Bill Clinton not interested in wife's Senate seat  —  WASHINGTON (CNN — Former President Bill Clinton has no interest in replacing his wife in the U.S. Senate, his spokesman said, adding any speculation that he would be interested is “completely false.”  —  As Hillary Clinton prepares …

Christmas Colors for the White House: Red, White and Impeach  —  ** 3:20 p.m. This story updated here: White House Won't Hang Christmas Impeachment Ornament.  When Deborah Lawrence got the invitation from the White House, the Seattle-based artist decided to make a lefty political statement.

Murkowski to Palin: Leave my seat alone  —  Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has some Republican-to-Republican advice for Gov. Sarah Palin: If you want to make a run at the White House, keep your hands off my Senate seat.  —  Murkowski, up for reelection in 2010, is nervously awaiting word …

Gates's Top Deputies May Leave  —  Major Shifts at Pentagon Anticipated in Obama Administration  —  Although President-elect Barack Obama's decision to keep Robert M. Gates at the helm of the Pentagon will provide a measure of continuity for a military fighting two wars …

Mel Martinez To Retire  —  Fla. Sen. Mel Martinez figured to be a top target for Democrats in 2010.  (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)  —  Florida Sen. Mel Martinez (R) has decided against seeking a second term, a decision he will formalize shortly in the Sunshine State, according to an informed party source.

Gregory to host ‘Meet the Press’  —  NBC News plans to name David Gregory as moderator of “Meet the Press,” infusing one of television's most prized franchises with a sharp edge leavened by a youthful style and versatility, according to network executives.  —  Gregory, 38, celebrated …

Continuity We Can Believe In  —  The 2008 election results did not fundamentally change American foreign policy.  The real change began a few years ago in Afghanistan and Iraq.  —  It began with colonels and captains fighting terror on the ground.  They found that they could clear a town of the bad guys …

Reid: We won't smell the tourists anymore  —  The Capitol Visitors Center, which opened this morning, may have tripled its original budget and fallen years behind schedule, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid found a silver lining for members of Congress: tourists won't offend them with their B.O. anymore.

Pardon My Exception  —  Soon after Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, the former president and I had a brief telephone conversation.  I had been downright heated about the pardon, a lot angrier than I had ever been about Monica Lewinsky.  Clinton implied that I had things historically backward.

Fox's Wallace defends Bush at screening  —  Takes on Hollywood filmmaker  —  Fox News journalist Chris Wallace on Monday evening defended President Bush against criticism by Hollywood filmmaker Ron Howard that the president has abused his office in a way similar to President Richard Nixon.

Ford Says It Can Survive but Urges a Rescue for the Industry  —  DETROIT — The Ford Motor Company told Congress on Tuesday that it wanted access to $9 billion in loans but that it could survive and become profitable in three years without the money unless the current recession “is longer and deeper than we now anticipate.”

Executive Order: Exclusions from the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7103(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, and in order to reflect the effects …

Obama Cuts Radio Ad for Carmouche  —  President-elect Barack Obama has recorded a radio ad that will hit the airwaves today in support of the Democratic House candidate in a Louisiana runoff, a sign, his advisers argue, that he is using his political power to help expand the party's majority in Congress.

Are You Better off Than You Were 40 Years Ago?  —  Government has grown, but freedom has grown faster.  —  In the November 1968 Mechanix Illustrated, James Berry gave an eerily prescient glimpse of life in the typical American household today: “The single most important item in 2008 households is the computer.

The Sovereignty Dodge  —  What Pakistan Won't Do, the World Should  —  “We don't think the world's great nations and countries can be held hostage by non-state actors,” Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said yesterday.  Fair enough.  But what is the world to do when those non-state actors operate …

The Hope for Audacity  —  With the country thrashing around and an incoming president as yet largely untested, hopes hearken backwards, converging on memories—and fantasies—of a time in the previous century when, in the wake of a catastrophic and self-destroying presidency …

INSULTS.  —  One of the clever things about the Catholic church has been it's ablity to maintain its status as a political force and a tiny state, and have some effect as a kind of diplomatic go-between and agenda setter.Think of the Vatican as the internationl equivalent of D.C. “Congresswoman” Eleanor Holmes Norton, say.

Hardball  —  I am pretty shy, and as such I have turned down every television interview request I have received since February of 2005.  However, I sucked it up today in order to appear on Hardball.  You can view it here.  Right now, I can't seem to get the html embed code to work with soapblox.

Happy Holidays!  Here's a gift certificate for an abortion  —  Here's an original holiday gift idea to help the person who may have everything, including a little something they don't really want.  A new way to mark the festive yearend celebration of life — a gift certificate for an abortion.