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 …

Christmas Colors for the White House: Red, White and Impeach  —  When Deborah Lawrence got the invitation from the White House, the Seattle-based artist decided to make a lefty political statement.  —  But she never expected it would hang on the official Christmas tree.

Mr. Obama's Team  —  After years of watching American leadership crumble under the weight of bad decisions made in a White House shuttered to all debate, President-elect Barack Obama's national security team is a relief.  —  Starting with the selection of Hillary Rodham Clinton, his former rival …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Ford CEO: We may not need bailout billions  —  Automakers offer Congress turnaround plans to win $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 …

Georgia battle: Palin vs. Ludacris  —  It's down to the wire in Georgia.  Today is the Senate runoff election between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin.  —  That meant that Monday was the opportunity for both sides to make their final case.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Broader medical refusal rule may go far beyond abortion  —  The Bush administration plans a new ‘right of conscience’ rule that would allow more workers to refuse more procedures.  Critics say it could apply to artificial insemination and birth control.  —  Reporting from Washington …