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.

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 …

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 …

Ford CEO offers to work for $1 a year  —  Part of plan to persuade Congress to lend automakers $25 billion in aid  —  (L-R) United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, General Motors (GM) CEO Richard Wagoner, Jr., Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli and Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally wait …

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 …

Pardon Is Back in Focus for the Justice Nominee  —  WASHINGTON — In the much praised career of Eric H. Holder Jr., President-elect Barack Obama's choice to be attorney general, there is one notable blemish: Mr. Holder's complicated role in the 2001 pardon of Marc Rich, a billionaire financier …

Report Sounds Alarm on Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction  —  The odds that terrorists will soon strike a major city with weapons of mass destruction are now better than even, a bipartisan congressionally mandated task force concludes in a draft study that warns of growing threats from rogue states …

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 …

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 …

Obama, the billion-dollar man  —  CHICAGO — Nearly two years ago, Barack Obama muscled his way into the top tier of presidential contenders by breaking fundraising records.  —  When the 2008 campaign books are closed, the Democratic president-elect will shatter another record by coming close to …

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.

Limbaugh calls Obama's selection of Clinton ‘a brilliant stroke’  —  (CNN) — Rush Limbaugh seems to have given Hillary Clinton his stamp of approval for the second time this year.  —  The conservative talk show host — who urged supporters during the primary season to back Clinton in an effort …

Biden Makes the Case for Rail  —  Joe Biden is best known for his experience in foreign policy issues, but I've long been most excited by the possibility that his strong pro-rail views may have influence in an administration certain to be dominated (like all administrations) by people who don't care about transportation policy.

Fiscal Policy Puzzles  —  As a student of Alan Blinder, Larry Summers, and Stanley Fischer, I was trained to view the short-run effects of fiscal policy through the lens of Keynesian macroeconomic theory.  I am sure that many of the economists in the new Obama administration share that intellectual framework.

Court rules on jury instructions  —  The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a conviction based on jury instructions containing more than one theory of guilt, with one of those theories invalid, is to be judged on whether that was harmless error.  That is not to be treated as a “structural error” …

Governors Against State Bailouts  —  Hard to believe, but not everyone in politics wants a free lunch.  —  As governors and citizens, we've grown increasingly concerned over the past weeks as Washington has thrown bailout after bailout at the national economy with little to show for it.

Media Narratives Feed Terrorist Fantasies  —  For purposes of self-justification, Azam Amir Kasab, the only terrorist taken alive in last week's Mumbai massacre, offered that the murder of Jews in the city's Chabad House was undertaken to avenge Israeli atrocities on Palestinians.