.

A lot of folks (particularly those on the left) figure that now that health-care reform has been passed, the public will get its government health-care entitlements and like them and stop bothering to strain at the government bit. Democrats hope that'll happen before November.

It took more than a year, but this ought to be interesting:

Forthcoming: "While the subsidies don't start until 2014, many of the new taxes and insurance mandates will take effect within six months. The first result will be turmoil in the insurance industry, as small insurers in particular find it impossible to make money under the new rules. A wave of…

Bart Stupak, pro-life Democrat who was the leader of a bloc of hold-outs, just held a press conference announcing a deal he made with the White House to address his abortion concerns in an Executive Order. He announced that "8 or 9" pro-life Democrats will vote for health-care reform now, which…

Coming, as it does, after Obama's pep rally today, this announcement from an important swing Democrat is very interesting. Zack Space is afraid of taxes squeezing the middle class in the Senate versions of the bill:

Obama arrived in the visitors' center under the U.S. Capitol for a meeting with the House Democratic Caucus this afternoon that had the definite feel of a pep rally before a big game.

I just got back from a Tea Party protest and an anti-war protest (And, they think the righties are the unreasonable ones???), so I'm catching up on healthcare news.

The whole House Democratic Caucus is headed to the White House for a face-to-face with the man himself this weekend:

Update: Here is the Democrat denial on this memo, and the Politico withdrawal notice. Let's hope someone wasn't freelancing fake memos around the Hill. Or worse, had some direction to do so. It would be ever so unhelpful if, in highlighting Dems' budget tricks, Republicans get caught in a…

Update: Here is the Democrat denial on this memo, and the Politico withdrawal notice. Let's hope someone wasn't freelancing fake memos around the Hill. Or worse, had some direction to do so. It would be ever so unhelpful if, in highlighting Dems' budget tricks, Republicans get caught in a…

Sen. Tom Coburn, whose cranky floor speeches and Democrats-may-care attitude have charmed conservatives for years, laid down the gauntlet yesterday, telling Democrats that their special deals for health-care votes would be revealed and publicized when he found them.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Sen. Kent Conrad, speaking to Roll Call and Fox, says the Senate will likely be unable to pass unchanged the reconciliation bill the House passes, even if the House can pass it:

In his press conference today, the first held in the Rose Garden, Robert Gibbs announced that Obama will push off his trip to Indonesia and Australia to June so that he can be around for the health-care reform vote, expected to happen Sunday.

From Hotline:

The link to the full, new CBO score is, here (PDF).

This comes from the New England Journal of Medicine* (Correction/clarification below), writing about the Medicus Firm Physician Survey. Here are a few highlights:

Defying all odds, former Detroit City Councilwoman and wife of Rep. John Conyers became even more loathsome this week when it was announced she would be using a taxpayer-funded lawyer to overturn a guilty plea she herself made to cut a deal with the FBI.

From James Clyburn himself, whose job it is to count the votes Pelosi says she has:

As a lifelong Duke fan, I sympathize with Paul's position, but I also understand the importance of a basketball rivalry, especially during March.

The resolution being considered for introduction today reads, in part:

Rep. Dan Maffei of Syracuse voted for the House health-care bill, but was none too fond of the Senate bill as recently as March 8:

The car’s braking system, which cuts power to the engine when the brake pedal is moderately depressed, “was working as designed and would have easily stopped the vehicle,” Mr. Michels said.

From Rachel Maddow's show last night, here's a jaw-dropper from the woman who brought you, "We have to pass the bill, so you can find out what's in it." As I keep saying, the Democratic message mavens are working overtime, apparently to woo the all-important swing vote in Williamsburg to health…

From Rachel Maddow's show last night, here's a jaw-dropper from the woman who brought you, "We have to pass the bill, so you can find out what's in it." As I keep saying, the Democratic message mavens are working overtime, apparently to woo the all-important swing vote in Williamsburg to health…

If you listen beyond the media hysteria and Congressional flagellation of Toyota, you might just hear an intriguing buzz from folks involved in "sudden acceleration" cases of the past, many of which turned out to be bogus.

NYT: "The [Indonesia] trip is unusual, experts say, in that there is no economic summit or other multinational gathering for the president to attend."

The Virginia House of Delegates passed a law banning a federal mandate for health insurance in the state, should Congress pass a law containing such a requirement.The House of Delegates was the second, and easier, obstacle for the bill after the Democrat-controlled Virginia Senate passed the bill…

New York State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz introduced a bill on Friday that would prohibit the use of salt in making foods at restaurants. Says the bill:

In a scenario with shades of '06, Democrats and Republicans alike are trying to show their mettle on ethics reform after a House Ethics Committee revealed connections between contributions made by defense firms to a group of  seven Congressmen (5 Dems, 2 GOP) on a Pentagon subcommittee and the…

If this doesn't reassure Democrats in the House, I guess Van Hollen can just pass along Obama's heartening message: "The difference is me."

Congress Daily reports today that the Senate may try to find a way to pass the Senate bill without a final House vote. Sounds improbable, but Rube Goldberg would be proud.

Rep. Joe Donnelly, in an interview with his home paper, says he'd rather take the health-care bill piece by piece, and confirms he is a Stupak Democrat:

Wow, the message mavens have been working overtime in Democratic leadership this week.

The Florida Republican, now leading primary challenger and current governor Charlie Crist by 32 in one poll, released his first TV ad today. He sounded a common theme, saying "Washington is broken." Unlike Obama, he believes it's broken because it can't stop spending money, not because it can't…

Scott Brown to write his memoirs.

Yesterday, it was naked shower confrontations between Congressmen.

With all eyes on pro-life Democrat Bart Stupak of Michigan and the 12 so-called Stupak Dems who he says will vote 'no' on health-care reform without language that would ban federal funding of abortion, Stupak seemed to strike a sunnier note late yesterday:

The Sewall-Belmont house is one of the hottest places in the city for rich D.C. insiders to canoodle and raise cash at $1000-a-plate dinners, and — good news!—it's funded with your tax dollars. The funds can be funneled to Sewall-Belmont because it's also a museum of women's history and rights, and…

Alabama Democrat Artur Davis will come back from the campaign trail to vote against health care.

Will he stay or will he go, now?

To be fair, I too was pretty upset when Democrats set up promising conservative Mark Sanford with that attractive Argentine anchorwoman, thereby ending his national political aspirations:

The trouble with all those "public loves the public option polls": The trouble with these sort of polls is that they almost never ask the right followup questions: How much would you be willing to see your insurance premiums rise if "insurers [are banned] from excluding people because of…

Bunning on Bunning: When I saw the Democrats in Congress were going to vote on the extensions bill without paying for it and not following their own Pay-Go rules, I said enough is enough. Many people asked me, "Why now?" My answer is, "Why not now?" Why can't a non-controversial measure in the…

The making of a Marine: “Ultimately ... [it] was a duty I could not, and should not, leave for others to assume.”

The Senate Finance Committee's website is optimized for Netscape 4 or Internet Explorer 4. (H/t Ellen Miller)

First Pelosi, and now Hoyer:

He's perhaps an unlikely plaintiff in a challenge to Chicago's hand gun ban before the Supreme Court this week, but the 76-year-old South Side Democrat says his right to defend himself isn't about party.

Newsweek in 1995: "The Internet? Bah!"

This is great news, both in practice and symbolically. The new governor of Virginia aimed to save $40,000 from his transition budget, but managed to save the taxpayers $80,000 through a system of scrimping that taxpayers will no doubt appreciate during these tough times:

Nancy Pelosi said this morning that yet another health-care bill proposal will be ready "in days." It will come from the White House and will be smaller than either the House or Senate bills. Melody Barnes, a domestic policy adviser in the White House, said the new bill "borrows" from conversations…

Earlier this weekend, a Democratic source said Joe Kennedy III was considering running for Rep. William Delahunt's seat if he decided against a reelection run, but he says no:

The curse lives: "During his whirlwind visit to Las Vegas two weeks ago, President Barack Obama mentioned U.S. Sen. Harry Reid by name four dozen times, gave him a big hug and talked him up as if he was a long-lost brother...A larger percentage of voters surveyed (17 percent) said they would be…

Former President George W. Bush on his memoirs, due out in November:

The Founders would no doubt be glad to hear this.

Central Falls High School in Rhode Island has been among the state's lowest-performing schools for seven years. Only 7 percent of students are proficient in math, and fewer than half graduate.

Chart: "The stimulus bill and all the stops that the federal government pulled to save the economy and create jobs didn’t not help the private sector employees. On the other hand, it did show support for its own employees."

This is distributed by the GOP, but the praise from some unexpected sources confirms my gut feeling that the health-care summit is not going badly for Republicans. There was a general consensus that Obama "won" the last televised confrontation with Republicans in Baltimore. That assessment was…

ABC News notes this exchange between former campaign adversaries Barack Obama and John McCain, which will probably end up being the headline out of the summit, but it revealed something beyond sore egos from '08:

Harry Reid spoke, in his opening statement at today's health-care forum, about the possibility of using reconciliation to pass the bill— a tactic that Sen. Lamar Alexander asked Democrats to set aside during his opening statement. He expressed some faux incredulity that Republicans were even…

During the Democratic primary race, it was Hillary Clinton whose health-care plan used an individual mandate to increase health-care coverage.

Ol' Joe was off message again, talking to his home paper in Delaware just before today's health-care summit, which Obama has diligiently pitched as a truly productive, bipartisan gathering, despite all evidence to the contrary:

Israeli official says Dubai hit didn't interrupt intel operations: "Dubai authorities for some reason have a bee in their bonnet, and this tension will not go away. This was the underestimation of the Mossad."

When Tim Tebow's pro-life ad ran during the Super Bowl, I wasn't a fan of it. It seemed so innocuous as to be a lost opportunity. Why did Focus on the Family pay so much money, create such a ruckus only to punt (forgive the pun) the issue when the Tebows finally came on-screen? It was a nice ad,…

This week, the White House floated the idea of putting the SEIU's Andy Stern on its deficit commission. Presumably because labor unions are renowned for their skill in holding down costs.

Obama in '05: 51-vote nuclear option is arrogant power grab against Founders' intent.

Perhaps Donny Deutsch will argue that "coconut," a racial slur implying that a person of color is a sell-out who is brown on the outside and white on the inside, is far more nuanced than "Oreo," and therefore acceptable.

In talking to CPAC this week, George Will noted that the "agenda of dependence" is enabled by trial lawyers, the cultural result being the infantilization of the populace with warning labels like, "Do not fold stroller while child is inside."

White House spokesmen Robert Gibbs and Dan Pfeiffer started out the week of the  bipartisan health care summit by accusing Republicans, once again, of having no plan:

You mean Barack Obama showed up to declare his position after wrangling and tough choices by others had hammered out most of the details, so that he could hand down his slightly tweaked version of the basic consensus without actually solving any of the tough problems still on the table? Weird, that…

This may be the saddest passage you read about American culture this week. In a story from the New York Times headlined, "Once Stigmatized, Food Stamps Find Acceptance," we learn that the government has been using your tax dollars to market the giving away of your tax dollars in the form of food…

Hey, you know what the "Party of No" has that the president doesn't? A CBO score.

Obama to the Governors Ball: “One of the things I’ve always said about governors that Washington could learn from," Obama said, “is that it’s hard to be overly ideological as governor because the fact of the matter is, the rubber hits the road with you.”

Oops, again: "In a statement the authors of the paper said: 'Since publication of our paper we have become aware of two mistakes which impact the detailed estimation of future sea level rise. This means that we can no longer draw firm conclusions regarding 21st century sea level rise from this…

Oddly enough, a group of 88 self-righteous Duke professors has yet to issue a pre-trial conviction.

Palin: “Now the smart thing will be for independents who are such a part of this Tea Party movement to, I guess, kind of start picking a party.”

God bless Lance Cpl. Andrew Koenig:

On "Face the Nation" this Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden accused Mayor Bloomberg of NYC of inflating the estimated cost of holding the KSM trials in Manhattan:

And, the NYT wept: "Mr. Bayh’s decision staggered Democrats. It was the latest in a series of setbacks that illustrate just how far the party’s fortunes have fallen since President Obama came to office more than a year ago, sweeping big majorities into the House and Senate with him."

Just a thought for President Obama, but perhaps it is something like this scenario that leads "too many of our citizens [to lose] faith [in] our biggest institutions" including the federal government.

Ahh, the tolerance of the Left. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming about how Tea Partiers and town halls will be the ruin of the nation.

First off, let me say that moms with children deployed can wear pretty much whatever they want with their kids' names on it, and it's just fine by me. If Sarah Palin wants to wear a Track Palin sandwich board, she can have at it, and I'll tell her it looks great on her.

First, it was the spending freeze that sent economist and NYT columnist Paul Krugman into a tantrum, saying that Obama "liquidated himself" by "embrac[ing] and validat[ing] the Republican world-view."

When Michelle Obama was asked about Sarah Palin repeatedly by Larry King during an interview last night, she didn't get rude and off message by making fun of the former vice presidential candidate.

And, with that, Congress loses its only nuclear physicist, putting it in very bad shape indeed should a Bond-movie-style calamity arise in the capital.

And, with that, Congress loses its only nuclear physicist, putting it in very bad shape indeed should a Bond-movie-style calamity arise in the capital.

And, with that, Congress loses its only nuclear physicist, putting it in very bad shape indeed should a Bond-movie-style calamity arise in the capital.

Earthquake in Chi-town? I'm no Pat Robertson, but if I had to say, I'd blame Kanye West for this.

Sure it's a little-known holiday, but it is as intensely celebrated in Matt Labash's office as National Quilting Day or Wear Too Much Axe Body Spray Day. And, by Matt Labash's office, I mean the inexorably Phoenix-scented, desk-shaped pile of scrap printer paper and Gary Hart memorabilia under…

In a White House briefing where the president showed up (because Howard Kurtz wrote a column) to talk about his bipartisan health-care summit and getting beyond politics to solve problems, the White House press secretary used the dumbest political story of the week to take a shot at a former…

The Obama White House is apparently very serious about learning absolutely nothing from Massachusetts or the public's rapidly dwindling faith in Washington to solve any problem.

The future of journalism? Laid-off Washington Times sports reporter asks for cash to cover Nats.

This weekend, the Left freaked out at the revelation that Sarah Palin had notes on her hand during her speech in Nashville. I truly have no idea why this is an issue for the supporters of Capt. TelePrompter, but there you have it.

In his questions session with Democrats this week, Barack Obama chastised Republicans for not backing the Conrad-Gregg deficit commission, which failed to meet the 60-vote threshold to end debate last week.

I don't know what Al's complaining about. Bill Burton assured Democrats just this week that the White House "has no specific deadline" and has "made his principles clear."

Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO running for California governor, was first to go on TV with an ad this week. She's spent $19 million in the race so far, mostly on staff and a string of statewide radio spots:

"Mom, this is so embarrassing. Quit talking about my BMI on national television!"

If the president's dismal stats hold up, the GOP may be looking at two more Senate pick-ups. After presidential stumping in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts produced nothing but Democratic losses (and Kentucky basketball has its bone to pick, too), the president is headed out on the road for…

Two forces in TV and politics sit down and have, actually, a pretty nice conversation about Republicans, Fox News, Stewart's editorial sensibilities, health care, and the rest of it.

Katie Couric will interview the president live during the CBS pre-game show.

As Philip Terzian noted, Justice Thomas spoke at a law school this week where he addressed student questions about the Citizens United decision. Because it's just plain fun to hear justices get candid—particularly Thomas and Scalia— I'm pulling out some quotes from the event:

Yesterday, at his talk with Senate Democrats, Obama went after Republicans for putting holds on his nominees— a procedural right afforded all senators.

Eric Holder should read his hero Justice Jackson more closely: "The ultimate principle is that you must put no man on trial under the forms of judicial proceedings if you are not willing to see him freed if not proven guilty. If you are determined to execute a man in any case, there is no occasion…

Someday, when your children are grown and the election of 2010 has long past, people will ask where you were when the demon sheep first came to American politics.

Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton took his first turn behind the podium today, and was asked about the president's health-care remarks at yesterday's town hall during which he said he hoped to get health care done this year.

Reports were this morning that former Sen. Dan Coats was definitely in for a run against Sen. Evan Bayh in Indiana after fellow Hoosier Rep. Mike Pence said 'no' to the idea, perhaps with his eye on a 2012 presidential run.

Laws banning cell-phone use while driving have not lowered crash rates, according to a recent study, puzzling researchers and undoubtedly sending your friendly neighborhood statists scrambling for other studies to justify their meddling ways.

Eli Lake reports on yesterday's sobering annual threat briefing to the Senate:

Greg Mankiw on the sorry state of cap and trade.

A new Gallup poll shos 57 percent of Americans worry about too much government regulation of business, as opposed to 37 percent who worry about too little. When asked if they'd prefer less or more government regulation of business, Americans want less at a margin of 50-24 percent.

The founder of a non-profit group that promotes teaching of the U.S. Constitution stumbled on an early draft of it in Philadelphia this week, penned by James Wilson and entitled, "The Continuation of the Scheme."

Obama will be back on the campaign trail yet again today in Nashua, N.H. This will be his second town hall event since proclaiming in the State of the Union, "We can't wage a perpetual campaign."

When Reuters is reporting it this way, it can't be good for the administration: "The Obama administration's plan to cut more than $1 trillion from the deficit over the next decade relies heavily on so-called backdoor tax increases that will result in a bigger tax bill for middle-class families."

The video is here. It's worth watching.

It's much more entertaining than your average Obama speech, and it's on C-SPAN right now. You can watch online, here.

As Alito might say, what Obama claimed was not true: "While the Court reversed a 1990 decision allowing such a ban, it left standing current restrictions on foreign nationals and “entities.” Also untouched was a 100-year-old ban on domestic corporate contributions to political campaigns to which…

Last night, between criticizing Supreme Court justices and insisting that Republican leadership is necessary for his Democratic supermajority to pass anything, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) says Obama forgot to chart a path forward:

Apocalypse will not likely be the result of our reform plan, said the White House spokesperson. When you've reached this argument, you are losing badly. The White House's Dan Pfeiffer made this encouraging pitch for health-care reform today:

Sen. John McCain (via Twitter): "I agree with the Mayor...the trials of terrorists should be held in military courts at GITMO."

It is on this day that it's important to give your readers "fun facts" about the State of the Union address because, even though it is steeped in the glorious history and tradition of this great nation, let's face it—it's not that fun on its own.

He's innocent until proven guilty, but things do not look good for James O'Keefe—until recently a conservative folk hero for having busted ACORN by posing as a pimp with colleague Hannah Giles and secretly taping his interactions with the non-profit's employees, who were more than willing to help…

Let's just say there might be political and psychological benefits to backing Obama on this one. Read along with me:

She may have $5 million in the bank, but she knows it won't save her if she's part of reconciliation on health care:

This morning, the Politico reported on a strategy memo from DSCC Chairman Bob Menendez, urging Democrats to define their opponents early by asking a series of questions designed to pit Republican moderates and Tea Party activists against each other:

After several weeks of denial, Obama is ready to 'fess up to breaking the C-SPAN promise:

First up, we have what will certainly be an excrutiatingly long and boring SOTU speech outlining billions in new spending despite the fact that Obama just announced a spending freeze.

"Polls suggest that upper-middle-class voters, a crucial source of strength for the Democrats in the last election cycle, are souring on the president, and his support among non-college-educated whites remains as weak as ever. Again, this doesn't represent an embrace of Republican orthodoxy.…

Hey, to be fair, if it hadn't been for Virginia, New Jersey, Copenhagen, Copenhagen II, and Massachusetts, I'd have thought the same thing. Must be that Nobel Prize Obama's vibing on. How else do you explain this unearned bit of self-assurance?

The first hint came this weekend, when Joe Biden (careful as always) seemed to prematurely run his mouth about this decision to a Delaware political columnist.

"Security sources say an Egyptian was stopped last Saturday as he tried to board an American Airlines flight to Miami. A man from Saudi Arabia was banned from boarding a United Airlines flight to Chicago the next day and sent back to Saudi...Anti-terror officials said the past week had seen an…

This was the editorial from the local paper in Lorain, Ohio this morning as Obama prepared to speak to the public yet again:

An 83-year-old woman at Obama's Ohio town hall today asked him why seniors on Social Security didn't get a COLA increase this year. The reason was, of course, because deflation meant the cost of living actually went down, so a COLA wasn't needed.

TPM is to be commended for putting this together. It's a left-of-center reporting outlet, but it's a reporting outlet, and this video represents what has become a real problem for Obama. It is perhaps one of the principal impediments to reform that Obama thought he could just say it would happen…

For the first time ever, Obama trails a potential match-up in PPP's 2012 polling:

Josh Marshall on health care: "Let's say it's among the Undead."

Rep. Paul Ryan says so:

When Obama populism meets free speech, it's not pretty:

I like it. I tend to think Sen. Scott Brown would have looked a bit like a stunt, and Bob McDonnell is a solid choice.

The famous Capra film about an optimistic outsider's impact on a jaded, entrenched Washington is getting a lot of attention this week, as a friendly populist with a common name rides down to D.C. in his truck.

The ruling will remove decades-old limits on the amount corporations can spend on campaign ads and repeals part of McCain-Feingold, which prohibited advertising within the last days of an election.

You know things are looking better for the GOP when the editor of a women's magazine—a genre reliably, reflexively liberal in the little political/cultural commentary content it offers— is jumping on the publicity coattails of the newly elected Republican Senator from Massachusetts.

You can't smoke outside in L.A. now.

George Stephanopoulos interviewed the president:

Now that voter discontent has appeared in the bluest of blue states, and it's focused on the president's handling of terror, taxes, and health care, it's become much harder to marginalize Tea Party activists and other critics of the administration as:

Scott Brown appeared on the "Today Show" this morning, where a slightly sad Meredith Vieira asked him about how he was able to pull off his historic win.

Real Clear Politics has video of Rachel Maddow reading it. You won't believe it. Hard to imagine Dems passing health care when folks like Frank and Weiner are against the rough-shod strategy.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs:

Still early, but many smart folks feel good about Brown's chances.

The Coakley campaign held a conference call this evening to allege "voting irregularities" reported several supporters, who claimed they got ballots pre-marked for Brown.

Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin said he will issue a letter to the winner of the election if the win is decisive, but that the U.S. Senate must ultimately decide whether the winner is seated.

Back during the Massachusetts primary, I posited that "without a national symbol whom we are compelled by history and a constant barrage of media retrospectives to think of as a symbol of our national coming of age, hope lost and later lionized, Democratic primary politics can be a real bore,…

Well, presumably the president didn't cause Martha Coakley to call Curt Schilling a Yankee or to take a six-day vacation in the middle of a campaign, but the Coakley campaign argues there's plenty of blame to go around.

From the White House press briefing today, on what the president thinks of the state of the race in Massachusetts:

In this video posted by Real Clear Politics, a reporter with a video camera appears to get yelled at and kicked out of a Coakley campaign office by a man sporting a UFCW union shirt. Another man refers to the reporter/cameraperson as "Nazis like you" at the end of the video. Click here to watch.

The president's adviser, David Axelrod has praise for Brown and oblique criticism for Coakley today. It's amazing how quickly a helping hand becomes backhanded when it comes from the White House, no?

There's snow falling in parts of Massachusetts today.

Well, this is an interesting tidbit from the Politico-commissioned Insider Advantage poll today, which shows Brown up 9. Said Insider Advantage CEO Matt Towery:

Stu Rothenberg: "If you are looking for an analogy for a Republican victory in Massachusetts, the best one for Democrats may well be the stock market crash of 1929. Come Tuesday night, you could have Democrats jumping out windows and off roofs ..."

“I think you can make a pretty good argument that health care might be dead,” Rep. Anthony Weiner said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”

Coakley: "We think the polls are inaccurate," she continued. "It's just very difficult to figure out in a short race, special election, in a state race we've never had before. So until those votes are counted tomorrow, I don't think anybody knows what's going to happen."

52-45:

Where's Madisonianism when you need it, asks Boston College's law school dean?

Perhaps he can combine the hostage-tape demeanor of his web ad with the occasional bumbling and stale promises of yesterday's speech. And, of course, a super-awesome attack on Brown's GM truck.

Beware of overconfidence, but had to share this striking paragraph from Pollster. For what it's worth, Democratic sources are telling ABC that Coakley's internals showed her up by 2 last night.

Martin Luther King's last speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop."

Watch a bit of Coakley to begin with, so you get an idea of just how uninspiring a candidate Obama is lending his mojo to:

After a rousing speech from Obama about how people power can make a difference by electing a lackluster Democrat to the Senate, etc., unnamed sources are following on the president's efforts by saying they expect Coakley to lose:

President Obama will take his traveling Skillful Oratory Show to Massachusetts today. I'm sure he dislikes the circumstances under which he must travel to the Bay State—state-wide disillusionment and anger with an overreaching Obama agenda combined with a gaffe-prone Democratic candidate,…

The Swing State Project offers a very helpful map and chart of voting patterns across Mass., which even the most devout politicos have rarely had reason to study, as a Senate seat is never competitive. Check there for notes on how to read early returns Tuesday.

Well, it's no Rape Mail (the closer from the politically gifted minds at Camp Coakley), but Scott Brown's counting on his calmer argument being more effective: "There's only one tax cutter in this race, and it's not Martha Coakley."

Another report from a friend on the bus:

The Massachusetts Democratic Party sent out a mailer today that claims Scott Brown wants hospitals to turn away all rape victims in the state:

A report from a friend in Massachusetts:

Pithy and appropriate: "I've been called a lot of things, but never, and I mean never, could anyone ever make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan. Well, check that, if you didn’t know what the hell is going on in your own state maybe you could…."

Once again, the margin of error is 4 percent, so his lead falls within it on this likely voter poll. But a slim lead for Brown is becoming less and less surprising by the day:

Audio, here, where Ben Smith notes:

A senior Democratic official on Friday described Ms. Coakley’s chances as “within striking distance.”

Liberal MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz gets positively End Times when talking about the possibility of Scott Brown beating Martha Coakley in Massachusetts:

The seven-termer is leaving the "greatest professional honor of [his] life," and leaving a "toss-up" race in his wake with high hopes for a GOP pick-up:

As he should be, the press secretary is really getting it on the president's broken promise to show health-care negotiations on C-SPAN. His response, which consists of referring reporters to his two previous non-answers, is not good. Perhaps for Year Two of the Obama presidency, Gibbs will just…

As the D.C. crew and the president swoop in to save Martha Coakley, Scott Brown is up with this folksy radio ad:

Most news outlets are reporting that sources in Massachusetts and the White House say Obama will be campaigning for Coakley in Massachusetts, as the Tuesday special election nears. Sunday will be the day, ABC News reports.

Echoing Stuart Rothenberg's switch on the race, which cited Democratic "desperation" in part, CQ moves the Massachusetts senate race to the "toss-up" column today:

Well, this is just stunningly inept. The ad has since been pulled by the DSCC, naturally, but here's a copy of it in its original form:

It's still undecided whether Obama will actually go to the Bay State to campaign on behalf of Martha Coakley, but he has cut a robocall for her, funded by the DNC. I kind of like the intro, here, but let's hope it has more spirit than yesterday's web ad if they want it to do any good:

Axelrod elevates Rove in WaPo op-ed that takes the tone of a 9th-grader's burn book: "Rove has some impressive campaign victories to his credit. But given the shape in which the last administration left this country, I'm not sure I would solicit his advice. And given the backhanded advice he…

Just in case you had any doubt about whether Brown's line, "It's the people's seat" went over well with the people, the Coakley campaign has Kennedy's widow repeating it in the ad she cut for the lackluster Democrat:

In Massachusetts, gloomy Democrats are using the Creigh Deeds comparison. In November, Democrats eager to distance Obama from the losing campaign accused Creigh Deeds of Virginia of running such a bad gubernatorial campaign that it could only have been a reflection on him, not a referendum on Obama:

Another Brown ad hits Coakley on her 11th-hour fundraising event with health-care lobbyists in Washington, D.C.:

Stuart Rothenberg today cites Dem "desperation," Coakley's inability to own "change" message as annointed Democratic successor to Kennedy, and Brown's winning of "earned media" as reasons to change the race from "Narrow Advantage for the Incumbent Party to Toss-Up."

On the ol' Inspiro-meter, I'd say the president has hit that rarely reached sweet spot right between Droopy the Dog and Eyeore. Note, in particular, the deadness in his eyes as he closes out his appeal:

The combination of Obama's blatantly broken pledge to show health-care negotiations on C-SPAN and his approaching one-year anniversary of his inauguration has spurred a round of reflection on just how transparent the administration has been.

A well-meaning class of elementary school kids from Syracuse wrote President Obama a letter asking him to come build a snowman with them. They knew he probably couldn't come, but expected more than a form letter dated a week before they even sent their letter.

There's growing evidence that now that Republicans are the party out of power, they're finally closing the gap between Republicans and Democrats, when it comes to new technology. Long plagued by the question, "When will the GOP catch up online," necessity has now bred tech-savvy.

Video: The earthquake.

Sen. Chuck Schumer sent out a plea from Ted Kennedy's widow today with this charming introduction:

ABC News, 1/11/10:

“Our thoughts and our prayers are with the people of Haiti at this critical time. The president is very focused on his top priority, which is saving lives in this critical, initial 72-hour period. We’re also very focused on protecting American citizens who are in Haiti, and identifying them and…

Via Jammie Wearing Fool who says, "Heckuva job, Martha." In the paid-for line, Coakley's campaign writes:

It's one of the hallmarks of recent promising Republican campaigns to take an Obamaesque approach to attacking opponents. "No-drama" Obama always got his licks in, but rarely sounded unpleasant doing it. On the campaign trail and in office, he's had no problem with any number of surrogates making…

The administration says goodbye to "created or saved."

As if Roger Ailes didn't have Fox News on track to make enough money already. It likely galled the New York Times to report this on Sunday, in a piece on the "most successful news executive of the last 10 years:"

After Sen. Byron Dorgan unexpectedly announced his retirement last week, many suspected the move may have been precipitated by a tip that popular GOP Gov. John Hoeven was planning to run against him.

The people's paradise of Venezuela continues to ration electricity, and other scary things.

Harry Reid got his worst unfavorable rating yet in a Mason-Dixon poll commissioned by the Las Vegas newspaper this week, but the 70-year-old Majority Leader promises he will not be stepping aside to avoid a possible loss, as Sen. Chris Dodd did.

Today, a Rasmussen poll found that 44 percent of Americans believe Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the game today.

Maybe Ben Nelson's right and the federal government should have waited on health care in order to offer more economic incentives for new jobs.

Neither the determination of al Qaeda, nor the tactic used in this incident seem particularly shocking or new. Perhaps this kind of thing has something to do with a news search for "Napolitano" today bringing up three calls for her resignation.

When trying to recover from an intelligence "screw-up that could have been disastrous," it is wise to use spell check.

Ted Koppel: "I would classify it as an absolute triumph for al Qaeda."

At Tuesday's press briefing, Robert Gibbs took this tack in talking about the Christmas bomber and Obama's responsibility for breaches:

In an interview with the Pittsburgh newspaper, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), Arlen Specter's opponent in the Democratic primary, blamed Democrats for the plummeting popularity of the health-care bill.

Surprise: Humorless Media Matters unable to decipher ridiculous, humorous attack on them.

The president's well-known penchant for "making himself perfectly clear" has, in this case, created quite a quagmire for his press secretary to navigate.

In October, the Left and the media reveled in Arnold Schwarzenegger's endorsement of Obamacare, but my, how times have changed.

The razorback senator got prickly today about the special deal Harry Reid gave Ben Nelson in exchange for his vote on health care:

Two weeks before the special election to replace Sen. Edward Kennedy, the Boston Globe brings attention to criticism Democratic candidate Martha Coakley got in 2005 for seeming lax in the treatment of a rape suspect. Coakley's camp cannot be happy with the recounting of this story in the local…

You know he's bad off when MSNBC calls the Democrat "embattled."

Looks like Dodd will retire, too, making Connecticut's seat a somewhat harder pick-up for Republicans as Democrats will find a candidate who's less scandal-ridden. Too bad. I had hoped exposure to Kennedy had imbued him with enough of the "I'm an untouchable legacy whom the nation needs in…

That's a big, whopping, surprise retirement:

I can't say it any better, so I'll steal Talking Points Memo's reaction: Oh, snap!

Yesterday, several outlets reported that the Democrats would "almost certainly" forgo the official conference process to get a health-care bill passed, opting instead to negotiate largely behind closed doors. Now, C-SPAN and other media outlets are criticizing the plan's lack of transparency.

The newly revealed third party crasher at the White House's first State Dinner was a D.C. party promoter who reportedly arrived with the official Indian delegation and was waved in without a background check or invitation.

Flashback: The Left whined about Gallup in 2004.

Via Greg Sargent: A top House progressive, in a statement sent my way, ripped the Dem leadership's emerging plan to skip the traditional process to merge the House and Senate bills, claiming it will make it even tougher to improve the bill and slamming it for stifling real debate. The statement is…

Obama on health-care reform process, January 2008: "That's what I will do in bringing all parties together, not negotiating behind closed doors, but bringing all parties together, and broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are, because part of…

The city of Washington, D.C. is suing AT&T. Why? Because some customers who buy its prepaid calling cards don't always use up all the minutes. The city isn't suing on behalf of the customers, of course (though even that would be sort of silly). It's suing on the notion that when a customer doesn't…

Jen Rubin flags Brennan's response to Fox News' Chris Wallace this Sunday about the administration's decision to put the Christmas bomber in the criminal court system instead of treating him as an enemy combatant. Just as in the case of the decision to try certain Gitmo detainees in NYC, the…

Al Qaeda vs. Yemen's government: "They have called for a tribal rebellion against Saleh. The attack could be an assassination attempt on President Saleh. It could be a Western embassy or some other target in Yemen." The pollster is not the problem. The web makes the black market smoother in Cuba.…

David Broder: You know who deserves a gold star for her performance during the Christmas Day terrorist response? Janet Napolitano. Obama pledges to act quickly on solving security failures as soon as he gets back from vacation. Wikipedia pronounced Rush dead. Photos: Thank God it's 2010. Yes. Oops.…

The WSJ covers taxes and incentives. The death tax is going to die tonight, so family members and sick patients are trying hard to stay alive until Jan. 1. What will this story look like next year? "Just because I don't want my kids paying off national debts for their entire lives doesn't mean I'm…

Steyn: Government can't just annex "one-sixth of the U.S. economy" (i.e., the equivalent of annexing the entire British or French economy or annexing the entire Indian economy twice over) and then just say: "OK, what's next? On to cap-and-trade." Nations that governmentalize health care soon find…

Iran and terrorists on the docket for 3 p.m. Eastern: "This morning, soon after 10:00 a.m. HST, the President will address the public on the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day. He will describe the immediate steps the government has taken to ensure the safety of the traveling public. He…

chris-dodd.jpg Welcome home, Senator! Dodd is facing a tough re-election bid and at least one man at Bradley International Airport let him know just how tough it will be. "You're not gonna get re-elected," the man said. "Nice. Merry Christmas," Dodd responded. Indeed, is it so much to ask that the…

Nope, Tom Friedman, cap-and-trade is not like insurance: "Presumably, Friedman assumes that the proposed palliatives of cap'n'tax or carbon taxes meet that criterion, but he doesn't do the calculations for us, because he can't. Warm mongers like him propose to spend trillions of dollars now to…

In early November, Democratic representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida accused House Republicans of giving women "back-of-the-hand treatment" during a parliamentary dust-up over a health care debate.

NOW and pro-lifers finally agree on something. NOW's leader: "The so-called health care reform bill now before the Senate, with the addition of Majority Leader Harry Reid's Manager's Amendment, amounts to a health insurance bill for half the population and a sweeping anti-abortion law for the rest…

In a floor speech today, Sen. Mitch McConnell used Obama's own precipice imagery against him (although he was kind of working against himself already with "precipice"): "There's a good chance [Dems] will not be able to get their members to lock arms & walk off a cliff." McConnell and McCain also…

You heard it here first! On Dec. 9, Matt Continetti wondered if Burris might be the health-care wildcard. Looks like he remains undecided: Burris, you'll recall, is one of the junior-most senators, having landed in the Senate shrouded in suspicion after being appointed by disgraced governor Rod…

Everyone hates the individual mandate. Barack Obama has brought us together! David Axelrod counting on the fact that the health-care bill, once implemented, will be so awesome, everyone will change their minds: They also believe -- as senior adviser David Axelrod's unsolicited call to "Morning Joe"…

In an interview with a Nebraska radio station this morning, Sen. Ben Nelson splashed some more cold water on Harry Reid's ambitions. (Listen to the whole interview, here.) If the abortion issue were solved to your satisfaction, would that enough for you to vote for you to go along with the bill?…

scarecrow.jpg Scott Stanzel nominates the hardest-working man in politics this year: Straw Man should be the person of the year. He's been employed by President Obama so much this year that he is certainly the busiest person in Washington...Most of the time he is referred to by his nicknames "some…

From the Mercatus Center and the Examiner comes some new insight into how stimulus money was distributed, and it seems to have had little to do with the economic condition of its recipients: "You would think that if the stimulus money was actually spent to create jobs, there would be more stimulus…

Washington: Sounding a more centrist note, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday there is a "fierce determination" to reduce the deficit..."We have got to send a message about our concern for the deficit," said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). Copenhagen: Danish hosts re-launched U.N. climate talks on…

Karl Rove: The President is makin' history. Bad history. Pawlenty in N.H.: "President Obama was here in New Hampshire on New Hampshire primary night and said he was going to fix health care by bringing Republicans and Democrats together," he said. "Well, here we are in New Hampshire and now what we…

Gibbs, at the press briefing today: "I don't think any rational person would say killing a bill is better at this point." Today's NBC/WSJ poll: Just 32 percent say it's a good idea, versus 47 percent who say it's a bad idea. In addition, for the first time in the survey, a plurality prefers the…

Schumer was apparently under the impression that the rule is no one can use their Blackberries during take-off and landing except super-important people. Sen. Chuck Schumer called a flight attendant an obscenity aboard a recent U.S. Airways flight, Politico.com reported. The New York Democrat…

On "Morning Joe," he had this to say: "We are moving toward 60 - we think we'll have it by next week," Durbin said during an appearance on MSNBC. "There's so many positive things in this bill, I think we see our way to pass it and make things significantly better for most families." He gives the…

Lieberman says yes. Sherrod Brown: "I'm going to vote for it. I can't imagine I wouldn't. There's too much at stake." Roland Burris is still a no. And, the American people say, "Not no, but hell no." Milblogs go silent today in support of C.J. Grisham. Chuck Todd: Napolitano to SCOTUS? It was…

It was with an odd statement that Obama announced the progress he had made in meetings with Senate Democrats today on the health-care bill he's desperate to pass by Christmas, no matter what's in it. "We are on the precipice of an achievement that has eluded Congresses and presidents for…

Bart Gordon of Tennessee says no thanks to next year's political environment: Another senior Democratic congressman from a competitive district said Monday he would retire, heightening pressure on party leaders seeking to avoid a 1994-style election defeat that would change control of the House.…

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) gave us a rare moment of honesty about monstrous health-care reform legislation from the floor of the House yesterday: "Can I sit up here or stand here with a straight face and say, we have got strong cost-containment provisions in this legislation? That if you're an…

Neat: Stephen King pays almost $13,000 for Maine troops to come home for Christmas before shipping out for Afghanistan. Video: The Nobel after party featured Will Smith, Wyclef Jean, and Toby Keith? Obama's approval level hits lowest ever (46%) for a first-year president in December. Why are Dems…

"When your neighbor loses her job, it's a recession. When you lose your job, it's a depression. And when federal workers not only keep their jobs but see their pay rise during a recession, it's something else altogtether."

"When your neighbor loses her job, it's a recession. When you lose your job, it's a depression. And when federal workers not only keep their jobs but see their pay rise during a recession, it's something else altogtether."

This is the video that was shown at the opening ceremonies in Copenhagen, commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark specifically for this high-profile, international gathering. Spanning a mere four minutes, it nonetheless hits every fear-mongering point of the climate alarmists…

Angelina Jolie skeptical of Obama's engagement on Darfur: "There will be pressure on the United States and its partners to bring stability to Sudan, even at the expense of criminal accountability. Regardless of the rationale, the end would be the same: victims left without justice while…

You know what the problem is? The "noise machine of the climate deniers." Yep, that's the problem. Gore spoke to Slate yesterday, dismissing the ClimateGate correspondence as "private exchanges" (which, by the way, he hasn't read) from more than "10 years ago," taken "wildly out of context." Q: How…

AP Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world: I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations - that for all the cruelty and…

Megan McArdle on ClimateGate: The data doesn't have to be faked to be wrong. George goes to GMA. Of course he will: "Obama to personally push bank CEOs to lend more" What do you mean, "you people?" Thomas the Tank Engine is an insidious example of right-wing classism and sexism being taught to your…

reidsnuggie2.jpg A Tennessee mayor has apologized for saying on this Facebook page that the president intentionally pre-empted the Charlie Brown Christmas Special with his Afghanistan speech. In what looks like it amounted to a very bad and badly delivered joke, the mayor also accused him of being…

Yes, from our moral and intellectual betters at the New York Times comes the culmination of diversity awareness-the separate but equal holiday gift guide. Mediaite reports: What I would like to know is who thought this was a good idea? In this year's NYT's Annual Holiday Gift Guide there is a…

The AP Fact Check takes a rather skeptical view of the president's speech yesterday. The vaunted news organization finds that (gasp!), the young president wants it both ways: In President Barack Obama's hands, the $700 billion financial rescue fund offers a bit of bookkeeping magic: an opportunity…

NP_315125_DAMA_bpdog_97055d.jpg Photo: St. Petersburg Times The Nanny State will not be moved by reason nor public uproar nor puppy-dog eyes in its mission to keep Slim Jims sanitary: Cody, a chocolate Labrador, has for months greeted customers at the Clearwater BP gas station and convenience store…

In the race no one cared about, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley got the Democratic nod yesterday and Republican Sen. Scott Brown will be the Republican nominee. Top Republicans and Democrats congratulated the respective winners of the seat long occupied by Kennedy, a fixture in…

The NYT dismisses Climategate, but seems to go all "denier" in this paragraph: "Science is about probability, not certainty. And the persisting uncertainties in climate science leave room for argument. What is a realistic estimate of how much temperatures will rise? How severe will the effects be?…

When he's not getting in fights with reporters asking questions about the social secretary, Robert Gibbs is now getting in fights with...poll numbers. Gibbs had this to say about Gallup, whose daily tracking poll found Obama at his lowest point yet yesterday-47 percent: "If I was a heart patient…

Well, the Conyerses never are shy about speaking their minds. Tension has been rising between the Michigan Democrat and Obama, who reportedly called Conyers last week to ask him to stop "demeaning" him. Obama's decision to challenge Conyers highlights a sensitivity to criticism the president has…

A six-and-a-half foot statue of President Obama as a 10-year-old boy has been commissioned in Jakarta, Xinhua reports. Presumably, the inscription will read: "Didn't you know I would be in my Father's house?" I do want to take issue, briefly, with one sentence of the ABC report: The president spent…

As expected, the Left is not happy about what it heard from Clinton, Gates, and Petraeus this Sunday. "There is no deadline." "We're not talking about an exit strategy or a drop dead deadline.""There's no timeline, no ramp, nothing like that." Now in Afghanistan, Sec. of Defense Robert Gates is…

AP081112038757.jpg AP The fail is epic. Unprecedentedly epic, as the president might say: BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man was arrested for throwing tomatoes at Sarah Palin during her book signing on Monday at the Mall of America. Jeremy Olson, 33, allegedly threw two tomatoes from the second…

Fewer than 500,000 expected to vote in primary for Ted Kennedy's seat. Coakley leads Capuano by double digits. Is it a bad sign for Democratic enthusiasm that you probably didn't even remember this was happening today? Gallup: Obama hits new approval low, at 47 percent. Hey, how about we overhaul…

Editor's note: In honor of the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, we are sharing this 2009 piece about Lt. John William Finn, the longest surviving Medal of Honor recipient from that battle. Finn passed away in 2010 at the age of 100.

We've heard from the Obama White House that July 2011 is "etched in stone" for beginning of withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the time that statement was released, I took comfort in the fact that an Obama stone usually operates like an Etch-a-Sketch, so there would remain a chance at changed strategy…

The country is experiencing a dire shortage of Eggo waffles after two complications at Kellogg's Atlanta plant halted production for months. When the Georgia Department of Agriculture found a bacteria problem in the factory in September, Kellogg went to work correcting that. Just as the plant was…

Now, I'm not always a huge fan of the White House press corps, to be sure, but must the president make excuses for himself by making things up about them? At the end of Obama's jobs summit Thursday, Barack Obama put the press corps on the long list of adversaries who are standing in the way of the…

How much does Sarbanes Oxley cost? "Section 404 is still consuming more than $2.3 million each year in direct compliance costs at the average company. The SEC's survey shows the long-term burden on small companies is more than seven times that imposed on large firms relative to their assets. Are…

There were only two stories this week about famous people showing up on packages of illicit drugs. One was Edward, the stoic vampire of "Twilight" fame, played by tween sensation Robert Pattison. The other was Barack Obama. As a wise ad once said, "He's the biggest celebrity in the world."

Absent the Camelot "aura," the nation has been relieved of its obligation to care deeply about the senate seat in Massachusetts, and it has responded enthusiastically with an utter lack of enthusiasm: But the race to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy has become anything but a battle royal.…

Polanksi begins house arrest in Swiss ski chalet. Hollywood may be able to stop weeping briefly, now.

The last frontier in idiotic home owner's association rules? 90-year-old Medal of Honor recipient can't put a flag in his yard. Noonan on Obama's redeclaration of war: "The Democrats for eight years had been removed from daily national responsibility-the party out of power always is-and in any case…

You may remember a rash of media reports in August and September about a claim that assassination threats directed at President Obama are up 400 percent over previous presidents, stretching the Secret Service to its limits. The claim came from a book by NewsMax's Ronald Kessler, "In the President's…

The sentiment should be, "Hey, what we may be asked to sacrifice to be in session on a Christmas Eve is nothing compared to what our men and women in uniform sacrifice every day of their comfort and safety in order to keep us safe from threats." Instead the sentiment is, "If that soldier can be on…

The number of Americans identifying as Democrats, though still hovering above Republican identification, fell two points in November alone: The number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats fell by nearly two percentage points in November. Added to declines earlier in the year, the number…

You can't get much more Washington than this: Reports from stimulus recipients show that a sizable sum has gone to federal contractors in the Washington area who are helping implement the initiative -- in effect, they are being paid a hefty slice of the money to help spend the rest of it. The…

At an FTC workshop on the future of media entitled, "How will journalism survive the Internet age?" this week, the usual suspects were begging for a hand out, led by Rep. Henry Waxman. "Government's going to have to be involved, in one way or the other," to save journalism from an ongoing "market…

Der Spiegel jumps ship: "Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false...It was two speeches in one. That is why it felt so false. Both dreamers and realists were left feeling distraught. The American president doesn't need any opponents at the moment. He's already got himself."…

'Doh! Obama and Tiger Woods appear on Photoshopped cover of Golf Digest together this month. Clinton, Gates, McChrystal: July 2011 not "locked in," and president could change his mind based on conditions. Obama says July 2011 troop withdrawal "etched in stone," but an Obama stone usually operates…

ClimateGate III: The Mysterious Missing Data Courting Sen. Collins. Teach them young: College Democrats implicated in Ohio election bribery scheme. The dreaded X on Afghanistan. Video: Howard Dean talks about the peaceful coexistence of socialism and capitalism in the U.S. The overwrought Time…

He appears to be referring to West Point cadets as Obama's "enemy camp," politically speaking, based on skeptical looks in the audience and the absence of lots of cheering. To be fair, the audience is quiet partly because it's a highly disciplined group of cadets accustomed to following strict…

From the desk of Sen. John McCain: "The President has made the right decision to embrace a counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan and to resource it properly. I think the 30,000 additional U.S. troops that will deploy as part of this mission, plus greater allied commitments, will enable us to…

Chuck Todd of NBC was reporting that the relatively late release of excerpts was because Obama was still "tinkering" with the speech as of 6 p.m.: The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 - the fastest pace possible - so that they can target…

wood17.jpg You know, sometimes I give short shrift to meddlesome lawmakers and busy-body bureaucrats, merely harping on them for their unnecessary interventions instead of recognizing them for their creativity. Sometimes statists need love, too. For instance, the Virginia legislature should be…

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Arizona sheriff famous for his tough stance on illegal immigration, appeared at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication's interview series for students and journalists Monday. He took questions for more than 40 minutes before…

"Today's" Matt Lauer lands the first, coveted interview with....the Salahis. Floodgates, open.

washington_Maurice-_652766a.jpg Clemmons, on the run since he killed four police officers in an execution-style ambush at a coffee house, has been shot by Seattle police. Several news sources are reporting him dead: Police radio traffic monitored over the internet suggested that the suspect,…

Ain't no party like a holiday Tea Party, 'cause a holiday Tea Party don't stop. Democracy Corps: "The survey found that voters now say, by a three-point margin (45% to 42%), that Republicans would do a better job on the economy than Democrats. That's a change from the 16-point lead Democrats had in…

Nancy Pelosi: In a recent press release, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., argues that constitutional objections to the individual mandate are "nonsensical," because "the power of Congress to regulate health care is essentially unlimited." Here's the fact check release, in full, from September.

The Tiger Woods story reveals the occasional trouble with Google ads, in my Google News search for "golf:" tigerwoods.jpg In case you've been in a turkey-coma since Thursday, you know by now that Woods was involved in a single-car accident in his own driveway at 2:25 a.m., which left him lying in…

Joy Behar, let us remember, has her own news show on HLN. This is the exchange between Whoopi Goldberg and Behar on "The View" about Black Friday: GOLDBERG: Oh, hello and welcome to ‘The View.' Today is Black Friday, all day long," Goldberg said. "And I'm going to stay black all day because of…

The White House Chanukah Party will be lower on cheer this year. The Obama administration has decided to cut the guest list in half for the annual soiree, setting up a political minefield for staffers faced with a deep roster of Jewish staffers and donors, which must be winnowed: During the Bush…

"Opaqueness and secrecy are the enemies of science," wrote George Monbriot, a leading British environmentalist. "There is a word for the apparent repeated attempts to prevent disclosure revealed in these emails: unscientific." Who doesn't love a new Marine? (link corrected) Tuesday: Obama's Speech…

Geraldine Davie has already seen one 9/11 co-conspirator tried in the United States, and that was enough for her. "I went to the Moussaoui trial every day," says Davie, of the years-long prosecution of the "20th hijacker" Zacarias Moussaoui in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. "That was a…

So, what's the verdict? A long-awaited moment of uncharacteristic self-deprecation? Or, politically tin-eared joke about fake jobs numbers in a time of high unemployment? Either way, it's an admission that everyone knows the numbers are, indeed, nonsense: "All told, I believe it's fair to say that…

Announced by ABC: The network has announced "Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special," which includes an interview with the president, a conversation with the First Couple and tour of the White House. The special marks the first time Winfrey has interviewed Obama since he took…

It's a day for comeback rumors in the political news world. The Washington Post reports that Terry McAuliffe is not letting go of his quest to terrorize serve the good people of Virginia. Terry McAuliffe, the millionaire businessman who ran unsuccessfully for Virginia governor this year, is…

"We need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants under certain conditions," said...Lou Dobbs? A tax on plastic surgery isn't a tax on the rich. 13 smart links on the global-warming uproar, all in one post. A Black Friday gadget-sale list, for your shopping pleasure. The economy needs you to buy…

Jason Linkins at the Huffington Post thinks Mark Halperin's "Something About Mary"-style Photoshop of Mary Landrieu is inappropriate. I agree. I'm a sucker for pop-culture references, but there's a sexual connotation (even if it is more juvenile than degrading), and it shouldn't be used to diminish…

Iain Murray offers a useful primer on e-mails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia in the UK (mentioned by Goldfarb, here), hacked and publicized, which revealed systematic, less-than-scientific treatment of data in order to bolster global-warming claims. Read the…

Another episode of right-wing violence that wasn't, kind of like the entire month of August's town halls: A U.S. Census worker found dead in a secluded Clay County cemetery killed himself but tried to make the death look like a homicide, authorities have concluded. Bill Sparkman, 51, of London,…

...I bring you the State Dinner menu. First item: Potato and Eggplant Salad White House Arugula with onion seed vinaigrette 2008 sauvignon blanc, Modus Oprendi, Napa Valley, California Perhaps the price at Whole Foods is no longer an issue because they're growing it in the garden? "Anybody gone…

What's the best way to win in a Republican primary? Well, Charlie Crist is charting the path to victory by reducing the Republican base to a stereotype favored by the likes of Daily Kos, the New York Times, and Chris Matthews: "It's hard to be more conservative than I am on issues - though there…

Mary Landrieu was awfully upfront about her $100 million vote in Senate debate Saturday: "I will correct something. It's not $100 million, it's $300 million, and I'm proud of it and will keep fighting for it," Landrieu told reporters after her floor speech. "But that is not why I started this…

Mmm, Mmm, Mmm. No breast exams for mama. "Not that it matters politically because obviously she's a female Republican dunce and he's a male Democrat genius. But Sarah Palin's poll numbers are strengthening. And President Obama's are sliding. Guess what? They're about to meet in the 40s." "The five…

eric-holder-barack-obama.jpg Sen. Chuck Grassley asked Attorney General Eric Holder in a hearing Wednesday for a list of the employees at Dept. of Justice who might have to recuse themselves due to conflicts of interest over detainees. Some DOJ employees and their former firms represented and…

It was reported this morning that Obama would not be letting us enjoy our Thanksgivings without a cameo from him, and now THE WEEKLY STANDARD has acquired this copy of the upcoming ad: All right, I kid. The real ad is here, but almost equally weird.

Old and busted storyline: Tea Parties are aggressively, throughly corporate-organized Astrotuf. New hotness: Tea Parties not organized enough. Tea Parties: Illegitimate if you do. Illegitimate if you don't.

It is things like this that make me love the Internet. This week, MSNBC's intrepid Norah O'Donnell, with the help of a team of producers and researchers, bravely confronted a 17-year-old girl in line for a Palin book signing about the ideological consistency of her t-shirt. The young woman is,…

slideshow_695060_gafoot.0831_CC31.jpg The University of Georgia is mourning its mascot, Uga VII, who unexpectedly died of a heart attack yesterday at four years old. He had served fewer than two seasons as the football team's mascot, the shortest tenure of any in the long line of English Bulldogs…

As you may have noticed during the health-care debate, on almost every iteration of the bill, we get a CBO score and then a real cost revealed later, which Democrats reluctantly own up to once confronted with it. For the House bill passed last week, the true cost was $1.2 trillion. This is because,…

The mammogram message: "Democrats cannot afford to lose the support of women on this issue, but the announcement plays into a narrative already advanced by the pro-choice movement that ObamaCare will ration healthcare for women. The Obama administration is clearly worried about this." And, this…

I cannot compete with Allahpundit's write-up of this exchange, from the Holder hearing today, so go forth and read his take. Holder says Miranda wouldn't be an issue in KSM trial or Osama bin Laden's because the evidence is so overwhelming against the two that prosecutors wouldn't need "custodial…

Attorney General Eric Holder seemed to take an unorthodox view of the guarantees of the American justice system today during a committee hearing about his decision to try 9/11 co-conspirators in federal courts in New York City. Asked by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) if the justice department had…

douglas-elmendorf.jpg For anyone who's been in Washington for the past year, it's become increasingly obvious that the only moments of true bipartisanship come when everyone in the city is waiting for Douglas Elmendorf to deliver a CBO report. No matter which persuasion, political junkies…

There are thoughtful arguments to be made against Sarah Palin's future as a national politician, her persona as a conservative folk hero, her political ideology. Relatively few liberals or critics in the media bother to make them. It's a testament to how thoroughly they caricatured her the first…

The doc-fix's decline: The conflicting maneuvers suggest that, rather than a permanent solution, the best the doctors might get is yet another one- or two-year fix, which could threaten their support for health care reform. Stop the presses: Obama "braved" freezing temperatures in China. What's the…

According to a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report: CMS took a close look at the health care bill that was passed by House Democrats and endorsed by the White House, and it found that not only would the bill not reduce health care costs -- it would increase them. Time and again, we…

In light of ABC's reporting on the Obama adminstration's reporting do-over on stimulus jobs, which slashed 60,000 jobs from the count due to funky reports, please click over to this new interactive map of bogus stimulus job reports. Hey, Recovery.gov has its map. And, now recovery doubters have a…

Jen Rubin corrects the L.A. Times: "And to prevent (Ft. Hood) from happening again, we need to get over the diversity fetish (which imagines that Americans are too dumb to distinguish between nonviolent Muslims and those who've adopted a murderous ideology) and get on with the business of fighting…

Via Philip Klein: Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who as a judge presided over a trial stemming from the first attack on the World Trade Center, on Friday warned that the Obama administration's decision to bring Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York, along with three other…

My, if I didn't know better, I'd think it's 2008 all over again. This morning, Dylan Ratigan of MSNBC brought us this great moment in journalism, using a well-known Photoshopped picture of Sarah Palin (used repeatedly in the original '08 systematic smear of Palin) in a bikini in his raunchy segment…

This week, the New York Times ran an in-depth story critical of popular charity Kiva.org. The organization, lauded in a 2007 column by Nicholas Kristof, claimed until recently to let "you lend to a specific entrepreneur, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty." Kiva connects Westerners…

"The result is a Rube Goldberg scheme of penalties and inducements, creating a system that is ripe for gaming...As the system gets gamed, the costs will be much, much higher than CBO is estimating." "Obamacare is predicated on the assumption that the federal government has the knowledge, capacity,…

A couple clips from her upcoming appearance on Oprah. After you've watched these, you can tune in to see Matt Continetti on Sean Hannity's show tonight, talking about his new Palin book. In the first, she talks about how she knew the Couric interview was not a good performance:

Maj. Hasan Nidal: Psychiatrist and Soldier of Allah: United States Army Major Nidal Hasan proclaimed himself a "soldier of Allah" on private business cards he obtained over the Internet and kept in a box at his apartment near Fort Hood, Texas. The cards make no mention of his military affiliation,…

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post threw a fit in print yesterday over the "lies" Republicans unleashed on those watching C-SPAN Saturday night as the House worked to pass Pelosi's health-care bill. In the column, she muses with impressive intellectual nuance, "Are Republicans against figuring out…

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post threw a fit in print yesterday over the "lies" Republicans unleashed on those watching C-SPAN Saturday night as the House worked to pass Pelosi's health-care bill. In the column, she muses with impressive intellectual nuance, "Are Republicans against figuring out…

Things that might have been helpful in January: A jobs summit. 12 reasons unemployment is going to (at least) 12 percent "California law used to say property was unclaimed if the rightful owner had had no contact with the business for 15 years. But during various state budget crises, the waiting…

When I attended Michele Bachmann's impromptu rally against Pelosi's health-care bill last week, I met a lot of just-plain-good folks. Media accounts ignored them in favor of a sprinkling of offensive signs, although the Huffington Post wasn't able to muster even 12 offensive signs from the rally of…

84-year-old WWII veteran seeks Purple Heart and Silver Star for his 87-year-old lieutenant. The following is transcribed from my grandfather's letter home from the front to my grandmother. Veterans Day photo of the day "But what's striking to me this Veterans Day is how healthy the military is,…

lieberman1.jpg As Stephanie Tanner would say, "How rude!" At the meeting's conclusion, the two leaders walked out to the adjoining room where the Israeli and American delegations were talking. "So," Obama announced, according to the source in the room, "we've decided that we are going to trade our…

Just as Rep. Alan Grayson, who called the health-crisis an American "Holocaust" on the House Floor gets far less criticism for his remarks than stray private citizens carrying rude signs at Tea Party rallies, this ought to slide by left bloggers and the media without notice, too: Sir Ian McKellen…

SusetteKelo.jpg Susette Kelo, above, fought to keep her little, pink house in New London, Conn. for years, as the local government teamed up with a big business to muscle local homeowners off their property through eminent domain. The local government promised her property to Pfizer, so the company…

In a rare instance of political good news from my hometown,a Duke University professor is publishing a book about the Danish Mohammed cartoons controversy, which will include-wait for it-the actual cartoons in question: The book includes all the images that were omitted by the Yale University Press…

"Twenty years ago, on November 9, 1989, the most visible symbol of totalitarian evil, the Berlin Wall, tumbled down. Two years later, the Soviet Union officially dissolved on Christmas Day 1991. The fall of the Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union transpired in relative calm, but they…

Good times in Sean Penn's favorite country. U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated with al Qaeda, two American officials briefed on classified material in the case told ABC News. Mark Steyn: Degrees of…

27.jpg Today, Robert Gibbs lamented some of the offensive signs at Bachmann's anti-health bill rally (of which there were some, but not enough to even fill out HuffPo's 12 Most Offensive slideshow): "I will continue to say what I've said before. You hear in this debate, you hear analogies, you hear…

The suspect is at large: Eight people have been shot, two of them fatally at an office building at 1000 Legion Place in dowtown Orlando. Police are looking for a suspect wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans. A witness tells FOX 35 the shooter is a former worker who was employed in the building. He…

pelosiesnuggie.jpg It's a flash from MSNBC, with no details yet: Dem leader says House health vote may be delayed due to lack of support Update: A House leader says Democrats haven't yet lined up enough votes to pass their health care overhaul bill. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland says the…

alg_kimberly_munley.jpg Her name is Kimberly Munley: Army officials say the suspect, "the lone shooter" for this tragic incident, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is currently on a ventilator at a nearby civilian hospital and the police officer who gunned him down, Kimberly Munley, a civilian Fort Hood…

At a thoroughly surprising evening press conference, Lt. Gen. Robert Cone at Fort Hood told media gathered that the shooter in today's attack, Malik Nidal Hasan, is not dead but in stable condition at the hospital. Cone said there was a "confusion at the hospital" and an officer had been with Hasan…

You know, if Israel insists on boarding innocent Iranian ships headed for Hezbollah like common pirates, it just puts us further from peace. Some Dem incumbent governors are looking....Corziney for 2010. Tea Partiers come to the Hill again for Bachmann's "House Call." Rove: The GOP is back in the…

Via John McCormack, who's still on the road back from NY-23, comes this quote from pro-life Bart Stupak (D-Mich.): "I am disappointed the manager's amendment introduced Tuesday night does nothing to change, let alone improve, the inadequate language on federal funding for abortion currently in the…

The White House followed CNN's cue today:

672px-SMPTE_Color_Bars.jpg "The Place for Poltics" Remember that time in '08 when Brit Hume signed off in a huff and went home because Obama and Dems were destroying Republicans at the polls? Yeah, me neither. But then, Fox isn't a "real" news organization, so no wonder MSNBC does things…

Feel free to have the New Jersey one made into a poster for your office door, a wallpaper for your computer, or a giant applique for your golf bag (the shape lends itself). I will not judge you. The Virginia one is more suitable for toaster cozies and rear-window graphics for your truck.…

CNN is helpful for the White House this morning, offering this banner on its Politics page: CNNObama.jpg One CNN prominent analysis is, "This time, all politics was local" by left-leaning pollster Nate Silver. He leads with the Conservative Party loss in NY-23 (the fault of conservative activists…

CNN is helpful for the White House this morning, offering this banner on its Politics page: CNNObama.jpg The lead analysis is, "This time, all politics was local" by left-leaning pollster Nate Silver. He leads with the Conservative Party loss in NY-23 (the fault of conservative activists for not…

Politico and AP are calling it for Christie, 49-43.

Nothing on the big picture, but the internals are fair game. In Virginia and New Jersey, the No. 1 issue is unsurprisingly economy and jobs: The economy and jobs are the number on issue on the minds of voters in Virginia, according to data from CNN exit polls Tuesday. Forty-six percent of Virginian…

Fred Barnes, in the Wall Street Journal today, laments the Obamacare push for sweeping change of the health-care industry, which is happening despite wide and vociferous public opposition and in spite of Washington tradition. Passing it won't stop the opposition, he said: Opposition to ObamaCare is…

Because I'm a cynic (at least about New Jersey), I tend to think New Jersey will either go to Democrats today, or be close enough to steal (especially considering they're already amassing emergency ballots). Nonetheless, let's look at the bright side for a moment. It's that kind of day. Jim…

The Virginia governor's race has a history of going to the candidate of the party out of power, so a McDonnell win there is not as big a win as a Christie win in New Jersey would be, but the sheer dominance of McDonnell in this race- in almost all demographic groups, on almost all issues, and on…

One of two women pleads out in an altercation they started with a 69-year-old pro-life activist: The case began when the two women approached anti-abortion advocate Johnny Wallace, 69. Wallace had been standing in front of City Hall with a billboard sign espousing his views on abortion. Witnesses…

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) previews the spin on Fox, when asked about Obama's participation in the Deeds campaign in Virginia: "Obama wasn't in Virginia this weekend, or even recently." Except for that time five days ago.

Oops, did we say it was an $800 billion bill? It's $1.2 trillion. If complaining makes you smarter, no wonder Obama won a Nobel! Scandal watch at the NYT. Meet your new health-care disincentives. Iowa, a year later: "All my Republican friends - and independents - are sitting back saying, ‘Oh,…

So, the Democrats seem to have decided the best use of at least some of their resources, in a tight race, is to throw some cash into the third-party Daggett campaign. When you're running a dirty-trick robocall, the tagline with the address of the Democratic HQ is a giveaway. Audio: A New Jersey…

Which is more uncivil and damaging to the very fabric of the Republic? Michelle Malkin's politely worded e-mail of inquiry to a pro-Obama activist, which warranted A-1 hand-wringing from the Washington Post? Or, a newsroom environment where reporters call their editors [expletives that are too…

I'm wont to think of New Jersey as an electoral tease for Republicans, and am apt to think the same of it this year, despite Corzine's noted terribleness and the polls showing Christie slightly ahead. But I must say I'm encouraged by the picture above, put on John Corzine's Twitter account with the…

How's the draining of the swamp going? "Two and a half years into Pelosi's reign, more than 25 Democrats have been targeted for ethics reviews by the two ethics bodies, while just seven Republicans appeared to be under scrutiny, according to the document." Reminder: Virginia is about Obama. Another…

Rep. Grayson's self-importance will not be available for comment during the weekend: "No Grayson until Monday? Shut down the servers." Hot Mormon moms pose for calendar. (Hey, it's Friday.) NYT caught taking out a section of its story on Obama's Dover photo-op that indicated it was a photo-op. The…

The bill contains the word "shall" 3,425 times. But I'm sure all those are used to tell you how the government "shall" stay out of your health-care decisions, right? Pg. 1516 regulates vending machines: In the case of an article of food sold from a vending machine that ‘‘(I) does not permit a…

No kiddin': Politicians butt in at bailed-out GM Obama: Pelosi is the best Speaker ever. (No, really. He said it.) "Representative Grayson, I hear that your sister is a superior whore." Obama writes a letter to 330,000 voters in Virginia, to get the vote out. Pelosi unveils your $894 billion…

The annual Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT is on again! That means you can use three minutes of your day and your credit card to bring some serious help to a wounded veteran by clicking here: AF V-IT.png Project Valour-IT brings voice-activated laptops, Wii game systems, and GPS systems to…

You likely won't see this poll result elsewhere, so I thought I'd highlight it here. This is a Pew Political IQ test conducted over the phone with 1,002 adults from Oct. 1-4. They were asked 12 questions, and answered an average of 5.3 questions correctly, according to Pew. But here's the part you…

John Steele Gordon destroys the National Endowment of the Arts head: one sentence of one speech, five errors. Video: Hoffman attacked from both sides. Uh-oh, feminist writers pile on Obama's boys' club: Obama Not Comfortable With Women in Basketball, Golf ... or Anywhere Else What if Bush did it?…

Be on guard for the day when this anecdote falsely attributed to Antonin Scalia becomes lefty "fake but accurate" conventional wisdom about the Supreme Court justice: Earlier today, an Arizona newspaper, the East Valley Tribune, attributed remarks to Justice Scalia that were quite stunning: Using…

LIeberman: Mr. Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who caucuses with the Democrats, told reporters Tuesday that he would vote in favor of a procedural motion allowing debate of the bill. But he said that, unless the bill changes substantially, he would vote with Senate Republicans against a motion…

He's the man the Washington Post calls a "Harvard graduate with a soft voice." Now, from the man who brought you "Republicans want people to die quickly" and the health-care system as "holocaust in America," comes this temperate exchange about Federal Reserve employee Linda Robertson: "This…

Focus group alert: Pelosi picks new name for deceiving voters about the "public option." Yep, this "taxing the rich for everything" scheme is gonna work great. What do they say about a gaffe? It's when a politician accidentally speaks the truth. "Treasury Department's failure to implement…

Focus group alert: Pelosi picks new name for deceiving voters about the "public option." Yep, this "taxing the rich for everything" scheme is gonna work great. What do they say about a gaffe? It's when a politician accidentally speaks the truth. "Treasury Department's failure to implement…

A president who's more sports-obsessed, a bigger work-out fanatic, and more addicted to golf than Bush. But the media's not complaining. Odd. Ouch: "Congressman Kennedy continues to be a disappointment to the Catholic Church and to the citizens of the state of Rhode Island." Samuelson: "In reality,…

The White House sent out an alert today to the press pool that "Pay Czar" Kenneth Feinberg would be doing a press availability- a round robin with the major news networks, in which Fox is customarily included. The administration specified that everyone was invited except Fox News, according to Bret…

This is a simple post with a simple request for Michelle Obama. The First Lady said yesterday, during a kids' health fair at the White House: "My mother would tell us, 'dessert is not a right. It's a treat.'" To which I say: Extrapolate, please. I'll also add that I think it's pretty cool that the…

The fall-out from President-mandated pay cuts: "Chaos will be created at these firms as top people leave in droves. Will the administration then order people back to work?" Uh-oh. Obama suffers worst third-quarter drop in approval since 1953. B-b-b-but, didn't anyone see that awesome speech he gave…

If, as Obama has said, he accepts the (formerly? arguably?) prestigious Nobel Peace Prize on the international stage on behalf of "American values" and "leadership," is he not violating a central part of his world view and plan for global betterment, as expressed in his speech at the UN in…

Gov. Paterson deals with the tough choices the federal government doesn't ever make: "I promise I will put (the soda tax) back in my budget address and give the Legislature another chance to do it," Paterson said during an interview on WNYC. "But you can't keep voting down the ways to create…

The Scozzafava campaign has retracted spokesman Matt Burns' earlier accusation that WEEKLY STANDARD reporter John McCormack "screamed questions (in-your-face-style)" at NY-23 Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava. The raucous behavior the campaign claimed prompted them to call the police on…

It has been a rough couple of months for Human Rights Watch. The organization's reputation has taken so many hits of late- all of its own making-that its founder Bob Bernstein has taken to the pages of the New York Times to voice his serious concern. I must do something that I never anticipated: I…

AP090122023634.jpg The White House battle with Fox News, which Fox's direct competitors have already been forced to cover, has now become a press pool question, via another competitor-ABC. Helen Thomas, the New York Times and The Nation have all declared the fight a dumb one. But the administration…

No worries. You can finish reading the Baucus bill in just under a week, as long as you read for eight hours a day. Wah. Only 34 percent of Californians approve of Pelosi's job performance, which explains why the Cult of Competence presidency put her in charge of crafting his major legislation.…

The most recent book on the senator's reading list? "Twilight." Despite the overdone campaign criticism of him as old and out-of-touch, McCain's late-night appearances and flair for comedy have always been far, far superior to supposedly hip Obama's.

A press release from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce trumpeting its sudden and surprising flip from opposing to backing climate legislation was too good to check for CNBC and Reuters today.

AP060801020235.jpg Well, it's not the first time the Grande Liberal Dame of the press corps has had words for the Obama White House, but today Helen Thomas is voicing more unlikely sentiments by telling the White House attack dogs to heel in the Fox News fight. In an interview with MSNBC, the…

The Baucus bill sure does a lot of preserving the status quo we've been hearing has to go. Ross Douthat dreams of a catasrophic insurance option, instead of a government-run one. Sarah Palin gets....wonky? Believe it. The green-jobs "economy" in Spain costs shows America would stand to lose nine…

In case you can't keep track of the quickly shifting rules about civility in public discourse, here's a video primer from Chris Matthews. In his book 67-year-old veteran Bert Stead is a harbinger of the fall of the Republic because he satirically called himself a "right-wing terrorist" at a town…

Think back, if you will, to a time when Obama actually did close a sale. November, 2008? Putting the government in charge of health care will definitely eliminate this kind of thing. CNN finishes fourth in prime-time ratings for a straight week. Will conservatives soon need their own professional…

Barack Obama, speaking at a stimulus-sponsored construction project in Fairfax County, Va. today: "Our goal is not just to rebound from this recession, but to start building an economy that works for all Americans, where everyone who's looking for work can find a job; and not just a temporary job,…

If there were any objectivity in political journalism, there would be far more (or at least equivalent) coverage of shirtless Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) as there is of the less impressively shirtless President Barack Obama. As it is, we will have to make do with the Washington Post's story on…

I missed this ridiculous A-1 encapsulation of the media's summer of hand-wringing on Sunday, but it's worth reading for a crystal-clear look at the world view within major media. The opening anecdote for "In Today's Viral World, Who Keeps a Civil Tongue?," is telling. Let's hear about the horrors:…

Jon Stewart dings CNN. Pawlenty proposes health care changes that would allow for-profit and out-of-state insurers to do business in his state. Because the changes might actually bring an Obama talking point-"more competition"-to fruition, and maybe actually lower prices, Democrats are predictably…

In the wake of the Senate Finance Committee's approval of the Baucus health-care bill, 14-9, with the help of key moderate Republican Olympia Snowe, McConnell emphasized that the bill that will be brought to the senate floor is being crafted by Senate and House leaders without input from the…

olympia_snowe2.jpg The thread of bipartisanship the Democrats so desperately wish to cling to is in the hands of moderate Republican Olympia Snowe, as she decides whether to vote yes or no on the Senate Finance Committee version of the health-care reform bill today. The Politico analyzes what her…

Pence's W. impression is better than SNL's Obama impression. Five for Fighting is out with a new album. When Astroturf pawns of the Republican turn on the Republican Party. Media...confused. Media now declares Glenn Beck the head of the Republican Party. Parents protest outside New Jersey's…

Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama will come to Oslo to collect the Nobel Peace Prize, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday after speaking with Obama. The prize is handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of the award's founder Alfred Nobel. "Obama said he…

Sima Samar, women's rights activist in Afghanistan: "With dogged persistence and at great personal risk, she kept her schools and clinics open in Afghanistan even during the most repressive days of the Taliban regime, whose laws prohibited the education of girls past the age of eight. When the…

The downside of this Nobel Prize for Obama-the mother of all stereotype reinforcements-is that we've now reached the point where RNC press releases sound remarkably like mainstream news commentary instead of political P.R.: "The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama…

Reality reportedly shrugged and exited stage right, allowing for his understudy Parody to take over the lead role for the next four years or so. At the deadline for nominations for the prize, Obama had been in office for 11 days. The decision to award the prize to him was unanimous. Mickey Kaus has…

There is no need to pick a parody for this week's issue of The Weekly Standard. As the boss notes, the news is more ridiculous than anything we could create. Also a suggestion for the Nobel Committee of an American who might have deserved the prize: Instead, we'll do something we do occasionally,…

It's not just the famously unreasonable ideologue Olympia Snowe who cares about these things, apparently. Seven Democrats and Joe Lieberman sent a letter Tuesday to Sen. Harry Reid asking him to make sure the final legislative text of the bill and the final CBO score for it are online, and…

He's moved on from cooing over the president to making excuses for Roman Polanksi: There is, apparently, more to this crime than it would seem, and it may sound like a hollow defense, but in Hollywood I am not sure a 13-year-old is really a 13-year-old.

The bottom line seems to be it will cost $829 billion (paid for with taxes, penalties, and savings), will lower the projected deficit by $81 billion, and will leave 25 million uninsured (one third of those illegal immigrants). The CBO letter cautions: The Chairman's mark, as amended, has not yet…

It's as if he chose his artwork based on the thesis of this Richard Cohen column.

Rep. John Carter, Republican of Texas, offered a resolution this morning to remove Rep. Charlie Rangel from his Ways and Means Committee Chairmanship. The resolution, stemming from Rangel's myriad tax discrepancies and copious creative crookery, first reported by the New York Times, is being…

kal_penn2.jpg Kal Penn, Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, White House Office of Olympic Sport, and future U.S. bobsled brakeman. This is the bureaucratic equivalent of tripping, catching yourself, and then jogging it out, as if to say, "Yeah, I totally made a…

"A few days ago, The New York Times admitted online (Sept. 27) that its magazine piece on J Street (Sept. 13) was a bit one-sided." Both Obamas gave heartfelt speeches about . . . themselves. Gallup: Approval of Congress falls to 21 percent. Four swing votes on health care, examined. It ain't just…

Well, one can't blame them for reading the president's lips while he was courting their votes: Fifty-nine percent (59%) of U.S. voters favor putting a provision in the health care reform plan that would prohibit any new taxes, fees or penalties on families who make less than $250,000 a year. A new…

He'll likely face Beau Biden for the seat vacated by his father, Vice President Joe Biden, this year. Biden, the younger, returned from Iraq in late September, and was planning to make a decision about his political future shortly. Castle's presence in the race could complicate that decision…

CNN is now fact-checking comedy skits critical of The One. Sycophancy you can believe in, right this way. In other news, upon further investigation, CNN has discovered that those two guys weren't "wild and crazy," but merely socially awkward and Eastern European. For more goofs on CNN, which would…

sheehansharpton2.jpg The enchanting treble warble of the Peace Mom will be heard incessantly outside the White House, even though Obama is its occupant. Sheehan, the activist anti-war mom of fallen Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, once made her home in Crawford, Texas for several months in 2005, nestled…

Petraeus diagnosed and treated for prostate cancer this spring. The treatment was deemed "successful," according to his spokespeople. Buzz is Castle will run for Senate in Delaware. Feingold going all Glenn Beck in a subcommittee hearing today on the constitutionality of czars. Dems gang up on…

Noted Republican obstructionist Olympia Snowe, famed for her intransigence in the face of moderate and liberal legislation and her stubborn commitment to conservative principles above all else, is requiring a CBO score before she votes on the Senate Finance Committee's version of the health-care…

Well, looky here. The New York Times makes many of the same observations conservatives are making about Obama's very public effort to bring the Olympics to Chicago. Will it be accused of "rejoicing" in America's loss? It doesn't have the snarky tone of some conservative commentary, but the paper…

And, I have yet to hear his plan for equally distributing the ownership rights and earnings of his film, "Capitalism: A Love Story," to the workers who toiled to bring it to life. Could it be that Moore, as an artiste, believes his unique brand of documentary filmmaking, his audacity in creating…

The Palin book cover. Government corruption surpasses the economy on list of issues important to likely voters. Garrison Keillor: "Thirty-two percent of the population identifies with the GOP, and if we cut off health care to them, we could probably pay off the deficit in short order." Jimmy…

Maybe it's not just the loony, right-wing Tea Partiers (unfair characterization courtesy of MSNBC and the NYT) who have the feeling that creepy, heavy-handed government interference isn't serving them or their communities. Health-care workers, many of whom are unionized and not generally renowned…

Do you ever wonder if maybe the arrest of Roman Polanksi was just another clever scheme cooked up by James O'Keefe, Hannah Giles, and Andrew Breitbart to prove the long-held belief of conservatives that Hollywood is indeed a den of iniquity and moral decrepitude, which would leap en masse to a…

Do you ever wonder if maybe the arrest of Roman Polanksi was just another clever scheme cooked up by James O'Keefe, Hannah Giles, and Andrew Breitbart to prove the long-held belief of conservatives that Hollywood is indeed a den of iniquity and moral decrepitude, which would leap en masse to a…

In an "unprecedented" performance for a non-fiction book, Palin's forthcoming "Going Rogue," in the wake of its release date announcement, is at the top of the Amazon and Barnes and Noble lists. John McCain was asked about the book today, which takes its title from criticism of her performance on…

Welcome to the finally-back-from-out--of-town edition: National Science Foundation: NSF or NSFW? What next for the public option? Chicagoans pretty pumped about maybe getting the Olympic Games. Palin is No. 1. Entrepreneur brings Costco to Manhattan. "In five or six or seven years," said Christoph…

I've been waiting for this, and I like it. Bob McDonnell's daughter Jeanine pushes back on the notion that her father has some sort of retrograde attitude toward women because of a thesis he wrote decades ago. Since then, he's raised three daughters. Jeanine was a platoon leader in Iraq. Hard to…

Here's the Huffington Post take on left-wing protests in Pittsburgh yesterday, which erupted in violence, as globalization protests always do: Protesters have taken to the streets of Pittsburgh in opposition to the Group of 20 summit taking place Thursday and Friday. The protests have turned…

Well, let's give him some credit. Sen. Max Baucus, author of the middling, middle-ground health-care bill currently satisfying no one and confusing everyone, at least gives the opposition credit for having valid points. It is a step up from the Obama administration's and Democrats' summer efforts…

"It may sound strange to the rest of America." Yes. Yes, it does. Surprise: Media distorted D.C. Fire Department's crowd estimates for 9/12. 60K was a preliminary estimate for LaFayette Park, alone. The AP searches in vain for the grand conspiracy and big money behind the ACORN videos. Gee, why…

Alex, the organizer, took the mic. A doughy 20-something, he wore the hallmark thrift-store t-shirt and scraggly beard of the modern, urban liberal as he addressed a small group of wilting protesters on a humid Sunday in the shadow of the Capitol.

Let me get this straight. On the mall on the very same day was a giant crowd of raging, unstable racists protesting Obama and a crowd of black families and artists celebrating the Black Family Reunion. So, what happened in this steaming cauldron of redneck racism ready to boil over? As they left…

As Steve Hayes noted last week, the person Obama chose to put in charge of tort reform is an ex-trial lawyer lobbyist: Now Obama says he's going to study the issue. "I am directing my Secretary of Health and Human Services to move forward on this initiative today," he said. That would be Secretary…

Just to keep you informed of the logic of many of our friends on the Left when it comes to Nazi imagery: Plastering every protest for eight years with Bushitler imagery: Fine. A much lower concentration of Nazi imagery used by town hall protesters to attack Obama (mostly misattributed LaRouche…

Last week, on the night of Obama's speech to the joint session, I posted this: Obama, then: First, no matter what you've heard, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor under the reform proposals that we've put forward. If you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep it. If…

It had been a rough month by the time 67-year-old Bert Stead of Redding, Calif., stepped to the microphone at an August 18 town hall meeting with Republican representative Wally Herger. It was about to get rougher.

The decision comes on the heels of Andrew Breitbart's release of two undercover video investigations, which found ACORN employees in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. more than happy to aid and abet underaged prostitution with advice on tax status, getting grants, and avoiding notice by law…

Yelling "you lie!" at a president: A group of black newspaper publishers on Friday charged Republican Rep. Joe Wilson with racism for yelling, "You lie," at President Obama during his nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress. "As African-American newspaper publishers we stand in…

Tomorrow, the 9/12 protest will take place in Washington, D.C. An offshoot of the Tax Day Tea Party movement, and hyped by Glenn Beck and conservative activist groups, the turn out promises to be healthy. But Democratic leadership is even more sanguine about the possibilities than organizers: A top…

This post is part of Project 2,996, an attempt to honor each and every person murdered on 9/11. finnerty.tim.jpg Tim Finnerty was a bond trader during the workday, a member of the firm with the devastating distinction of losing more employees than any other company during the terrorist attacks of…

Obama will take his health-care pitch on the road again for a speech in Minneapolis Saturday. On Sunday, he'll be on "60 Minutes." On Monday, he'll give a speech on the financial crisis, marking the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Bros. collapse. My brother happened to be in a doctor's waiting…

Update: CNN mistakes audio from Coast Guard for the real thing, and reports it. The White House went after CNN, saying, "Before we report things like this, checking would be good." Update: Sounds like a combination of extremely ill-advised military exercise and media misinterpretation of it led to…

911RTRS_468x683.jpg It's very easy to forget about these smaller events, but for a long time after 9/11, you woke up every morning with the sense of, "what the hell is coming next today?" Why is there no price to pay for Trutherism? The future seen from NYC on 9/11 never came to be. Obama marks…

Robert Gibbs was asked in the briefing twice today, with follow-up, about whether the health care proposals would cover illegal immigrants: Later in the briefing, Gibbs asserted that despite what was in other legislation, last night "the president outlined a plan that doesn't cover illegal…

Charlie Cook has changed his category: The Cook Political Report just changed rating on the Nevada U.S. Senate race from Likely Democrat to Toss Up. Polls have consistently shown Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) behind potential GOP challengers.

South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson got plenty of press for an outburst during Obama's speech that came just as the president was assuring the audience that all the scary stuff they'd heard about the bill were lies. Wilson got caught yelling "you lie" at the tail end of an applause burst, in…

Obama, then: First, no matter what you've heard, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor under the reform proposals that we've put forward. If you like your private health insurance plan, you can keep it. If your employer provides you health insurance on the job, nobody is talking about…

What is it they call this in the Obama White House? A distraction? A source sends on the talking points the White House is circulating to allies in advance of President Obama's speech, most of them reiterating familiar themes of momentum and security. But the White House has also chosen…

From the press briefing today: Gibbs says August was not a HC setback. "Not at all." Cue the #BaghdadBobGibbs tag on Twitter. In other delusional news, the DNC is sending around Marc Ambinder's "Why Obama Won August, Really" (a title which he seems to have since thought better of and changed to…

Via Jim Geraghty on Twitter: "Politico's Jim Vandehei on CNN: 'There's not going to be a public option in this bill.' Says White House tells him OTR they know it." Blue Dog Mike Ross of Arkansas comes out against a public option, in a move that may embolden other Blue Dogs: "I have been skeptical…

I question the GOP's wish to put a tonsil-stealing, foot-pilfering profiteer on TV to make their case. Nonetheless, the Republican Party has chosen Rep. Charles Boustany, a Louisiana surgeon, to deliver the response Wednesday: Boustany, R-La., is a cardiovascular surgeon who was first elected in…

The August sales pitch that failed. Van Jones resignation earns Obama liberal wrath: "It isn't an arms-length relationship between these groups and the administration." Is HRW's lead investigator an avid collector of Nazi paraphernalia? Making excuses for Van Jones. An English court found three…

Yesterday, in light of evidence that Obama's "green czar" Van Jones signed a 2004 9/11 Truther petition, Jones released a statement claiming the petition does not "reflect my views now or ever." The White House also claimed Jones said he did not carefully read the language in the petition before…

Well, William Rice didn't actually give MoveOn the finger -- his pinky was forcibly removed by an Obamacare supporter's teeth. Rice, a 65-year-old real-estate appraiser from Newbury Park, Calif., expected some heated arguments when he went to a health care protest in Thousand Oaks. He did not…

MSNBC's Schultz: "I believe Jesus would vote yes for a public option." Member of MoveOn health-care vigil crowd allegedly assists 65-year-old Obama critic in finger amputation during a fight. Rangel donated to three of five Dems investigating him on ethics committee. Rangel staff just as forgetful…

Update: Ante, upped. He'll be addressing a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9. So, he'll be doing the same thing he's been doing, but in a very serious venue. I wonder if the joint session will be assigned as homework watching during the president's speech to schoolkids on Sept. 8. You don't say.…

Dr. House is just the latest villain to fight Obama's health care reforms. Will passing a health bill no one likes save Democratic majorities? Organizing for America removed its "fight domestic right-wing terrorists on 9/11" call to action, but it's been saved from the memory hole. Obama will not…

If Barack Obama needs a diagnosis for his agenda's decline, it's in this lede, improbably dated "Sept. 1, 2009:" Next week, President Obama is going to give Democrats a health care plan they can begin to sell. The Obama plan, which Democrats can "begin to sell" after six months of selling the…

Bush-era Krugman vs. Obama-era Krugman on deficits and spending. Is there a bail-out for drug dealers? Is the government really seeing profits on bank bail-out money? Classy: An Organizing for America event proposes Sept. 11 as a day for fighting "our own Right-Wing Domestic Terrorists who are…

Washington Post Style writer Robin Givhan has a reputation for occasionally channeling her political predilections in petty fashion critiques of certain Washington actors. George Bush's hair is a "dull gray thatch," but Kerry should "gloat" over his "silver" mop, and John Edwards' mane "demands to…

The economics of health care, in four sentences. NYT finds insurance folks are "human beings, too." The Buffalo News: Rangel should resign. Obama administration rebukes Cheney rebuke. Photo of the week? Jenna Bush has a new gig: Education correspondent for the Today Show Harry Reid working hard on…

Obama has tried valiantly to keep discussion of cutting Medicare focused on the idea of cutting waste and waste alone, but the fact that the CBO (and Obama himself) concede that the bill on the table is not adequately funded in the first 10 years or beyond, has some folks worried. Democratic Rep.…

The FEC has ruled that the Club for Growth can contact Specter donors with a "preprinted form letter and envelope addressed to the Senator's campaign." When Specter switched parties in April, he said, "Upon request, I will return campaign contributions contributed during this cycle," and the Club…

She was speaking at an open luncheon with limited seating (not a town hall), and was greeted by a small group of protesters. Her line on health care and cap and trade cannot be music to the administration's ears: Landrieu, D-La., who spoke during a chamber luncheon today, also met with local…

"How many thousands of federal employees will have access to your (tax) records?" "A federal court rejected an attempt by two Ohio residents to use the so-called TurboTax defense that Timothy Geithner relied on to help win Senate confirmation as U.S. Treasury Secretary." New York's teachers' union…

Someone's making the "tough choices" Obama always talks about, but never makes: Rhode Island will shut down its state government for 12 days and hopes to trim millions of dollars in funding for local governments under a plan Gov. Don Carcieri outlined Monday to balance a budget hammered by surging…

Watch perfectly good cars get destroyed in Cash for Clunkers...for the environment, or something. Obama should have known better on Obamacare. (From last week, but a goody.) The babies of the NHS: Born in elevators, offices, bathrooms, thanks to bed shortages. S.C. Lt. Gov Andre Bauer to ask…

Just kidding. You saw all that over the very loud yelling and impolitic signage at health care town halls, but when it comes to angry left-wing activists being arrested with Molotov cocktails outside the Republican National Convention, there's surprisingly little national interest. This story…

I'm pretty sure Obama "consistently said" the deficit might be $2 trillion more than his administration originally estimated, right? The White House now expects the 10-year budget deficit to reach $9.05 trillion, roughly $2 trillion more than it estimated earlier in the year, according to a report…

The new party of protecting...Medicare spending? David Paterson doubles down on the race card. Young people need a bailout, too! Enjoy your new meme, President Obama. The troops will thank you if you can fight the NYT on this as hard as you fight Fox News in every speech. "This will be another…

It's hard to keep the rules straight in our post-racial society: President Obama's aides were so furious that Gov. Paterson dragged him into a rant about racism that they sent a message sharply criticizing the governor's comments just hours after he made them, The Post has learned. Aides to Obama…

We can dream, folks. We can dream of a Daschle vs. Thune moment in 2010: It's the highest stakes ever for a Nevada election, and former boxer Sen. Harry Reid is on the ropes early. Either Republican Danny Tarkanian or Sue Lowden would knock out Reid in a general election, according to a recent poll…

President Obama explained during his health care pep talk for Organizing for America activists today what exactly has been dragging down his vision for Obamacare:

Marshall Ackerman, who's been a doctor since 1969 in the D.C. metro area, doesn't much appreciate the characterization of doctors during the health care debate. Click through to read the whole thing for the full extent of Obama's, shall we say, "misinformation" about physicians.

The White House released behind-the-scenes pictures from the Obama administration this week, evidently fearful that between WhiteHouse.gov, his Twitter feed, near-constant presence on TV, and spam e-mails to unwilling citizens, he might be in danger of being slightly underexposed.

  I am a reapplier. If one were to do the math, one would likely find that, all told, I lost an entire summer of my youth reapplying my sunscreen while my friends were playing Marco Polo.

I guess since Obama's spent the last month insulting surgeons and otolaryngologists, it's no surprise that Obamacare supporters would have to get a fake doctor to come as Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee questions about it. The Houston Chronicle is just catching onto a story about Obamacare's non-doctor…

Is this the proper tone for a charmless blue senator from a red state?

Unlike Jessica Valenti, I do not have thousands of words to write about the gender constructs, ingrained sexism, and patriarchal sensibilities inherent in the great debate over whether women should take their husbands' last names when they marry.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, has wisdom to share about health care reform that covers people while cutting costs, because he's done it in his chain of stores. Among his suggestions, which are just free-market enough to work (they already have at Whole Foods):

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, has wisdom to share about health care reform that covers people while cutting costs, because he's done it in his chain of stores. Among his suggestions, which are just free-market enough to work (they already have at Whole Foods):

The White House, DNC, and leading Democrats keep piling on the unappealing rhetoric, labeling Obamacare critics pawns, lobbyists, un-American, and right-wing extremist mobs.

I never thought I'd enjoy a Democratic senator from California as much as I've enjoyed Dianne Feinstein for the past couple months. From vocally supporting the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship, against her party's wishes, to vocally dressing down the White House for not keeping her in the loop on the…

Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer decided to double down on some pretty distasteful messaging today, calling some of the opposition to health care reform, "un-American" in a USA Today op-ed. Specifically, this is what the Speaker finds so unpatriotic:

Last night, as reports began to emerge of unrest at two big health care town halls in Tampa and St. Louis, a man on Twitter claiming to work with SEIU, claimed a handful of arrests in St. Louis had been Obamacare critics, and they'd been arrested for assaulting SEIU members. His report was…

Oh, Blanche Lincoln, blue senator in a red state, you must act more wisely than this:

When the "manufactured" outrage the Left is trying to demonize lines up so inconveniently with public polling, it's sometimes necessary to create evidence for the "manufactured" storyline.

There is so very much that is objectionable about the Left's and the DNC's response to opposition to the health-care bill at town halls across the country, that it's hard to know where to begin.

10 August recess questions for your representative.

Presumably they don't want the great "success" of the program to detract from Obama's begging the Senate to pass $2 billion more. It's important to fund, then evaluate. It's the Obama way: The Obama administration is refusing to release government records on its "cash-for-clunkers" rebate program…

This morning, the White House pushed back on Drudge's promotion of this video: Linda Douglass, formerly a totally objective reporter with ABC News, appears in the below video in an attempt to debunk the first video. She does this by saying, essentially, "Obama's critics are lying about the…

Big ol' deficit. Big, big, ol' deficit. G-I-A-N-T D-E-F-I-C-I-T! $1 million for Rangel in legal bills. The Daily Show whiffs on Cash for Clunkers. (link fixed) What people don't understand is that American racism is so powerful that it can cause The Joker to come unmoored from its very cultural…

Today, the Washington Post told the crushingly sad story of 12-year-old Cortavia Harris. The Maryland 7th-grader is searching for solace this week in the sentencing of her little sister's killer. It has been almost a year since the August night when Michael Eaton, on his way from a bar, slammed his…

The American people act on incentives. When the incentive is free wads of $4,500 for cars that would likely never qualify for such trade-in values on the free market, there will never be enough money to satisfy demand. That's why the cash-for-clunkers program, meant to incentivize the trading in of…

Blow-by-blow of the beer summit. Cash-for-clunkers went bust in four days. But don't worry ; they can totally handle revamping 15 percent of the economy. "If they can't administer a program like this, I'd be a little concerned about my health insurance." Boehner: "Democratic chairmen of the three…

Folks on the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) e-mail list got slightly harsher rhetoric than they bargained for when they opened a Tim Pawlenty-bashing missive from the state Democrats today. At 5:11 p.m., Deputy Communications Director Kristin Sosanie of the DFL sent out the "DFL…

America's Health Insurance Plans, an association of "nearly 1,300 member companies providing health insurance coverage to more than 200 million Americans," sent this statement when I asked them about Rep. Nancy Pelosi's classification of insurance companies as "immoral" "villains," "carpet-bombing"…

Illustrating once again that the newest research must tell Democrats to find a health care bogeyman and beat the mess out of him in order to get their government-centric health care reform passed, Nancy Pelosi lit into insurance companies today at her weekly press conference with some seriously…

The boys get beer; she gets scorn. Cantor: "At last count, there were at least 32 active czars that we knew of, meaning the current administration has more czars than Imperial Russia." "Support for President Barack Obama's health-care effort has declined over the past five weeks, particularly among…

Surely, there can be no other explanation for this headline: Obama's weapon: A dose of homecoming king charm Tom Shales is the Washington Post TV critic whose critical assessment of Obama is he's "too good to be true." It looks like this CNN writer is following in his footsteps.

All would be right with the world. These two should go on tour. The American people would be the winner. I think it's clear who the loser would be, starting around three minutes in (although the whole thing is good):

Here's the section of today's town hall meeting in which Obama forgot that he was the one insisting the 1,000-page bill be passed before August recess. A man who is clearly an Obama supporter nonetheless asks the president if a month or so to read the bill might neutralize a central argument…

The men's websites of America are doing the heretofore unthinkable on August 4th- going a day without Megan Fox. It's for her own good, they say, as they fear the starlet has become overexposed: A dozen male-focused Web sites including AOL's men's lifestyle/humor site Asylum.com - as well as Ask…

Voinovich is going to save the Republican Party from itself by making fun of Jim DeMint's accent. DeMint, whom Voinovich thinks is the problem with the Republican Party, rebuffs the birthers. TARP: "By that measure, the government has been a poor investor, losing about $148 billion so far--$1,233…

Democrats have informed John Boehner's office of the schedule, according to the Politico: From: Cavicke, David Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 4:51 PM To: REDACTED Subject: Schedule Democratic Leadership has told Mr. Boehner's staff that there will be no vote on Health on the Floor before recess and…

It doesn't happen terribly often, but I'm with Andrew Sullivan on the need to lay Obama birther-ism to rest- a subject on which he's been blogging with some energy over the last day. Indeed, it's almost as if birthers have allowed an intense and sometimes irrational dislike of a political figure to…

Only Lindsey Graham broke Republican ranks and supported her: The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday voted to approve Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice over nearly solid Republican opposition, paving the way for a historic confirmation vote. The panel voted 13-6 in…

Obama thanked the organization for doing "what it does best" by "organizing" and "letting people know the options that are out there." This is how the allegedly nonpartisan AARP lets its members know the options: Why is AARP not standing up for seniors when Obama says he will cut Medicare to help…

Well, he's calling it a town hall, but who can miss the message of the setting? President's town hall will be in the perishables section of the store, which will close several hrs Wed "So, your grandma is kinda like this week-old cantaloupe: wrinkly, slowly dying, overly sweet, and frankly, not…

Professor John Evans Evans-John (from the ever-ingenious Iowahawk). Slight content warning for the language: Eventually my arrest record was expunged and I agreed to meet the loathsome arresting officer at President Faust's office for a conciliatory off-record "beer chat." As the University Counsel…

How often is it that one hour of TV viewing can annoy terrorists, the New York Times, and Human Rights Watch? Take advantage of this infrequent confluence by watching "The Wanted" on NBC tonight at 9/8 c. Here's the premise: Eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks and the beginning of the war on…

During his crusade for health care reform, Obama has often warned us about the high costs of "inaction." Sure, health care reform (or, "health insurance reform," as he's calling it now) will cost a lot of money, Obama told us, but it's an "investment" in eventually lowering costs, which is vital to…

Or, 52 easy payments of $19,231,769,235! The pacing is a tad slow, but stick with it, and you'll find Jimmy Fallon is both funny and right in one segment. Historic!

Dallas Tea Partiers outnumber MoveOn.org organizers. DNC has to remove anti-DeMint ads in South Carolina. Chris Caldwell: California's fiscal charade. Rasmussen's presidential approval index is in post-honeymoon territory. Challenging Paul Krugman's assertion that the free market "just doesn't…

Put this in your Chloraseptic bottle, and spray it: "We, too, are in favor of evidence-based medicine that supports quality patient care. President Obama's statement highlights the complexity of medical decisions like this. However, the AAO-HNS is disappointed by the President's portrayal of the…

He's taught it for five years, in tandem with a black officer, to good reviews from the academy head, and was appointed to the position by a black police chief: Cambridge police Sgt. James Crowley, the cop at the center of a firestorm over the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., has…

Yet another partisan ideologue pushes for delay on the health care bill on- well, looky there-the same grounds conservatives have. Harry Reid: "It's better to have a product based on quality and thoughtfulness rather than try to jam something through." The Senate Finance Committee will likely have…

Any message Obama was trying to convey about health care last night is being quickly eclipsed by his o'er-hasty answer to a question about the arrest of black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates: Obama answered a question about his friend Henry Louis Gates's run-in with the Cambridge cops, after…

Hillary is a "funny lady." Why I don't feel sorry for Henry Louis Gates. Cantor distances himself from "Waterloo" comment. A couple liberals on health care reform. All our energy is going down the drain... Presser fact check on whether Obama's been blaming Republicans. "Obama also vowed at a…

This is the kind of business sense $50 billion will buy you: I wanted a Chevy Camaro. I'd never really liked American sports cars before. But the 2010 Camaro -- a revival Chevrolet has been talking up since 2006 -- is so much more sleek than your typical muscle car. And since my BMW 330 started…

Because we learned yesterday (and will hear again from Obama tonight) that anyone who would like to delay the consideration of a health care reform bill is a partisan hack who only wishes to destroy the president, I thought I'd make a list of the destructive fear-mongers the president is up…

"Must hate the Federal Reserve, neocons and the Trilateral Commission. Having your own tin foil hat a plus. Seeking strong man to envelop me in his protective arms once the coming race war erupts." $23 trillion. I know that story's from a couple of days ago, but it will be haunting us the rest of…

Just in case you have any illusions that the health care reform Obama's pushing is meant to be constructed with anything other than reckless abandon and just enough haste and favors to get the government-run plan running for the "greater good," enjoy these tidbits from last night's conference call…

ShiftyPowers.jpg Darrell "Shifty" Powers, 1923-2009 Sometimes, in between uploading videos of stupid cat tricks, sustaining the careers of such blights on pop culture as Lindsay Lohan, and obsessively critiquing Jennifer Love Hewitt's bikini bod, the Internet community can up and do something…

Throughout his push for health-care reform, President Obama has held up the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota as an example of great medicine at lower prices-something that could and should be emulated all over the country with guidance from his health care overhaul: Obama, June 11: "And so what you've got…

Are Independents acting more like Republicans, now? "This is the first time in his presidency that Obama has fallen under 60 percent in Post-ABC polling, and the rating is six percentage points lower than it was a month ago." Your tax money is for signs advertising the stimulus and abortions. Have…

Picture 4.png There once was a man with a prayer That all could receive "free" health care. Despite help from Rahm, His plan was a bomb. So, he passed the thing off to Bill Ayers.

I recommend Stephen Spruiell's piece in its entirely. Wading through the acronyms is worth it to learn the illuminating history of the federal government and the student loan sector. Here's the short version. In 1965, Congress created a government-guaranteed loan called the Stafford loan, which…

Right now, the nation (or, at least the press corps, daytime TV watchers, and the Dems Obama's preparing to threaten) is waiting for President Barack Obama to give an unexpected address on health care, just announced this morning. It was planned for 3:15 p.m., but as I'm sure Obama will tell us…

The House GOP released this video today, which is pretty effective. Barack Obama will almost always oblige a video editor by holding at least two transparently irreconcilable positions on a given issue, and stating them on camera (as I found when I was putting together campaign-era clips for my…

Presumably, the Democratic Congress will have giant-fake-sounding-number envy and deliver unto us a new health care bill that costs in the quadrillions: A New Hampshire man says he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and was charged over 23 quadrillion dollars. Josh…

No wonder the Senate works the way it does: "We're gonna do that crack cocaine thing you and I have talked about before." How does one send Doug Elmendorf flowers? Barack Obama's campaign rhetoric would require that he veto his health care bill. Whew! Joe Biden probably thinks your state is ugly.…

Early word was that it had happened in or near a Senate office building, and several Capitol entrances were on lock down. D.C.'s ABC affiliate reports the most detail I've seen thus far, and puts the shooting a block or two from Dirksen Senate office building: A U.S. Capitol Police officer shot a…

Well, if there was one area in which I thought Obama was both knowledgeable and sincere in his allegiance, it was his love of sports-particularly the Chicago White Sox, whose jersey he donned last night during his opening pitch in St. Louis. So much for that. Bob Costas gets Obama talking about his…

If you listen to Nancy Pelosi, the $1.04 trillion bill is a "starting point and a path to success to lower costs to consumers and businesses." Believing that, however, requires ignoring quite a few facts. This is not a victimless bill, not by a long shot. The bill is most explicit in its promise to…

Introducing your new right to health care. Introducing your new 50+% top tax rate. The flow-chart for the Dem health-care plan. The WaPo editorial page: "House Democrats would have us believe that the rich can pay for it all." In the words of none other than Jon Stewart: "That's great. Now, fix the…

capt.photo_1247623923531-1-0.jpg There once was an All-Star named Barack Whom no one could manage to mock. It must have been fate His pitch reached the plate, But his pants did not reach his socks!

Here's what that figure accounts for: Among other things, those provisions would establish a mandate for most legal residents to obtain insurance, significantly expand eligibility for Medicaid, and set up insurance "exchanges" through which certain individuals and families could receive federal…

I made the mistake this morning of reading a front-page profile of Sonia Sotomayor in the New York Times. If that information alone isn't enough to prove I should have known better, this was the headline: "To Get to Sotomayor's Core, Start in New York: Milestones in Work and Life, Set to a City's…

White House: Economy is simultaneously worse and better than expected! ABC tirelessly examining video of Obama ogling to determine a thousand reasons he wasn't actually ogling. Biden's private meetings. Western European health care and cancer survival rates. If only the AP had told us before the…

Hey, I've got a great idea, guys. Let's bring the heads of an industry that has brought convenience to an ever-rising number of Americans at ever-lower prices with ever-improving features into a Congressional hearing to interrogate them about competiveness in cell phone text-messaging rates...for…

I must admit, this is not the household item I would have expected Anderson Cooper to be unfamiliar with, but alas. While filling in for Regis on "Live w/ Regis and Kelly" this week, Cooper illustrated that between partying with Michael Jackson at Studio 54 and ridiculing the protesters of the Tea…

Well, Recovery.gov (or is it Recvoery.gov?) needs more than nifty diagrams of money that may or may not have already been spent, so the tech-savviest administration ever went looking for a vendor. It succeeded in getting one to redesign the site for a mere $18 million: The new Web site promises to…

chris-dodd.jpg CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf and study author Phil Ellis testified before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) on the new draft of the Kennedy health care legislation today. The old version of the bill was estimated to cost $1 trillion over 10 years…

Health care stocks rise on news that government-run option may be tanking. Your daily reminder from the Democratic Party that dissent is no longer patriotic. We the people will track your Swingline purchases without mercy. California screaming. Yesterday was the anniversary of sliced bread. Perhaps…

A story from Canada, in which the U.S. medical system is an escape hatch for a woman who would likely be blind or dead if she had waited for public health care to help her. "All my life, I've lived in this country, with public health insurance, and I always thought that I would be okay, that…

Is Robert Gibbs biting Chuck Todd's look? About Medicare's low administrative costs... Econo-blogger smackdown over Medicare administrative costs. (Most interesting headline ever?) "I don't think you could have found anyone in the state that would have even guessed that she would quit midterm." The…

FBI denies any investigation of Palin. Palin attorney warns press against defamatory material. Obama's summer of judgment. Joe Biden rides...again. Stimulus money being spent $1200 at a time...to advertise stimulus projects! Bipartisanship on stimulus FAIL. What's behind the foreclosures? Gee, why…

gwyneth-paltrow-picture-1.jpg

"This, in her mind, is how the system is supposed to work." In case you wanted to hear too much information, straight from Mark Sanford's mouth. If Mr Schmidt is trying to warn Republicans, good luck with that: Mr Kristol has the stage. Hawking "better" health care. Glenn Reynolds asks Gov. Rick…

I find it not at all "shocking," as Thomas asserts, that the White House would hold a town hall event tailored to suit its needs, so she's going down the road to Loopytown on that one, but some of this exchange definitely goes in the Helen's "even a broken clock" file. At least both she and Chip…

A group of American foreign policy experts and rights advocates asked President Barack Obama to focus on democracy and human rights when meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev next week. In a letter, they asked Obama to act on his statements in Cairo about the universality of human rights…

The New York Times is covering President Obama's health care town hall-style meeting today in Northern Virginia rather credulously. This is the orchestrated political event that will feature a hand-picked audience and pre-screened questions about Obama's health care plan for the nation. In one…

Shortly after the Supreme Court's decision against SCOTUS nominee Sonia Sotomayor's legal reasoning in the Ricci case, Ramussen Reports finds in their most recent poll that support for her nomination is slipping: The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, conducted on the two nights…

Washington Times: Toss your red-light cam tickets! Up next, an Olbermann special on how the paper and its fellow travelers at Fox News incite dangerous civil unrest. Has Iran started hanging Mousavi supporters? Israeli navy vs. Cynthia McKinney: I know who I'm rooting for. I never thought I'd see…

As Congress tackles President Barack Obama's top two domestic priorities -- climate change and health care -- he faces some of his most serious challenges from fellow Democrats. Uh oh: Looks like somebody just read the cap-and-trade bill... "The president had said in the past that he doesn't…

The House held several hours of debate today on the cap-and-trade bill, which grew by a whopping 300 pages overnight, with a vote planned for this evening. Just as things were wrapping up, Rep. John Boehner took the floor for his several minutes to speak. When he surpassed his five minutes, and…

Greenpeace just came out in opposition to the massive, 1,200-page bill the House is considering today. I say 1,200 pages, but it may have expanded to 1,500 overnight, as there's a rumor than 300 pages of amendments were added around 2 a.m. Conservatives quickly took to Twitter to laud Greenpeace,…

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who also served in the Clinton White House, seemed to aggrandize Obama at Clinton's expense at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast this morning in D.C. When asked to talk about the differences between his current and former boss when addressing national…

Last week on Meet the Press, Chuck Todd reported that administration officials were "frustrated that they're not getting credit for what's going on in Iran.…they think that Cairo speech did help supporters of Mousavi sort of see light at the end of the tunnel in their country." As Jonah Goldberg…

Picture 9.png It was to be expected that the American people would sympathize with Jenny Sanford after her husband, Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, admitted to an affair with an Argentine woman named Maria. The affair, and its odd revelation, took over the national news cycle for several days…

All the folks who thought the Right was being unreasonable yesterday will suddenly decide that univiting the Iranians to a barbecue that would happen concurrent with their murdering of dissidents in the streets is the coolest, smartest, most measured response ever. Hey, today is a new day: The…

Yes, we know. You're the president. "How is it that Obama was a genius yesterday for not condemning Iranian brutality and tomorrow he'll be heralded as a genius for condemning it today?" Milton Friedman on "How to Cure Health Care." In other news, Mark Sanford is also a hypocrite for having used an…

Sanford had not been in touch with his staff, security, or family since Thursday, but his office sent an update last night saying he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail: "I apologize for taking so long to send this update, and was waiting to see if a more definitive idea of what part of the trail…

His wife, security detail, and staff haven't seen him since Thursday. What in the world is going on here? Sanford's last known whereabouts were near Atlanta, where a mobile telephone tower picked up a signal from his phone, authorities said. His wife says she is unconcerned, and foul play is not…

Iran3.jpg An Iranian photojournalist who was getting powerful images of protesters from places other journalists could not or would not tread is missing. From LIFE: A NOTE TO OUR READERS: We are saddened to report that the Iranian photojournalist, whose pictures appear in this gallery, is missing.…

The Connecticut senator with a 50+ unfavorable rating, a sweetheart mortgage problem, and a challenger who is leading in the polls, probably didn't need this from the president. Washington Times reporter Christina Bellantoni reports, via her Twitter account: Obama accidentally calls his one-time…

Daschle.jpg In yet another blow to the Democrats' grand unified vision of gigantic, transformative health care reform passed in a matter of weeks, with a government-run option, Tom Daschle publicized a plan yesterday-without a government-run option. He's joining with fellow former Senate Majority…

Obama, on Monday, to the AMA: I'll be honest. There are countries where a single-payer system may be working. He forgot to brief Robert Gibbs on which ones. When asked at the press conference today which countries Obama was referring to, Gibbs stumbled: "I don't know exactly the countries. I think…

IranFootball.jpg As a fan of both liberty and sports, it's nice to see when the popular power of the former can help the cause of the latter. In Seoul, South Korea, the Iranian soccer team showed more than its traditional colors, adding make-shift green armbands to their uniforms, in a show of…

Careful with the clone tool, Mahmoud. Like your Members Only jacket, it works only in small doses. Thugs, meet the Internet: Iran clamped down Tuesday on independent media in an attempt to control images of election protests, but pictures and videos leaked out anyway - showing how difficult it is…

Ensign was head of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth-ranking Republican position in the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released this statement: "He's accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to his family and constituents. He offered, and I accepted, his…

Baucus bill: $1.6 trillion over 10 years. A socialist speaks for socialized health care. Cute. Sen. Claire McCaskill: Obama did not follow the law he co-sponsored on IG firing. "I am now the target of the most powerful man in this country, with an army of aides whose major responsibility today…

Sure, he'll be chatting it up from the East Room at the White House on Wednesday for an hour about his health care plan with no opposition in sight. But dang, Glenn Beck is sure unduly critical of his policies: "I've got one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my…

Well, if that ain't the cheapest, most effective government intervention I've seen all year: The State Department asked the social networking Web site Twitter last weekend to postpone scheduled maintenance that would have cut daytime service in Iran on Tuesday, just as protests against official…

Another in our ongoing series of "What if it Were W?" scenarios-an idea which now has its own blog. Obama experienced too oopsies on the way to and from the Rose Garden podium today: After holding a bilateral meeting in the Oval office with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, the two leaders…

ABC News FAIL. Conservatives are single largest ideological group in the country. "Look at all these people, look at these numbers. If we come to the streets like this every day, they can't do anything," said Jila, a 53-year-old retired teacher marching with her two sons. Street art from Tehran.…

From a press availability with Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi this afternoon: Q Mr. President, on Iran, does the disputed election results affect - there's been violence in the street - in any way change your willingness to meet with Mr. Ahmadinejad without preconditions? And also, do you have…

Iran2.jpg The Interior Ministry of Iran yesterday declared such a gathering illegal, leading to reports that a rally in support of Mir-Hossein Mousavi would be postponed or canceled. But it went forward, with plenty in attendance to protest Friday's rigged elections, which pronounced…

This is the price you will pay for your health care reform of dubious efficacy: Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said.…

So much for the "party of 'no'." Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), along with Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), this week offered the first, detailed health care reform bill in Congress- the Patients' Choice Act (S. 1099/H.R. 2520). To be fair, Barack Obama is awfully busy doing a…

Obama met by 1,000 protesters in Wisconsin. Funny, I didn't hear about that on the news. Obama encouraging truancy. Typical. Huckabee warns Republicans against the "mushy middle," forgetting momentarily that he is the mushy middle, on spending. Republicans gain control of N.Y. state senate through…

From yesterday's press briefing, in which Robert Gibbs was asked how much Executive Compensation Special Master Ken Feinberg makes. Q What's Ken Feinberg being compensated? MR. GIBBS: I'm sorry? Q What is the compensation of Ken Feinberg? MR. GIBBS: I don't know. Q I mean, is it a paid position? Is…

When President Obama speaks to the American Medical Association Monday to pitch his vision for health care reform, he will have a lot of work to do. The group of 250,000 doctors has announced it is against a so-called "public option" for government-run health care, which Obama sees as central to…

Docs say no to Obama's "public option." Mahmoud's problem with women. Lawyer in Heller case seeking to have Second Amdendment right enforced against state and local gun-control laws. How the "public" option becomes the only option. The compensation czar doesn't like being called a czar. Russia not…

Very few details, but from Fox News: At least two people were shot at the national Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, an official told FOX News. Other media reports said a man walked into the museum and shot a security guard. Another guard returned fire, wounding the alleged…

What, the promise of 600,000 new jobs this summer didn't entice them? Forty-five percent (45%) of Americans say the rest of the new government spending authorized in the $787-billion economic stimulus plan should now be canceled. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 36%…

The rural, moderate Democrat with less money won, in a pretty stunning shift: Running with the least money and fewest ties to vote-rich Northern Virginia, State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds has won the three-way Democratic primary for governor, paving the way for a rematch with Republican Bob McDonnell in…

Obama's transparency czar is using $84 million to build a web site that won't be usable until October, and may not be useful until four years from now. Obama's stimulus oversight guru, Joe Biden, says "people are being scammed already" in the disbursement of $787 billion. And, when asked whether…

Come for the headline, stay for the robot snake video: ...the spying robot, about two meters long and covered in army camouflage, mimics the movements and appearance of a real snake, slithering around through caves, tunnels, cracks and buildings, sending images and sound back to a soldier…

Tom Coburn's STD lecture on hold due to pizza dispute. Lobbyists not getting gifts for lawmakers anymore, but they're "honoring" the heck out of them. Blair and Panetta fighting over spies. There she is, Miss Tibet. Walking on air, fairest of the fair, and ticking off China. Ramping up for…

I wonder when Olbermann will air this segment: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

About that: National unemployment rate the month that the stimulus was signed into law: 8.1 percent. National unemployment rate today: 9.4 percent. Nonetheless, the president was out this morning promising another 600,000 jobs "created or saved" this summer, and touting the 150K jobs he's already…

Kennedy's health-care bill, a primer. What will cap and trade mean? Dear Paul Krugman, Reagan didn't do it. Love...The Nation? "In victory, Daniels attracted a lot of Democratic votes, and 20 percent of the African-American vote." "There are only a few times that I felt like smacking Larry."…

Allison is "furious. They think they'll break me, but they will only make me fight harder in the end."

One of the odder moments in Obama's speech in Cairo came when he suggested creating a new tool whereby young people in disparate parts of the world could talk to each other in real time: ...and create a new online network, so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in…

From the most fruitful news source of our modern times comes this flash: Picture 1.png During the 2008 campaign for president, Sen. John McCain was frequently maligned for his alleged tech-gap with Barack Obama, who was famously addicted to his Blackberry. The attack on McCain's lack of…

The NYT found a photo of the iconic protester from China's Tiananmen Square that's never been published before. Mr. Jones' angle on the historic encounter is vastly different from four other versions shot that day, taken at eye level moments before the tanks stopped at the feet of the lone…

"My educational policies are based on the fact that I care more about my children than you do." The woman says, "No, you don't." Gramm says, "Okay: What are their names?" Health care tie. Add to the list of Democrats who don't pay taxes- the Kerry campaign. Matt Yglesias, you are wrong.…

Which ideologically motivated shooter is this? It's the one that Obama has yet to make a statement on. The one whose victim was a 23-year-old man, just out of basic training who had never seen combat. The one who shot two American soldiers in cold blood "because of what they had done to Muslims in…

You know, because you need a crack political team in place if you want to extract, say, more than $50 billion from the American people in less than a year: The company said yesterday that it would not stop its political operations, including its lobbying activity, despite the recent news, according…

From the "what if W. had dunnit" files: Sensitive nuclear information accidentally released publicly on Internet by most web-savvy administration of all time. Thou shalt not Twitter Tiananmen. Remember how well GSEs worked out with housing? Can't wait for what they do to the auto industry. I just…

Well, it's a close race with Nancy Pelosi, but Joe Biden is pulling ahead: "We know some of this money is going to be wasted," Biden said during a roundtable discussion in New York with business leaders aimed at promoting the two-year stimulus plan... "There are going to be mistakes made," said…

All your cars are belong to us. "Why should Israel make new agreements with Obama immediately after he established the precedent that they might be unilaterally discarded at a moment's notice?" In the preceding sentence, please feel free to play fill-in-the-blank, replacing "Israel" with "liberal…

I look forward to Keith Olbermann's denunciation of his network's resorting to this kind of "cowboy capitalism," which has been shown to fail again and again, bringing nothing but wealth and prosperity pain and misery to this once-great country.

Finally, a study that doesn't show conservatives are just plain stupid. Don't look now, but here's another one! A short history of the futility of diplomacy in North Korea. Hey, remember how North Korea's nuclear program was for civilian energy needs, too? Robert Gibbs better start lowering…

The car czar's conflict of interest. Blame the board! Meet Caroline Miller, a 7th-generation West Point grad. Dear Obama, gay groups are not protesting your appearances because they think you're totally awesome. Crist breaks pledge, hikes taxes. Consistency: NYT editorials on Sotomayor vs. Thomas…

Rep. Joe Sestak is telling his supporters he will run for Senate in Pennsylvania in 2010 against freshly-minted Democratic incumbent Arlen Specter. The younger, more telegenic, more Democratic politician more beloved of the money-raising Netroots will soon be discussing his final decision with his…

Remember when Barack Obama pledged he wouldn't raise taxes on anyone who made under $250,000? Remember when the Tax Day Tea Parties were all a bunch of nonsense because Barack Obama had yet to raise anyone's taxes? Perhaps the protesters were more prescient than they're given credit for. While…

The number of people who are qualified to disagree with Joe Klein is dwindling. I have been drafted here at THE WEEKLY STANDARD Online to take issue with Time's political columnist, as I am not now, nor have I ever been Jewish, Roman Catholic, or physically disabled. At such time as any of those…

Liz Cheney, the Nora O'Donnell-slaying voice for Bush-era national security measures and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, isn't currently considering a run for office, but didn't rule one out, either: "It's not something I'm focused on right now, I do have five little kids and I'm…

Obama, during his speech on national security last week: "I ran for President promising transparency, and I meant what I said." But on the easiest transparency pledge he made, the president has fallen consistently short. Here is yet another newspaper story on his failure to post bills on…

According to Sotomayor's philosophy, Steele's opinion (what with the "richness of his experiences") is more valuable than noted white man Mitch McConnell's opinion, so I thought it was worth posting: "Republicans look forward to learning more about federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor's…

The Canadian Governor General doesn't just hunt animals in her spare time, and drape the spoils over the sofa in her office. No, Michaelle Jean guts harp seals with her bare hands and devours their hearts as part of a ceremony of political solidarity with seal hunters: Jean knelt above a pair of…

This is the roll call vote from Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Circuit Court in 1998. She was opposed by 29 Republicans, 11 of whom are still in the Senate today: Brownback (R-KS) Enzi (R-WY) Grassley (R-IA) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Kyl (R-TX) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Roberts (R-KS)…

AP: Officials tell The Associated Press that President Barack Obama intends to nominate federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor (SUHN'-ya soh-toh-my-YOR') as the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor, 54, would succeed retiring Justice David Souter if confirmed by the Senate.…

Baltimore

Well, he's on a message. Just because it happens to be Dick Cheney's message is no reason to judge Joe harshly. Baby steps: Speaking to reporters on the final day of his tour of the Balkans, Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged the administration still hasn't figured out what to do with all the…

First off, let me concede that having a clerk read parts of the cap-and-trade climate bill Micro-Machines style is pretty funny, and far beyond the levity quotient one expects from Rep. Henry Waxman. On the other hand, this is the United States Senate, sir. Could we not spring for the actual Micro…

First off, let me concede that having a clerk read parts of the cap-and-trade climate bill Micro-Machines style is pretty funny, and far beyond the levity quotient one expects from Rep. Henry Waxman. On the other hand, this is the United States Senate, sir. Could we not spring for the actual Micro…

Everyone heard Obama introduce us to "William" Gates this morning. He was introduced at the Pentagon as "Ronald" Gates on Tuesday. That introduction was not by Obama, which the AP story linked above sort of suggests. Here's the video. The Pentagon's video links are failing me, so go to the main…

Always coming through with a meme (that's right, I said it) that soars, Jim Treacher brings us Cheneykus on Twitter. A selection of his work: Remember, lefties I'm not running for office Your polls make me laugh Hello, Jon Stewart You cried on September 12 But haven't since: Why? I'm bald and…

In rereading his speech, it's in this sentence: Today, I'm an even freer man. Your kind invitation brings me here as a private citizen - a career in politics behind me, no elections to win or lose, and no favor to seek. Hmmm, the very thing that brings our hero (Obama) to his knees is what makes…

Marc Ambinder gets a preview that includes, Step 1) Blame Bush: Obama will caution that he does not have "the luxury of starting from scratch" -- cleaning up something that is "a mess that has left in its wake a flood of legal challenges that we are forced to deal with on a constant basis and that…

The good news is they were snitched on and caught. The bad news is they're all U.S.-born: The FBI busted a homegrown terror cell late Wednesday night as the men sneaked around a Jewish temple in Riverdale planting what they thought were packages of C-4 explosives, sources told the Daily News. The…

"So, um, guys..Really, I meant to call before now." I imagine this meeting felt like the first post-break-up coffee with an embittered ex. It's Obama's unpleasant duty to lie to them, let them yell, and validate their feelings. It's their place to yell, feel momentarily assured, and walk away…

"Yes, children, hypocritical congressional investigations and foreign kangaroo courts are really our friends," Michael Gerson writes today in the Washington Post, describing the Democrats' "Mr. Rogers approach" to assuaging the intelligence community during their all-out assault on CIA morale:…

Presumably, new credit-card regulations constitute "emergency" legislation given that Obama is once again breaking his pledge to post legislation online five days before signing, in order to sign it Friday. President Obama will quickly sign the credit card legislation that just passed through…

Liberals pray for card check passage. Surprise: People hate newspapers more than airlines or cell phone providers. Yipes! The fiscal future, in pictures. Barack Obama bestows upon the nation most innovative, genius idea in car-manufacturing of the last 20 years. How nice of him! What's your NPR…

Today, as is often the case, the policy of California was exported to the federal government in the form of far more stringent fuel-efficiency and emissions standards. It is usually to the detriment of the rest of the country that policy moves from west to east like a liberal weather system, as…

Hey, what's a little oral sex joke on the news? Surely no one thought Anderson Cooper was trying to "disparage" the protesters! "I think it's an incorrect statement to say I was, in any way, trying to disparage legitimate protests," said Cooper. "I don't think it's my job to disparage, or…

Hey, what's a little oral sex joke on the news? Surely no one thought Anderson Cooper was trying to "disparage" the protesters! "I think it's an incorrect statement to say I was, in any way, trying to disparage legitimate protests," said Cooper. "I don't think it's my job to disparage, or…

Yesterday Art Laffer and Stephen Moore wrote in the Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Oregon want to raise income tax rates on the top 1% or 2% or 5% of their citizens. New Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn wants a 50%…

Happiness is...being old, male, and Republican. Just when you thought the "peace" movement might have lost some of its hateful self-righteousness... Robert Byrd in hospital with infection. Obama's personal investments show a shocking lack of money in "weatherizing," "electronic medical records,"…

Tacitly conceding this weekend that Fred Armisen's Barack Obama is just heinous, and even if it weren't they probably wouldn't have the guts to actually go after Obama, SNL went back to making fun of George W. Bush. In this skit, Will Ferrell reprises his impression of W. by admonishing Darrell…

Obama presumably to give Bibi a Zune loaded with "The Bible" as read by Charlton Heston. "New Testament optional, Beebs!" "You're a hypocrite!" one man yelled. "I'm a winner, pal," Graham shot back. Coleman v. Franken to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Dear California, Seriously? Seriously. Focus on…

Remember when Barack Obama was announcing his Obamacare plan, touting the 1.5 percent yearly decrease over 10 years in health care costs he had already wrung from health care providers? Yeah, about that: The president of the American Hospital Association said Thursday that a deal with the White…

Via Jim Treacher, who in the wonderful world of Twitter, has created a new kind of poetry in honor of the Democrats' great leader: I am not lying Except for what I just said And what I'll say next For more Treacher humor, check him out here. Update: Here's mine: Like Rice-a-Roni I'm a San Francisco…

At his last prime-time press conference Barack Obama disabused us of at least one crazy notion: And -- and that's why I'm always amused when I hear these, you know, criticisms of, "Oh, you know, Obama wants to grow government." No. And yet, George Will persists in pointing out facts that seem to…

A livstream of ESPN instead of the president, from the competent, tech-savvy Obama team.

Most ethical Congress ever blocks ethical inquiry of Jack Murtha for eighth time. Obama has 'til October to make his magic work on Mahmoud. Roxana redux: Two U.S. journalists to go on trial in North Korea in June. Mankiw, 1. Krugman, 0. Measuring jobs created or saved. Time to bail out Cali. "The…

The critics of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship had their chance to publicly criticize it in a Senate hearing today, but they were nowhere to be seen. National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel once called the program an "ongoing threat to public education in the District of…

plane_1399636c.jpg Sure, he thought it was funny, at the time. But upon reading reaction to the joke further reflection, the administration believes 9/11 jokes are beyond the pale: White House press secretary Robert Gibbs this afternoon expressed displeasure with the comedy stylings of Wanda Sykes,…

George Stephanopoulos is reporting that Edwards staffers who began to believe the rumors about their boss' infidelity had a "doomsday" strategy to destroy his campaign from the inside out if it looked like he were going to win the nomination: They said they were Democrats first, and if it looked…

OB-DQ490_Iran05_D_20090511074008.jpg

Drug companies, insurers, doctors to go to White House to beg for least livelihood-destroying socialist health-care bill possible. Lt. Dan 2012? The Scare Force One picture: Worth it? Will the handover of Iraq leave it in good hands? Zardari goes populist on the Obama administration: "The U.S. aid…

As if we don't already have enough people extending their quarter-life crisis getting various and sundry Master's degrees in social sciences, Victorian poetry, and running non-profits, so that they can then enter the workforce in debt up to their ears and destined never to make enough money to…

Hey, let's destroy Carrie Prejean for agreeing with the President! Though Republicans are largely powerless on Senate Judiciary Committee, lefties are already gearing up for the character destruction of Sen. Jeff Sessions. You know, just for fun. Barack Obama to visit Auschwitz Buchenwald, the…

This week more than 1,000 recipients of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship gathered in the heart of Washington, D.C. Dressed in little plaid school uniforms, holding signs that read, "Options = Power" and "My voucher is my future," they sang, cheered, and chanted within sight of the Capitol where…

Remember last week when all your Democrat friends were engrossed in ritual schadenfreudic dances of glee over Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic Party? Surely, it was not a good day for Republicans when he switched, but a week or so out, things aren't looking quite as bad for them,…

On the heels of a gathering of more than 1,000 recipients of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship in the heart of Washington, D.C. today, the Obama administration has alighted upon yet another squirrelly position on the program: President Obama will seek to extend the controversial D.C. school voucher…

At least 1,300 school kids and several hundred adults (many of them single parents who had to get off work) gathered at Freedom Plaza to rally for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program in Washington Wednesday. Funding for the program was cut by Congress this spring, and it must now be…

DC School Choice Press Conference 034(2).jpg Richard Holassie, an 8-year-old D.C. Opportunity Scholarship student, talks to Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) about why the program should keep its funding.

palin.jpg Mitt Romney grabbed headlines at the inaugural town-hall event of the National Council for a New America this Saturday by taking what many perceived as a whack at Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. For what it's worth, I thought it sounded more like the slightly clumsy joke typical of Romney (humor…

Take heart, Republicans! I have good news to deliver from the deepest blue part of purple Virginia. Alexandria City elected one Republican and one Republican-leaning Independent to its City Council yesterday, knocking off two Democratic incumbents. Frank Fannon IV, a mortgage banker, and Alicia…

Something about the idea of a Biden dynasty makes me shudder more than the Clintons, Kennedys, or Bushes. Apparently, the people of Delaware-who know the Bidens best!- are in agreement: A just-released poll shows Congressman [Mike] Castle with a sizable lead over Attorney General Beau Biden in a…

I like to note these little incidents when they happen, not because I think it makes Obama an idiot because he occasionally stumbles over his words, but because his somewhat overblown reputation as the most cerebral, eloquent, utterly erudite president of all time could really use a pricking every…

Welcome your new headline-maker, Democrats: "Specter hints Jack Kemp died of GOP agenda." Get in line to get your money back from Arlen Specter. The John Edwards 2012 campaign loses a tad more steam. Losing the rule of law. Deflation or inflation? About that flu pandemic... The candidate of…

I like it: Republican John Kasich is expected to file papers today so that he can begin raising money for the 2010 race for governor. Sources told The Dispatch that the former congressman from Westerville will file papers this afternoon with the Ohio secretary of state designating a treasurer for…

Obama's speaking style has always included a heavy reliance on an "it-is-because-I-say-it-is" philosophy. For instance, he started off his press conference by officially pronouncing a decidedly unclosed Gitmo, closed: We have rejected the false choice between our security and our ideals by closing…

If her interruptions interview of Liz Cheney about interrogation wasn't enough to show her true colors, she was just on MSNBC fretting about just how loyal a Democrat Arlen Specter might be. Interviewing Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell about whether he had made a deal with Specter to clear the…

A lovely moment, and glimpse inside the audacity of the Obama communications shop, at the press briefing just now. Jake Tapper pointed out that travel-industry officials had characterized Vice President Joe Biden's comments about swine flu and public transportation as "fearmongering." Biden made…

First, the earth moved briefly when the words "Bush administration" and "good job" came out of Barack Obama's mouth in the same sentence. Apparently he's finally inherited something he likes-stockpiles of Tamiflu and the infrastructure to deal with a pandemic. From now on, we're calling this sucker…

Barack Obama took a few moments at a town hall in Missouri today to address the 300,000 activists who showed up at Tax Day Tea Parties across the nation, protesting out-of-control spending and a growing deficit piled on by the new administration. With his signature eloquence and respect for…

How's this for synergy? You know, maybe the American Prospect is right, after all. This guy's sounding awfully reasonable...

I think I just spotted part of Obama's $100 million in savings. Is there a line item for scaring the mess out of New Yorkers traumatized by 9/11, 'cause I think we can let that go: President Barack Obama ordered a review of a publicity-photo shoot with one of the planes that serves as Air Force One…

Everyone and their momma is running for senate in Pennsylvania. Pick a party, any party! Morality and interrogation. Chris Buckley: "Enough with the torture sanctimony, huh?" Pakistan clamping down on militants. U.S. military to Taliban: "No poppies for you." Carter totally wants to get back…

Joe Torsella, the current front-runner for the Democratic Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, has vowed not to step aside and let Specter have the Democratic nomination. Unless he pulls a Specter and changes his mind in two weeks to serve his political ambition, that could make things slightly more…

Michael Steele readies for a fight: Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not. Let's be honest-Senator Specter didn't leave the GOP based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary…

Human Events is reporting it. Filibuster-proof majority, here we come. As if we didn't pass enough the first 100 days. The statement: "I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary," said Specter in a statement. "I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and…

The NYT assures us that Obama was "incensed" over yesterday's incredibly bone-headed idea to buzz the Manhattan skyline with a 747 and several F-16s, momentarily freaking out New Yorkers in a fashion reminiscent of Mohammed Atta. CBS says he was "furious." He should be, since the orders came right…

Seriously, White House? "It's so stupid because they tell you about every fire drill, but they didn't tell us about this." But don't worry. Obama is reportedly "incensed." Oddly enough, the WSJ is the only paper giving this colossal blunder front-page treatment. Update: I meant to add an "online…

No raise for you, Teleprompter: Laying his plan for a President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Obama began to name the members of PCAST listed in his prepared remarks - before realizing he'd already introduced them, earlier in his speech. "In addition to John - sorry, the - I just…

He's 1-for-11 on his promise to put bills online for five days before signing: President Obama promised on the campaign trail that he would have the most transparent administration in history. As part of this commitment, he said that the public would have five days to look online and find out what…

Aside from the cheap shots at Palin, this is a pretty good alternative history. Just imagine: But as his presidency nears the 100-day mark, nothing better symbolizes McCain's man-in-the-arena emulation of TR than his impromptu mid-February flight (the White House press corps was given 45 minutes'…

The entire column is a simultaneously smart and emotional appeal to the British government to avoid punishing wealth creators, but this is the most important sentence: So, I beg readers not to confuse overpaid bankers with the rest of Britain's entrepreneurs. Indeed, that is exactly the confusion…

Ha! Barack Obama finally learns how to tell a joke. The "citrus plot." Blame it on the juice. Jimmy Carter writes an op-ed. No good can come of this. Are you ready to ration!?!? Britain's entrepreneurs vote with their feet. The Democratic scandal scorecard. Dear Barack Obama: How many times must I…

Edenton, North Carolina

The most ethical Congress ever combined with the most transparent White House in history are making deals to pass a fundamental reshaping of the American health care industry before any of us get a look at it: Top Democrats on Capitol Hill have reached tentative accord on a budget blueprint that…

In a shocking turn of events, The Nation magazine's liberal editor has joined nefarious corporate backers and Fox News' dishonest trumpeters in giving credence to the utterly inauthentic, "Astroturf" Tax Day Tea Parties, which drew 250-300,000 protesters on April 15, around the country. At the…

Is the most ethical Congress ever obstructing global warming skeptics? The Roxana Saberi effect. Larry Summers hears lullabies when the president speaks. Is Glenn Beck right? 30 percent of Democrats prefer socialism. Taking the terrorists' word for it. Blagojevich flies. Can you hear me now? I'm…

Nancy Pelosi refuses to shut the door on the idea of impeaching Judge Jay Bybee, who gave the CIA the green light on enhanced interrogation in 2002. Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, said lawmakers must determine whether Mr. Bybee lied during his 2003 confirmation hearings, which won him a lifetime…

First, they were tricked into war, and now we find they were tricked into accepting enhanced interrogation techniques they found morally unacceptable and worthy of criminal prosecution for those who devised them. Oops! But if Hoekstra has anything to do with it, the play-dumb Democrats will be…

As if the "teabagging" jokes weren't bad enough, there's this from Larry King. The national media is all about staying out of people's bedrooms, unless the bedroom belongs to a Palin.

Gasp! David Paterson is just as bad as Miss California! Another tan, Republican silver fox may want to run for president. Mitt Romney, call your barber. Creeping protectionism. TARP is "inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse, including significant issues relating to conflicts of interest…

Henry Waxman: "I also want to warn you that as hard as we've been working, the pace is going to accelerate over the next four weeks." We better get to reading, as the U.S. Congress prepares to pass yet another gigantic overhaul of fundamental American systems really, really fast. This time, they're…

Another one of those "tough choices"- paying out $5.7 billion of your money to increase "vounteerism." Hmm, volunteering for money? Where I come from, they call that "working:" AmeriCorps offers a range of volunteer opportunities including housing construction, youth outreach, disaster response and…

Ya don't say: "President Obama promised CIA officers that they won't be prosecuted for carrying out lawful orders, but the people on the firing line don't believe him." Miss California: One of us. The U.S. Army vs. Ashton Kutcher? Some will be disappointed this is a Twitter contest, not a live-fire…

Well, there's at least one young, charismatic leader in Washington who is actually willing to make "tough choices" and go through the budget instead of just talking about it. Congress might want to take a gander at D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's budget when it reaches the Hill for approval in June, for…

My friend Juan Williams gets righteously angry about just the right thing today- the Obama administration's killing of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship. Where's the hope and change, and the promise to do what works for kids? In a politically calculated dance step the Obama team first indicated that…

President Pin-Up of the Oddly Shaped Pectorals Eugene Robinson slaps Obama on Chavez and Ortega. Paul Krugman slaps Obama on his fiscal discipline. "Imagine that the head of a household with annual spending of $100,000 called everyone in the family together to deal with a $34,000 budget shortfall.…

There were many travesties in yesterday's coverage of the nation's tea parties. There was a CNN reporter's brave attack on a father and his two-year old. There was the implication by NBC's Chuck Todd that the parties were orchestrated by the RNC, and the JournoList-approved talking point that that…

We're all right-wing extremists now, according to the Department of Homeland Security's report, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." You may think you're just an average entrepreneur disgruntled with the debt, but Janet…

Now, this is just getting mean. A newly Democratic Congress effectively killed the Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship in March, shutting down the $14 million pilot program for public school vouchers, which serves 1,700 inner-city minorities in the District, as of the end of next school year.…

Unsustainable pensions: The Berkeley City Manager is "now set up to earn more each year in retirement than the governor of California is entitled to annually while on the job." The Nation discovers unintended consequences. Eating crow: The New York Times tricked by guy who said he designed a…

Mothers of liberal bloggers never warned them about giving away the milk for free. Taking Communism away from the Communists. The trouble with sending Barney Frank to exact "cosmic justice." Headline of the day? GOP radio ads take aim at molester's ally A defense of the not-so-cold hearts of…

While inexplicably forgetting to deploy the "you are a big fat toad" line of debate on Rep. Barney Frank, this conservative Harvard student gets the congressman satisfyingly riled about his role in the financial crisis and bailout-mania. The well-spoken student is at first snickered at by a room of…

Camille Paglia is a woman after my heart. First, there was her delicious and unexpected tribute to the "muscular American feminism" of Sarah Palin. Then, there was her righteous spanking of fellow liberals for backing the Fairness Doctrine. And, although she was an Obama supporter, she's spent the…

...Said Terry McAuliffe, right before taking exception to this utterly routine, and kinda funny, crack from Gov. Mike Huckabee: During a recent appearance on behalf of Bob McDonnell - the Republican candidate for governor - Huckabee wisecracked that if McDonnell's supporters bump into someone who…

As I've learned time and time again from our friends on the Left during my time in Washington, it is the hallmark of serious political thinker to deal in the "larger truths." The larger truths are so important, in fact, as to justify twisting the smaller truths to illuminate them for the masses, at…

Goodbye, Global War on Terror. They're all doin' the J-Street Jive. Which, incidentally, is like the jitterbug, but more anti-Israel. "The Geithner plan works only if and when the taxpayer loses big time." OpenSecrets is now tracking lobbyist action on legislation. They may need a new donor to…

In a match-up that will determine the trajectory of both political parties of the United States from this day forward until the Republic ceases to exist, early, sketchy, probably untrustworthy reports are that Tedisco may pull this one out. At least one predicting a 3-point win for Tedisco, who…

After a decades-long reign as the most terrifying of phrases, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" relinquished its hold on the top spot this morning, thanks to the appearance of a fresh newcomer brought up from a farm team-The Akron Creepy Statists, presumably-by President Barack Obama:…

Bill Ayers' lecture plans at Boston College gets, err, blown up. "We are living through a similar time. An activist President is desperate to show he cares and is on top of things, working tirelessly to save the country." Twitter is everywhere. You will be assimilated. Tough crowd: "A regimented…

The NRCC came out with a heavy web ad today, keying off NY-20 Democratic candidate Scott Murphy's assertion that he opposes the death penalty for terrorists: The race, seen as increasingly important as an indicator of Republican fortunes, has also become increasingly close in the closing weeks of…

About that middle-class tax cut... NY Post endorses Tedisco. Party like it's 2008, with a disproportionate number of Sarah Palin stories! The world supply of irony is not in danger. The populist formerly known as Prince. With apologies to Allahpundit: Dude. My thoughts exactly. Obama's aunt's…

You know, it is an appalling indictment of our society that a public figure can still look at the first black President of the United States of America and see only a basketball star. When Eugene Robinson observes the intellectual dexterity of an Ivy-League educated intellectual and sees only a…

You know, it is an appalling indictment of our society that a public figure can still look at the first black President of the United States of America and see only a basketball star. When Eugene Robinson observes the intellectual dexterity of an Ivy-League educated intellectual and sees only a…

Don't question their priorities. Sure, the economy's bad and the budget's out of control, but they're just making an "investment" in devising a fair collegiate competition system that will ensure that American football stays competitive in the long term.

At Obama's first online town hall meeting, he didn't field a lot of tough questions, but one small businessman from Arlington gave the president a close-up look at the kind of person who can be lumped in with the "richest" in the federal tax code. Describing himself as a veteran and a small…

Rove: Obama points the way to GOP's future. Dems double-dog dare Republicans to deliver an alternative budget. What could go wrong? Biden's cutting radio ads in NY-20, God love 'im. The President's unannounced Medal of Honor Day trip. Meet the First Hairstylist. "The government would have the power…

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Ed Henry's question for the President last night, and the subsequent snippiness it inspired in President Obama, but I think the column-length play-by-play on "the exchange," as CNN is calling it, is a bit much: The pressure was on now because the president had called…

Mickey Kaus takes on the Ebony reporter's implausible assertion that "one in 50 American kids is homeless:" 1) The report apparently counts all people who are "homeless" even one night over the course of a year. That's very different from saying that one-in-50 are homeless at the same time--e.g.,…

cloud.jpg This is a word cloud of Obama's press conference last night. I think my favorite part is how prominently the word "well" figures. In the Obama lexicon, "well" is more important than "families" or "deficit," or the entirety of his foreign policy. It's a good thing they don't transcribe…

But is it fast enough so we can fly away? As a political observer, there are so many reasons to love the red-faced walking comedy of errors that is Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. When he's not tripping up his own party by declaring his own constituents racist, he's throwing the left-wing blogosphere…

Goldfarb, your work is done. Now, McCain's finally got Obama right where he wants him. Too bad he wasn't quite in game-shape back in November.

The coming slowdown in potential growth. As usual, you can blame the Boomers. One of these stained shirts was washed in Communism for 50 years. The other in Free-Market. Let's see the results! Hey, Geithner should have been reading Mankiw's blog back in October. Geithner's plan and incentives.…

(All references to apocalypse are tongue-in-cheek...I hope. Some of that gallows humor Obama loves so much.) The markets are momentarily happy about the long-awaited, fleshed-out announcement of the Geithner plan to rescue failing banks. Increasingly frustrated since the Treasury Secretary's…

As if the Obama administration needed any other potential P.R. obstacles this week, along comes self-absorbed Hollywood to perform special effects that look remarkably like terrorist attacks on the Potomac River, near the Key Bridge. The DDOT is distributing this message: Please be advised CBS…

Batter up: Geithner takes another whack at delivering bank plan. Losing Krugman: "Or to put it another way, Treasury has decided that what we have is nothing but a confidence problem, which it proposes to cure by creating massive moral hazard." Losing Frank Rich: "Another compelling question…

The porch light is on at a modest townhouse in Northeast D.C. Inside, there's a strategy session that looks nothing like the ones held behind the closed doors of Congress. School-choice activist Virginia Walden-Ford is chatting with her sister and local parents. A little girl is perched on the arm…

The cars that drove Detroit's customers away. Geithner's Feb. 10 plan now set to be revealed in April. White House vs. CBO on deficits. Teleprompter of the United States meme taking off, as Noonan picks up the ball and runs with it. Fund raising off Dodd's woes. Burning questions: Hey, what's…

This morning, Obama had to apologize to the head of the Special Olympics for his flop of a foray into stand-up, Bernard-Manning-style. He expressed his disappointment and he apologized, in a way that was very moving," Shriver said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "It's important to see that words…

Earlier today, liberal bloggers at Crooks and Liars and Digby went after John McCain for not vociferously defending his daughter in an interview with George Stephanopoulos. Here's the exchange in question: GStephanopoulos@SenJohnMcCain Lots of twitterers want to know: what do you think of Meghan's…

This is what we like to call epic protocol FAIL.

Freethrow shooting: The stat that will not budge. Will there be bonuses offered for Congressional preening? Because it's about to kick into overdrive. TARP firms have been doing their taxes, Daschle-style, according to House Ways and Means investigations. Krauthammer sticks up for Liddy. Barack…

I never bought the argument of the Left, indulged in frequently during the Bush years, that if he was in Crawford, he couldn't possibly be doing his job. If he was exercising frequently, he couldn't possibly be doing his job. Most of them believed he couldn't possibly be doing his job, no matter…

The idea of federal yard sales. Literally. Obama finds unfamiliar foreboding in AP analysis: "Gone are the days when they could merely bludgeon the Bush administration and promise to seek bipartisan solutions to the nation's economic problems." Obama's bracket backlash: "I think it's the first time…

Andrea Mitchell apologizes for reporting on the fact that Obama nominees don't meet his own ethics standards. Hmmm, this won't quell pro-life concerns about Michael Steele. Steele is already walking it back. Wal-Mart could make a bunch more money if it just increased its cost base! The dangers of…

Hillary Clinton announced this week a program that would give 25 "opportunity grants" for "promising but disadvantaged" Palestinians students to get good educations. The $1 million program would be added on top of the $900 million the State Department has already promised to rebuild Gaza. When the…

Pelosi selling Stimulus II like a creepy, kindergarten teacher: "The word of the day is confidence." Fit for the National Museum of Treacle: Bad paintings of Barack Obama Two Obama advisers on science to benefit from new stem-cell ruling. Putting the Obama administration on the couch. I like…

As part of the negotiations for passing the increasingly embarrassingly delayed omnibus bill, the Senate is considering a number of Republican amendments, one of which would strip the omnibus bill of language that would kill the Washington Opportunity Scholarship program. The program, which allows…

I was going to try to make it to this debate, but my plane couldn't land due to a thick, low-hanging cloud of ego and malevolence over the city. This does not bode well for the banking crisis. I think it's fair to say that belief in Geithner's mishandling is now officially unideological: Maher said…

The Left now obsessing about 14-year-old conservative leaders. Carville and Begala are polling his popularity as we speak. Inevitable: Gingrich vs. Rush Harry Reid will have to do some heavy lifting to pass card check. One more Democrat against card check. "A Connecticut senator is in trouble, and…

The Obama White House is quickly learning the folly of picking fights with private citizens who also happen to buy microphones by the barrel. When the administration attacks Rick Santelli, Jim Cramer, and Rush Limbaugh from the podium in the press briefing room, all three feel compelled to defend…

Or, not. After failing to pass the long-overdue spending bills on Thursday because Sen. Harry Reid couldn't get 60 votes, the Congress was forced to pass another continuing resolution while the Senate tries again to get cloture on the bill Tuesday night. Reid hopes allowing Republicans a vote on…

Robert Samuelson takes a solid whack at Obama in "Obama's Double Talk:" To those who believe that Barack Obama is a different kind of politician -- more honest, more courageous -- please don't examine his administration's budget... Obama is a great pretender. He repeatedly says he is doing things…

Obama calls NYT reporters for a do-over on "are you a socialist?" question. "I never thought I'd be in a room with so many senators." Surprise: Illegal immigrants may get stimulus jobs. From the "what if Bush had done it" files. The shout-out that no one heard. Consensus seems to have been reached…

There is a political missionary in the grocery stores of Prince William County, Virginia, waiting to proselytize while shoppers are sorting through out-of-season avocados.

Another "tough choice" Obama could encourage: In a bold move today, House Republicans attempted to force the Democrat majority to freeze federal government spending at current levels. Because Senate Democrat leadership failed to get enough votes to pass the porked-up $410 billion omnibus spending…

I knew we could work together if we just tried! A $410 omnibus spending bill being piloted by Congressional Democrats ran into trouble last night, as Sen. Harry Reid was unable to get 60 votes to end debate on the measure after scheduling a vote for 8:15 p.m. Reid had hoped to ram the giant bill…

The great non-sequitur. The Gettysburg Address, with TelePrompters. Good news: Woman-beater Chris Brown still up for prizes in the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Yikes: Tim Geithner has no deputies who can figure out the banking problem, either. Congressman: "We're living in 'Atlas Shrugged.'"…

We try to fire up the ol' flatscreen in the Weekly Standard headquarters every now and then to watch the daily press briefing. In so doing, we've noticed Gibbs' almost comical tendency to make a bad economic situation sound even more demoralizing. Since Obama's nomination, the White House has been…

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan jumped into the political fray over the Washington, D.C. school voucher program yesterday, indicating the administration would be more friendly to the scholarship than Congressional Democrats. Duncan opposes vouchers, he said in an interview with The Associated…

"I'd suggest to the city that they think twice before taking on us badminton players again." The Obama administration should rewatch "Glengarry Glen Ross." FBI Raids and Allegations of Fraud Are No Reason To Remove Earmarks, Democrats Conclude Education Secretary Arne Duncan comes out in favor of…

John Boehner isn't the only one getting tougher on Obama this week. A group of 49 moderate Democrats, facing tough reelection campaigns for 2010, are joining forces against elements of Obama's sweeping plans. They're wary of the omnibus spending bill, health care legislation, plans for…

Charles Krauthammer sounded an ominous note on Fox last night about the direction- or lack thereof-of the administration on the banking problem: What was hoped was that there would be a new team, new people, fresh ideas, who have a year, ‘08, in which to study and learn what went wrong and would…

Psst, Geithner: In case you want to work on the whole banking issue, here's a list of the 12 largest U.S. banks, broken down into "zombies," "walking wounded," "risky but proud," and "hidden gems." Mankiw vs. Krugman: Economist death match. Transparency and bipartisanship: Obama to push gargantuan…

345,http_d.yimg.com_a_p_ap_20090303_capt.af7fe4c782b040a7a55b99b0d8ac7eba.afghan_iphone_mullah_rmx201.jpg I am so looking forward to the release of the new "Vice Squad App," which will allow me to pinpoint the location of a bare female ankle or the presence of nail laquer upon the fingers of a…

Six weeks in, with the Dow falling precipitously, the boss has questions about Obama's priorities: Obama has spent far more time publicly defending his stimulus package, and touting his health care, energy, and education proposals, than explaining how he's going to deal with the banking crisis. Yet…

There are 1,700 Washington, D.C. students, 99 percent of them minorities, who attend safe, quality private schools in the District thanks to a voucher program passed narrowly by the Congress four years ago. Two of those children are classmates of Sasha and Malia Obama at the prestigious Sidwell…

Blago to write a book on dark side of politics. Comes with bonus collection of combs and hairspray. The road to Damascus. It has come to this: Meghan McCain on dating. 49 percent say "no thanks" to nationalized health care, at least until the economy shapes up. "Those of us who consider ourselves…

Last year, Adrian Fenty was the coolest, promising, intellectual, handsome young politician in Washington, D.C. But this year, there's a new kid on the block, and he's throwing down the gauntlet for D.C.'s former most popular kid. From the mean streets of Chicago, Barack Obama swaggered into the…

The Obama administration has decided that the UN's earnest international dialogue about the scourge that is the Jewish people racism is not something the U.S. should be involved in, despite previous promises to "engage" at the conference. The prepared text for the conference scared off Obama's…

Obama Team needs a technology bailout. Only bold, swift action will solve this problem. Perspective: A trillion seconds is 32,000 years. With a name like Adolfo Carrion, he had to be crooked. Janeane Garofalo and Keith Olbermann sit around discussing how "unlikeable" Rush Limbaugh is. Rush finds…

As is always the case, Newt Gingrich delivered a speech that did not bore on Friday at CPAC. Entering the hall to a mob of college students, "Eye of the Tiger," blaring in the background, he was perhaps inspired by the pugilistic soundtrack. He opened his speech with a challenge for Attorney…

19 Georgia lawmakers preparing resumes for Obama Cabinet positions by getting behind on taxes. Tancredo obliges Think Progress by assessing the Bobby Jindal speech in his characteristically sober way. Obama's audaciously hopeful budget predictions vs. private prognosticators. Somewhere, Ayn Rand is…

Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor cum candidate cum Fox News host, spoke on the first day of CPAC, using his considerable communication skills to bring the audience through a 30-minute vision of the revitalization of the Republican Party, on everything from nuclear energy to health care. And,…

Contradicting Obama's language on the trail and his press secretary's comments in the briefing room, there's a $7.7 million earmark in the $410 billion spending bill with Barry's name on it: President Obama, who took a no-earmark pledge on the campaign trail, is listed as one of dozens of…

Canoes and tattoo removal: Your tax dollars at work. It was "savings" two days ago. Now, it's "deficit reduction." Will the new White House rely too heavily on Obama's ability to give a grand-slam speech? Top 5 best conservative movie moments. Good news: You'll be paying for the affluent Bay Area's…

It is the overwhelming consensus that Bobby Jindal's delivery of the response to the President's address last night was not good. It is truly too bad that Jindal didn't shine last night, but it was not his last chance to do so. There seems to be a panicky vibe to the panning of Jindal's speech,…

Did Helen Thomas crack a "Slumdog Millionaire" joke about Bobby Jindal this morning? She said it to a film crew, so I look forward to the video. According to Washington Times reporter Christina Bellantoni, she did. Don't worry. It's not racist or even insensitive. Jindal's a Republican, which makes…

bredesen.jpg Gov. Phil Bredesen talks with reporters Wednesday in the Capitol in Nashville, Tenn. AP Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D-Tenn.) is joining Gov. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) in the small chorus of politicians who are openly wary about taking all of the federal…

Consensus: Jindal speech great on paper, delivery not so great. The AP fact-checks Obama. Did America invent solar technology and the automobile? The scariest image of the night? Looking forward to seeing the $2 trillion in waste Obama's rooting out. In other words, Secretary Clinton is now asking…

If you add up the stimulus bill, Obama's proposed foreclosure fix, and the omnibus spending bill House Democrats are preparing, the administration is kicking off its tenure by spending a whopping $1.4 trillion. There's money for green golf carts. There's money for ACORN. There's money for…

From Gov. Bobby Jindal's prepared response to Obama's not-quite SOTU tonight: As I grew up, my mom and dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country - and they instilled in me an immigrant's wonder at the greatness of America. As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my…

Jennifer Loven can tell the future. Maybe Obama should put her on his economic team. See Instapundit for a brief history of similar "laphamizations."

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) met with rogue Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) this morning for about 45 minutes, but was rebuffed by Bold Blago's protege when he asked him to resign: "I told him under the circumstances that I would consider resigning," Durbin told reporters. "He said he would not resign."…

The Florida state cosmetology authorities launched a preemptive strike on an imminent threat to the well-being of its citizens this week, outlawing the trendy "fish pedicure" despite the fact that it has yet to be offered anywhere in the state. The procedure, popularized in Asia and introduced to…

Confidence in War on Terror has dropped dramatically in last two weeks. The greasy taste of reform: $410-billion omnibus spending bill contains 9,000 pork projects. Obama ready to give $900 million for shovel-ready projects in Gaza. Yeah, about the polar ice caps melting... McCain confronts Obama…

President Bush offered job as greeter at Dallas hardware store.

The New York Times is happily reporting, with credulity, that the President plans to "slash deficit, despite stimulus spending.". The Washington Post reports on his "stern speech," which rapped the Bush administration for leaving Obama with a record deficit. Nevermind that large parts of that…

Obama's egghead methods not working, and Holder was wrong to call us all "cowards," says... MoDo? Another view on aid to Africa, with a dash of moral authority. If Chris Dodd had a TLC real-estate show, it would be called something really catchy like, "Trading Favors." Why the long faces? When…

As questions swirl around Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointment to fill Obama's seat, the L.A. Times has joined the chorus of papers calling for Burris' resignation. It doesn't matter whether there was a quid pro quo behind Burris' appointment. By failing to level with…

Sen. Richard Burr polling under 50 percent in newly blue North Carolina. Other electoral shifts in New Jersey and Virginia? Indicted Baltimore mayor miffed she wasn't mentioned during Obama's pre-inauguration stop in B'more. She's letting him off easy; she could have asked for a Cabinet spot.…

Gee, I wonder why it is, Atty. Gen. Holder, that Americans of all creeds and colors don't feel perfectly free to talk more with "each other about things racial?" Oh, that's right.

President Obama is set to unveil a new plan today to stem rising foreclosures by empowering the government to renegotiate loan terms to keep people in their homes. The price tag for the measure is expected to be between $50 and $100 billion. Details remain scarce, but officials are looking to help…

Yeah, this guy probably didn't deserve any of the blame for Katrina, right? Following in the McCain campaign's footsteps, the House GOP violates copyrights, provoking cranky liberal bands, and earning two news stories for every web video released. Jindal: I will assess the money provided to…

Half of Illinois voters approve of new Gov. Pat Quinn. Other half unsure that you can even be governor without an indictment. Obama ousts Churchill from Oval Office. Sheriff Joe vs. John Conyers (D-elusional). Fallen Marine awarded Navy Cross for saving 30 Marines, 25 Iraqis from suicide attack in…

Bow down and worship.

The House just passed the stimulus package with no Republican support, and eight "no" votes from Democrats. Rep. Aaron Schock, whose llinois district is home to Caterpillar, spoke on the floor about the president's speech to his constituents and their telling response. Caterpillar has been a…

ACORN money, pet projects...back in the stimulus! Hey, remember when fixing the AMT was too expensive, and Democrats were pay-as-you-go? You could buy, literally, two whole Quarter Pounder meals a week with your middle-class tax cut. House begins debate on stimulus, after the public has a whole 12…

At around 3 p.m. today, stimulus negotiators held a press conference announcing a deal on the bill, thanks to deal-making meetings to which GOP conferees were reportedly not invited. At around 4 p.m., the New York Times reported that the deal is not cemented yet, as Pelosi doesn't yet have her…

Well, as Allah notes, we don't know for sure she's a conservative, but it's a decent bet. Yesterday, Henrietta Hughes asked The One for a home at a town hall meeting in Florida: "I have an urgent need, unemployment and homelessness, a very small vehicle for my family and I to live in," she said.…

Big Democrats just can't seem to get right with Big Government, lately. Tim Geithner "mistakenly" avoided more than $40,000 in taxes. Nancy Killefer withdrew her nomination over word that she failed to pay employment taxes for household help. Tom Daschle "honestly" overlooked more than $100,000 for…

Criticism for Barack Obama's plan and his selling of it is coming from all quarters. John Dickerson writes in Slate: He was probably more effective in this gambit, if for no other reason than some of these quotes will be replayed over the next 24 hours. The attacks are still disingenuous, though.…

"Giving up being liked is the ultimate public sacrifice." Perhaps something Kathleen Parker should have pondered herself, before the election. Blago had that hair in high school, too! "This marks the lowest level of support for the Democrats in tracking history and is the closest the two parties…

"So, you know, we -- we can differ on some of the particulars, but, again, the question I think the American people are asking is, do you just want government to do nothing, or do you want it to do something? If you want it to do something, then we can have a conversation. But doing nothing, that's…

Headline 1, wherein Mary Katharine tries her best to avoid any puns. Is the White House's census power grab unconstitutional? Meet the new guy in charge of the census. Gerry. Gerry Mander. Israeli turnout in national elections up 3 percent despite forecasts of possible apathy, rain, and a 30…

In Arab, Alabama, a "social experiment" garnered the kind of result not likely to garner many media reports. Credit where credit is due to CNN for reporting this story, and reporting it like this: Hailey Woldt put on the traditional black abaya, expecting the worst. The last time she'd worn the…

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It's so nice to have a universally admired man as president who never bumbles. Equally at home with the simple management of doorway height and the complex navigation of a pork-filled monstrosity through Congress while its approval ratings drop precipitously enough to signal electoral backlash, it…

When Obama supporters gathered this weekend to build support for the first major legislation of the new president's tenure, those who had campaigned for change found themselves talking about something unexpected- politics as usual. "I trust Obama. I'm disappointed in what has been put out here for…

The Senate moderates who put together a tentative deal to pass a $780 billion stimulus bill are now speaking on the floor. You can watch a live stream at CSPAN.org, if you're into that kind of thing on a Friday night. Joe Lieberman: "It wasn't easy to get 60 votes, but tonight, we're gonna do it."…

Meet the Generator Man, capitalism's answer to FEMA's ineptitude. "I'm your huckleberry gubernatorial candidate." Pelosi can't wait 'til conference: One, Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, told reporters he and others hoped that some of the funds on the chopping block would be restored next week when…

Do not mess with Diane Feinstein, people. She already sent a shot across the President's bow when she was not informed of Leon Panetta's nomination to CIA chief, knocking Barack's lack of communication and indirectly knocking Panetta's qualifications. Then she broke with the rest of the Senate…

Sen. John Kerry took to the Senate floor today to pace, rant, and raise his voice in a monotone simulation of human passion as he spoke up for the massive spending bill the Democrats want to pass today under the guise of "stimulus." During his speech, he addressed the argument made by fellow…

And, then there were three moderate Republicans. Sen. George Voinovich has left the team of moderates attempting to craft a $100-billion cut in the current size of the stimulus plan, leaving Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Olympia Snowe, and Sen. Arlen Specter to haggle with Democrats. Voinovich left a…

Sarah Palin just got hotter: She named her daughter after the home of ESPN headquarters. "Obama has only been President for 17 days. It's mind-boggling how many screw-ups there have been. . . . It seems to me that the mode of ambulation is the stumble." Mitch McConnell seems to be taking advantage…

So much for having the votes for the bill tonight, huh? Isn't this the same mistake Pelosi made on the bailout package the first time around- coming to the floor and overpromising without the votes to make it happen? At least Harry saw the writing on the wall and bailed before an actual defeat on…

After all, what better to fix the ailing economy than a giant, cumbersome product of questionable value and exorbitant expense? Update: A slightly more risque, great stimulus parody from Reason.tv. Click the pic to watch: Picture 9.png

Barack Obama's week just got a little worse. When the Inauguration Committee announced Beyonce would sing "At Last" for Michelle and Barack's first dance, many wondered why the couple didn't ask Etta James herself to sing her signature song. Either they knew she wasn't keen on Obama, or Etta is…

Wow, Hillary's thank-you to Bill: So awkward you may not get through watching it. Clooney set to star in scintillating blockbuster about habeus corpus. Joe, the professional shark-jumper? Biden muffs yet another oath after mocking Roberts. Support for stimulus among economists dropping like, well,…

Yesterday, Michelle Obama, prominent mother of two Sidwell Friends students, gave the first remarks on her listening tour of federal agencies at the Education Department, detailing her commitment to public schools. She entered the room to loud applause, working a long receiving line before she…

Daschle has withdrawn, according to several breaking news alerts, but very few details thus far. Tom Daschle has withdrawn his nomination to be Health and Human Services secretary. That's according to a joint White House statement from President Barack Obama and his former nominee. Obama said…

Before Tom Daschle was evading taxes for his chauffeur service, he was running as a jalopy-driving man of the people. My, how times have changed. This is Daschle in 1986. Before he succumbed to the siren song of luxury car services and the tantalizing red glow of designer eyewear, he had a simple…

So, has the Obama team just dispensed with vetting entirely now? President Obama's new candidate to run the Commerce Department voted in favor of abolishing the agency as a member of the Budget Committee and on the Senate floor in 1995. Sen. Judd Gregg , R-N.H., whose nomination was expected to be…

And, that makes three. It's unclear how serious "Chief Performance Officer" Nancy Killefer's problems with the IRS are. She may have been pushed to withdraw given the aggregate public relations hit the Obama administration is taking due the revelation that NO DEMOCRATS PAY THEIR TAXES. When Obama…

Ouch: "Daschle is dispensable." Army private lands safely with dying instructor at his back during first skydive. Newsflash: Working at Wal-Mart may not be as soul-sucking and terrible as liberals think, a data point they could have gleaned from the thousands who line up for applications at every…

Aretha Franklin's Inauguration Day hat, featuring a gigantic wool bow sparkling with Svarovski crystals, has already made a splash on the Internet. Since January 20, it has been Photoshopped onto countless pop culture and political icons, not to mention personal pictures. It's spawned more than 25…

President vs. Pop Star: Obama keeps it classy by picking on Jessica Simpson's weight. Nice. Pollster Geoffrey Garin, a top Democratic strategist, says Steele puts "a better, friendlier face" on the GOP, but the party's problems are deep-seated. "He has a very steep hill to climb" to change that,…

Here is my real-time transcript of his speech. I may have missed a few sentences, but it's almost all there: As a litte boy growing up in this town-this is awesome. It is with a great deal of humility and a sense of service that I accept and appreciate and thank all of you for the opportunity to…

Track the RNC chairman vote, happening now, right here. RNC communication FAIL. CNN: Hey, let's not worry about judging Obama's "First 100 Days," huh? Shouldn't Obama also be lecturing Congress for giving itself a raise? Here's to transparency! Now, sign this bill you haven't even read. Quick!…

I'm pretty sure with every interview, she's chipping away at public support. Below, her stellar explanation of why STD prevention education is stimulative. Because it just is:

I and others noticed last week there were no press briefing transcripts on the WhiteHouse.gov website, despite the Obama's administration's promises of increased transparency. It seemed like a deliberate omission considering WhiteHouse.gov looked like a finished product when it switched on…

Perhaps it's the weather that's confusing President Obama. After all, anyone could be thrown for a loop when Al Gore is testifying on the Hill as to the impending doom of the planet Earth due to global warming while the Hill is blanketed in snow and ice. Maybe that's why Obama was ridiculing…

Ouch: Goracle gored by Dana Milbank. Bring on the Rangel Rule for delinquent taxpaying citizens. RNC race is wide open as members gather to vote. Not the Charmer-in-Chief: Obama gets the big, fat goose-egg after wooing Republicans for days. Been there, done that in Iran. Palin and Obama: Together…

Good news: The 2009 Virginia governor's race already has ads on TV. You know what they say: If you give an anti-Semitic mouse a cookie... Good news: The 2010 race for Harry Reid's seat already has ads on TV. If Gaza became the next Dubai, would they throw Fatah party members off the top of the…

The Obama administration has talked of an intention to put the stimulus bill online for the American people to read before it's voted on, which is commendable. But where is it? Apparently in the same place as the press briefing transcripts. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about when the bill…

Jimmy Carter: "Of course Hamas can be trusted." As I've said before, John Conyers would hold a fake impeachment hearing at the Chuck E. Cheese with the animatronic band as witnesses. Most tech-savvy White House in history has e-mail meltdown in Week One. Jon Favreau writes mediocre speeches and…

The elitist chef constituency is very excited about Obama and what he might tell all of us to eat, which strikes me as odd considering there's a fair amount of evidence that he doesn't eat much of anything: Phrases like "real food" and "farm-to-table" may sound like elitist jargon tossed around at…

Barack Obama's administration may be promising the "greatest ethical standard ever administered to an executive branch," and increased transparency over his predecessor, but it seems to be forgoing at least one transparency practice that was routine in the Bush White House- transcripts of the daily…

Obama's opportunity: "Over the next three decades, it was modern conservatism, led at the crucial moment by Ronald Reagan, that assumed the task of defending liberty with strength and confidence. Can a revived liberalism, faced with a new set of challenges, now pick up that mantle?" Step one for…

Obama better break out those waivers pretty quick. A group of mostly left-leaning government watchdog groups are asking senators not to confirm Deputy Sec. of Defense nominee William Lynn due to his lobbying ties to defense contractor Raytheon: Several Washington watchdog groups have ratcheted up…

milli_vanilli_main.jpg We were betrayed on Hope Day One. Following in the inauspicious footsteps of Milli Vanilli and Ashlee Simpson before them, the all-star chamber orchestra serenading Barack Obama Tuesday was caught in the act of instrumental lip-syncing. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak…

Obama's not the first president to retake the oath or forgo the Bible. Blagojevich compares his arrest to attack on Pearl Harbor. You will all soon be asked to buy Blago Bonds to help the defense effort. Rule of thumb: Wait a week after the elation of inauguration before getting an Obama tattoo.…

Yesterday, Joe Biden took a shot at Chief Justice John Roberts for transposing the words of the oath of office on Inauguration Day. He should have held his fire. Today, he flubbed the oath while administering it to Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett: But who can blame ol' Joe? He's never been…

Despite signing an executive order yesterday that would prevent lobbyists in his administration from working in the areas for which they lobbied, his Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee most recently lobbied for one of the biggest defense contractors in the U.S.- Raytheon. The obvious contradiction…

Isn't it nice to know that the WaPo can still surprise you with its bias after all these years? Stimulus could do some good, but won't actually stimulate. The re-oath. What will become of the 50-state strategy? Sizing up Obama's executive orders. "It is so amazing to see what the daughter of a son…

Let's just say President Obama's sense of irony is not nearly as well-developed as his sense of self-confidence: President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed a sweeping set of executive orders and directives he said would usher in "a new era of openness," freezing the salaries of senior aides and…

A new Congressional Budget Office report suggests Obama's proposed, gianormous stimulus plan is really just a proposed, gianormous spending plan: Less than half the money dedicated to highways, school construction and other infrastructure projects in a massive economic stimulus package unveiled by…

All of the telecasts of yesterday's Inauguration lauded the peaceful, and even positive, transfer of power that we take for granted in America. Indeed, it is something to be applauded. The pictures of the Obamas and Bidens seeing the Bushes off in their helicopter, even sharing a joke on the…

Clinton vs. Cornyn in the Rotunda. The unofficial inaugural parties struggled at the greatest, most enthusiastic inauguration celebration of all time? Nifong says it's not his fault. Questions Tim Geithner should be asked, not counting, "Will you pay your taxes, pretty please?" Whither the enviros…

MSNBC carried a shot of a group mocking President Bush with "Na, na, na, na, hey, hey, hey good bye" as he took his seat. I figured there'd be a bit of this, but singing the song was particularly bold. Not your average under-the-breath boo or hiss for these classless attendees.

Does the era of bipartisanship mean people of the same party have to get along, too? If so, then Jimmy Carter has yet to "put away childish things," judging by this tape.

Ironically, the famously eloquent new president stumbled three times during his Oath of Office, requiring prompting from Chief Justice John Roberts. It was out-of-character, but one of the more human moments from a man renowned for his composure. His prepared remarks are going much more smoothly.…

All that fuss for nothing. Pastor Rick Warren delivered his much-anticipated invocation Tuesday, calling the inauguration of the first black president a "hinge-point of history" that has "Dr. King and a great crowd of witnesses are shouting in heaven." He asked blessings upon Obama, his family, and…

Kay Hagan, the new Democratic senator from North Carolina, signaled the dawning age of bipartisanship Sunday as she spoke to the pro-choice women's political group, EMILY's List at an Inaugural Luncheon. The group was gathered to celebrate the wins of Democratic women in the Senate, House and…

Obama will keep President Bush's custom-made Oval Office rug. It really ties the room together. Not just an Inauguration; the largest temporary restroom in history. Cheney will appear at Inauguration in a wheelchair, partly because he pulled a back muscle, and partly because he thinks now that he's…

The "otherwise smooth" transition of the Obama administration hit yet another bump in the road today when the team's vaunted discipline could not keep the likes of pop princess Beyonce Knowles in line. When it was announced today that Beyonce would perform the couple's first dance, the inauguration…

Of seven newly minted freshman Democratic senators, six voted for releasing the second half of the $700 billion TARP funds in what is being considered Obama's first major test of strength on the Hill. This would be rather uncontroversial had not five of them, to some degree or another, campaigned…

Thanks to this web application, you can do it right now. Groping cardboard cut-outs of female Cabinet appointees is optional, but apparently helpful to the Obama speech-writing process, so have at it if you wish. Here's my go at it: My fellow Americans, today is a illustrious day. You have shown…