An Unnecessary War  —  I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could easily have been avoided.  —  After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn …

MO-Senate: Bond to Retire  —  Missouri Sen. Kit Bond (R) will retire in 2010, a decision that hands Democrats a prime pickup opportunity in a state where the party has made strides in recent years.  —  “In 1972, I became Missouri's youngest Governor,” Bond said this morning in an address to the Missouri General Assembly.

Barack Obama asks longtime University of Chicago professor Cass Sunstein to join his administration  —  Law scholar will handle regulation issues, transition official says  —  WASHINGTON — Cass Sunstein, a longtime University of Chicago legal scholar and prominent author …

Why Obama Will ‘Own’ the Recession  —  For eight decades, Democrats have successfully blamed Republican Herbert Hoover for the decade-long Great Depression.  That, even though Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal failed to restore prosperity or dramatically lower unemployment, and his tax increases in 1937 snuffed out a nascent recovery.

Obama Digs In for His BlackBerry  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama has yet to relent, but he conceded that he might be losing the battle to keep his independent lifeline to the outside world.  —  “I'm still clinging to my BlackBerry,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday.  “They're going to pry it out of my hands.”

BART Cop Needs to Be Held without Bail  —  I have yet to see any widespread nationwide coverage on the New Year's execution style murder of Oscar Grant by a Bay Area Rapid Transit - BART - police officer.  Somebody told me that they saw 5 minutes of coverage on CNN last night.

Daschle Pledges a Bipartisan Reform of Health Care System  —  WASHINGTON — Former Senator Tom Daschle pledged on Thursday to work with lawmakers of both parties in a grass roots, ideology-free campaign to revamp the nation's struggling health care system.  —  “We will be guided by evidence …

A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM THAT DOESN'T EXIST.... You've got to be kidding. … These guys aren't pushing a bill to get rid of the Fairness Doctrine, because it's already gone.  They're pushing a bill to prevent anyone from trying to bring it back — despite the fact that there is no meaningful effort to do so.

Pelosi: No February recess without stimulus  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday said she will keep Congress in session through the Presidents Day recess if an economic stimulus package isn't completed for President-elect Obama by then.  —  Pelosi's comments came just minutes …

Panel urges impeachment of Blagojevich  —  The special Illinois House panel investigating Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued a draft report today recommending impeachment, putting lawmakers on a path toward removing the two-term Democrat from office.  —  “The citizens of this state must have confidence …

Americans miffed at Howard bumping Obama  —  John Howard's decision to stay at the luxurious Blair House mansion in Washington DC has sparked a firestorm of protest in the US.  —  Outraged American taxpayers are demanding the former Australian prime minister book a hotel or stay at the Australian embassy.

Obama Builds Powerful Team of White House Advisers  —  Influential Advisers May Compete With Cabinet  —  President-elect Barack Obama is assembling a new and influential cadre of counselors just steps from the Oval Office whose power to direct domestic policy will rival, if not exceed, the authority of his Cabinet.

Obama's ‘first mistakes’ mount  —  Team Obama has made its first mistake — again.  —  When Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary earlier this week, NBC's Andrea Mitchell declared it “the Obama team's first misstep.”  —  But Mitchell had been scooped.

Obama, Spider-Man on the same comic-book page  —  In a growing world of Barack Obama collectibles, one item soon may be swinging above the rest.  —  On Jan. 14, Marvel Comics is releasing a special issue of Amazing Spider-Man #583 with Obama depicted on the cover.

President Bush Tried to Rein In Fan and Fred  —  Democrats and the media have the housing story wrong.  —  Mythmaking is in full swing as the Bush administration prepares to leave town.  Among the more prominent is the assertion that the housing meltdown resulted from unbridled capitalism under a president opposed to all regulation.

THE BUSH YEARS — THEN AND NOW  —  From NBC's Mark Murray  —  With President Bush set to leave the White House less than two weeks from now, here's a “Then and Now” to show what the United States looked like when Bush was entering office and what it looks like now as he's leaving.

U.N. Suspends Food Aid Into Gaza  —  The United Nations suspended its food aid deliveries into Gaza on Thursday after one of its contract drivers was killed during an Israeli attack on a delivery convoy at a border crossing, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said.