The Obama Gap  —  “I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible.  If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years.”  —  So declared President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday, explaining why the nation needs …

Unemployment Hits 7.2%, 16-Year High  —  With the recession in full swing, the nation's employers shed 524,000 jobs in December, the government reported Friday, and a rapidly deteriorating economy promised more significant losses in the months ahead.  December's job losses brought the total …

Barack Obama administration ‘prepared to talk to Hamas’  —  The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon George Bush's ­doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say.

Jan. 1 Attack By CIA Killed Two Leaders Of Al-Qaeda  —  A New Year's Day CIA strike in northern Pakistan killed two top al-Qaeda members long sought by the United States, including the man believed to be behind September's deadly suicide bombing at a Marriott hotel in the Pakistani capital …

Mere Presidents  —  American leaders are mortal, not magical.  —  He didn't seem distracted, like he was thinking about lunch, and he didn't seem to be deflecting responsibility, but taking it.  This was a relief, and rather unusual in a Washington politician, or pretty much any politician.

Mitch McConnell Lost His Testicles and Now Infects the Senate GOP With a Cancer  —  Allow me to be blunt:  —  There are some of you who have fallen under McConnell's spell in the same way the lefties have fallen under Obama's spell.  McConnell can do no wrong.

Eric Holder pushed for controversial clemency  —  As deputy attorney general in 1999, Holder — now attorney general nominee — pressed subordinates to drop objections to clemency for 16 members of violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations.  —  Reporting from Washington …

Cover-up continues  —  Pro-Israel and conservative blogs have been all over the story of CNN peddling a bit of Hamas theater today.  As you watch this video, take a good look at the supposed “victim” and the medical treatment he receives.  —  After the uproar erupted …

Not Doing Enough  —  Why I worry that Obama doesn't realize just how bad things are.  —  Does Barack Obama understand the seriousness of the economic crisis?  Yesterday, he laid out his economic agenda, and it was filled with all sorts of important exhortations and proscriptions.

Online, Sarah Palin Has Unkind Words for the Press  —  Sarah Palin, still smarting over coverage of her vice presidential run, calls the media's reporting on her family “very scary” and says there may be “a class issue” that explains the more sympathetic treatment of Caroline Kennedy.

What ‘Yes, We Can’ Should Mean for Our Schools  —  In 1994, we founded KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, by starting one middle school in the South Bronx and one in Houston.  Today, KIPP is a growing network of 66 public charter schools serving 17,000 children in 19 states and the District.

Sheriff Accused of Stealing Jail Food Allowance  —  DECATUR, Ala. — The prisoners in the Morgan County jail here were always hungry.  The sheriff, meanwhile, was getting a little richer.  Alabama law allowed it: the chief lawman could go light on prisoners' meals and pocket the leftover change.

A Difficult Road Awaits Panetta at the C.I.A.  —  WASHINGTON — As every previous director could attest, succeeding at the helm at the Central Intelligence Agency requires an uneasy balance: being firm enough to impose a White House agenda without inciting a revolt, while winning allegiance …

Geithner Preparing Overhaul Of Bailout  —  Obama Team Broadens Scope to Secure Final $350 Billion for Rescue  —  Confronted with intense skepticism on Capitol Hill over the $700 billion financial rescue program, Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy F. Geithner and President-elect Barack Obama's economic team …

POLL: Coleman should concede  —  An exclusive Survey USA poll shows nearly half of Minnesotans surveyed say its time for Republican Norm Coleman to concede the U.S. Senate race to Democrat Al Franken.  —  But the survey does not hold good news for Franken either.

FORMER GOPER MIKE WANTS TO GET BACK IN  —  Mayor Bloomberg has begun reaching out to city Republican leaders to gauge whether he could run on the GOP line in his re-election bid this year, several sources told The Post.  —  The maneuvering began in the past two weeks, and sources said the mayor …

High-Profile Doctor in Gaza Called an ‘Apologist for Hamas’  —  A high-profile Norwegian doctor who has said the September 11 terrorists were justified in their attack is now treating patients in Gaza and is being accused of presenting “hard-core propaganda” to TV interviewers in his telling of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.