Let's Hear Some Straight Talk  —  BEGIN TRANSCRIPT  —  RUSH: A new California poll taken just after Fred Thompson's withdrawal from the Republican primary shows Mitt Romney as leading big over McCain in California when it comes to which candidate best represents the Republican Party.

Jay Rockefeller's unintentionally revealing comments  —  (updated below - Update II - Update III)  —  As the Senate takes up “debate” today over granting the President new warrantless eavesdropping powers and granting immunity to lawbreaking telecoms, the individual who joined forces …

Tentative Deal on Economic Stimulus Plan  —  WASHINGTON — House leaders and the White House on Thursday announced a tentative agreement on an economic stimulus package of roughly $150 billion that would pay stipends of $300 to $1,200 per family and provide tax incentives for businesses to encourage spending.

Toughen up, Obama, or concede the White House now  —  The Medina County Democratic Action Committee (in Ohio)* wants Barack Obama to withstand the Clinton machine, or else be prepared to lose everything.  —  The group's shout-out derives from this Washington Post article that examines the quality …

Anti-Bush campaign planned  —  WASHINGTON - A liberal advocacy group plans to spend $8.5 million in a drive to ensure that President Bush's public approval doesn't improve as his days in the White House come to an end.  —  Americans United for Change plans to undertake a yearlong campaign …

Bill Gates Issues Call For Kinder Capitalism  —  Famously Competitive, Billionaire Now Urges Business to Aid the Poor  —  Free enterprise has been good to Bill Gates.  But today, the Microsoft Corp. chairman will call for a revision of capitalism.  —  In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos …

Source at Fund-Raiser: Edwards Calls McCain ‘Crazy’ and Says Hillary Thinks There's More on Rezko  —  Before John Edwards let David Letterman mess up his hair on the Late Show last night, the former Senator was at a private fund-raiser in midtown Manhattan, also attended by Kevin Bacon …

Venezuelan troops seize food  —  Venezuela's top food company has accused troops of illegally seizing more than 500 tonnes of food from its trucks as part of President Hugo Chavez's campaign to stem shortages.  —  The leftist Chavez this week created a state food distributor and loosened …

Business as Usual GOP  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — When House Republicans convene behind closed doors today (Thursday) at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.V., they have a chance to make two bold moves to restore their reputation for fiscal responsibility.

The Rudyification of Romney and the Romnification of Rudy (or Something Like That)  —  It's interesting how Romney and Rudy have swapped strategies recently.  Initially, before his ads failed in New Hampshire and he pulled out of the early states entirely, Rudy's strategy was to do respectably in the early states.

Stimulus disappointment  —  If this description is correct, the stimulus bill will be a real disappointment.  As I pointed out in an earlier post, economic theory — Milton Friedman's theory! — suggests that if we want stimulus funds spent, they should go to people in temporary economic difficulty …

Obama said oops on 6 state Senate votes  —  He pushed the wrong button, he asserted at the time.  Two of the admitted flubs were on hotly contested issues.  —  Barack Obama angered fellow Democrats in the Illinois Senate when he voted to strip millions of dollars from a child welfare office on Chicago's West Side.

Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby Poll: Obama's SC lead slipping but still wide  —  Edwards makes gains amid shifting voter preferences  —  Utica, NY - Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's lead over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton has shrunk by four points overall and by nine points among black voters …

Editing Hillary's Story  —  Last summer, I asked Hillary Clinton if she had any reservations about using her husband in her campaign.  She said no, that having Bill on the team was “a great gift.  I have always believed you should get the very best people to advise you."  —  I never really made use of the interview.