The Real Bill Ayers  —  IN the recently concluded presidential race, I was unwillingly thrust upon the stage and asked to play a role in a profoundly dishonest drama.  I refused, and here's why.  —  Unable to challenge the content of Barack Obama's campaign, his opponents invented a narrative …

Democrats Set to Offer Loans for Carmakers  —  WASHINGTON — Faced with staggering new unemployment figures, Democratic Congressional leaders said on Friday that they were ready to provide a short-term rescue plan for American automakers, and that they expected to hold a vote on the legislation in a special session next week.

Hoax call fuels Pakistan-Indian tensions  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A man pretending to be India's foreign minister called Pakistan's president and talked in a “threatening” manner during the Mumbai terror attacks, prompting Pakistan to put its air force on high alert, a security official and a news report said Saturday.

Huckabee and Palin top early 2012 list  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Barack Obama is still more than six weeks from White House, and the next Iowa caucuses are more than three years away — so naturally, it's time to start talking 2012, as a new national poll suggests that Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee top …

Public support grows, according to the new NEWSWEEK Poll.  —  When voters in California, Florida and Arizona approved measures banning same-sex marriage last month, opponents lamented that the country appeared to be turning increasingly intolerant toward gay and lesbian rights.

Bridge Loan to Nowhere  —  Congress and business ‘viability’ rarely mix.  —  Once upon a time — about two weeks ago — GM, Ford and Chrysler came to Washington to seek emergency financing.  Congress sent them home empty-handed but gave them some homework: Give us a plan to restore …

Kennedy Is Said to Cast Her Eye on Senate Seat  —  Caroline Kennedy, a daughter of America's most storied political family who for many years fiercely guarded her privacy, is considering whether to pursue the Senate seat expected to be vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton early next year, a family member said Friday.

Obama Pledges Massive Public Works Program  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama committed Saturday to the largest public works building program since the creation of the interstate highway system a half century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy.

President Bush Attends Saban Forum 2008  —  Washington, D.C.  —  Fact Sheet: Progress in the Middle East: Freedom, Prosperity, and Hope  —  In Focus: Middle East  —  THE PRESIDENT: John, thank you very much.  I thought for a minute you were going to say I was your favorite rabbi, but — (laughter.)

Kennedy stepping down from Senate panel  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Edward M. Kennedy said today he will step down from his post as a senior and powerful member of the Senate Judiciary Committee when the new Congress convenes so he can concentrate on healthcare reform.

Run, Jeb, Run  —  The GOP needs that Bush in the Senate.  —  In January 2007, when Jeb Bush stepped down after two terms as governor of Florida, he had cut taxes, enacted the most extensive public school reform in any state, restructured health care and, after dealing with some three dozen hurricanes …

Video: O'Reilly and Megyn Kelly yell at each other over atheism; Update: Atheist sign stolen from Capitol; Update: Sign found  —  Surprise fireworks as FNC's most combative anchor tries to explain the First Amendment to its most combative commentator.  Good luck, Megyn!

Washington Diarist: Out There  —  Counterfactuals are the inventions of logic or misery.  The interest in an altered world is not born of contentment.  But when the imagined improvement turns out also to be real-well, here is the most unlikely true story about Jews in modernity that I ever heard.