How the Palin debate helps McCain  —  Want an idea of how popular Sarah Palin was among Southern Republicans?  You can check her numbers in exit polls or just see which element of the party is defending her the loudest.  GOP state chairs in North Carolina, South Carolina and now Tennessee …

Bush: ‘I regret’ some things 'I shouldn't have said'  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — As his presidency nears its end, a reflective President Bush suggested Tuesday he regrets some of his more blunt statements on the war on terror over the last eight years, and said he wishes he had not spoken in front of a …

Al Gore, Colin Powell, Caroline Kennedy in Obama's Administration?  —  Obama transition team boss John Podesta threw open the curtains of his operation today to reporters, signaling that the president-elect wants to move quickly, but not hastily, to set up his government.

Poll finds most Americans welcome Dem control  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — It was one of John McCain's closing arguments: “We're getting a glimpse of what one-party rule would look like under Obama, Pelosi, and Reid.  Apparently it starts with lowering our defenses and raising our taxes,” …

White House Says Obama Leaks Not Accurate  —  Obama and Bush Disagree on Stimulus, Auto Help  —  President Bush and President-elect Barack Obama were all smiles and handshakes outside the White House Monday, but the president's aides strongly denied today leaks suggesting that Bush had tried …

Obama Lays Out Ethics Rules  —  President-elect Barack Obama today released a series of ethics guidelines for those working in the transition operation, a continuation of the anti-lobbying policies adopted by the Illinois senator during his primary and general election campaigns.

Anti-war camp urges Obama to dump Gates  —  Arms control advocates and anti-war activists are ratcheting up pressure on President-elect Barack Obama to dump Defense Secretary Robert Gates and replace him with a more strident anti-war voice.  —  Nominating Gates to stay …

Presidential race not over in Missouri  —  The presidential contest is still not over in Missouri, even if President-elect Barack Obama is already sizing up the White House.  —  In fact, the vote count in Missouri is tightening.  —  Republican John McCain's statewide lead has shrunk …

Glory for Democrats, Riding on a Single Vote  —  OMAHA — Yes, county election officials here are certainly aware that the presidential race is considered over and done.  And they know that President-elect Barack Obama has already been warmly embraced by much of the world, held his first news conference and toured the White House.

Saudi Arabia to Lead U.N. Faith Forum  —  Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich Islamic kingdom that forbids the public practice of other religious faiths, will preside Wednesday over a two-day U.N. conference on religious tolerance that will draw more than a dozen world leaders, including President Bush …

Scarborough now guarded by a seven-second delay.»  —  Yesterday, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough accidentally dropped the f-bomb while live on air.  After apologizing, Scarborough said, “My wife is going to kill me when I get home.”  (Watch the incident here.)

Uh, Sarah....You Sure You Want To Go There?  —  Sarah Palin seems to have a special place in her heart for bloggers: … For the record: … I have a masters' degree in film business from USC, produced major motion pictures and wrote a best selling book.

Rejected Secret Service Names for the Obamas  —  The Secret Service code names for the First Family-elect are another odd assortment of seemingly random words, all starting with the letter R.  —  John McCain may have been a self styled Maverick, but Barack Obama's Secret Service code name is Renegade.

Responding to Obama's Win, Michael (Son of) Reagan Says, Go After Dems on Sex  —  The Obama win is driving some conservatives crazy.  On Tuesday, Michael Reagan, talk show host and son of Ronald, sent out an email announcing a new outfit called Reagan Action, which among other things …

Obama likely to escape campaign audit  —  The Federal Election Commission is unlikely to conduct a potentially embarrassing audit of how Barack Obama raised and spent his presidential campaign's record-shattering windfall, despite allegations of questionable donations and accounting that had the McCain campaign crying foul.

Rep. Broun regrets linking Obama, Hitler  —  Fellow lawmakers criticize remarks  —  WASHINGTON — Georgia Congressman Paul Broun Tuesday backed away from comparing the policies of President-elect Obama to those of Hitler or a Marxist dictator.  —  After stirring a controversy …

The End of ‘Objectivity’ in New Era: A Good Thing?  —  NEW YORK When Michael Paulson began covering religion for The Boston Globe eight years ago, the paper had no blogs or online video, he did almost no outside speaking work, and the paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Catholic church sex scandal was still years away.

Jindal Says No  —  Interestingly, it seems Bobby Jindal was being seriously considered for the Veepstakes but decided to say no in part because they feared that he might “be caught up in what they believed to be a less-than-stellar campaign that could pin a loss on Jindal without much ability …

It's Official: Full Dem Caucus Will Vote On Lieberman's Fate  —  The full Democratic caucus will vote on whether Joe Lieberman is allowed to keep his chairmanship of the Homeland Security committee at its caucus meeting next week, a leadership aide confirms to us.

Purpose of HLF's Charity Debated in Closing Arguments  —  DALLAS - They sang praises to a terrorist group, had telephone access to its leadership and deceived the public about their true ambitions, a federal prosecutor said Monday about the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF).

Invidious comparisons  —  Why bail out Wall Street and not GM, demand many people.  Why do we care about bankers and not ordinary folks?  —  I think this misses the point of the financial bailout.  Whether or not it works—and I sure hope it will—I don't think very many people wanted …

Layoffs hit Al Gore's Current Media  —  There have been layoffs at Current Media, the cable network co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.  —  A statement from Current put the number of layoffs at about 60 positions, with 30 more to be refilled, the company said in a statement.

Prop. 8 gift gets theater's leader in a ruckus  —  Gay and lesbian artists called Monday for an artistic and audience boycott of California Musical Theatre after learning that its artistic director donated $1,000 to a campaign that backed banning gay marriage in California.