Obama meets with liberal columnists  —  Obama held a meeting with several columnists and liberal commentators this morning, following up on last night's dinner with conservative writers, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting.  —  The group included the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne …

Tim Geithner!  Why Are Rich People So Cheap?  —  Smart is the new cool.  —  So said Arne Duncan, the Chicago schools' chief, at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday to be Barack Obama's education secretary.  —  Obama's brainy ways and political posse of “hot nerds,” …

Why Israel Can't Make Peace With Hamas  —  IN the summer of 2006, at a moment when Hezbollah rockets were falling virtually without pause on northern Israel, Nizar Rayyan, husband of four, father of 12, scholar of Islam and unblushing executioner, confessed to me one of his frustrations.

Kennedy Fades As New Yorkers Back Cuomo For Senate, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Voters Don't Think Kennedy Is Qualified  —  New York State voters have cooled on Caroline Kennedy and more voters now prefer State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo 31 - 24 percent for Hillary Clinton's U.S. Senate seat …

U.S. military report warns ‘sudden collapse’ of Mexico is possible  —  President-elect Barack Obama listens as Mexico's President Felipe Calderon makes a statement to reporters in Washington, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009.  Mexico is one of two countries that “bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse …

WARREN COUNTY, N.J. NEWS  —  Real-time news for Belvidere, Phillipsburg and more  —  Boy named Adolf Hitler, his sisters removed from parents' home by New Jersey authorities … State authorities have removed Adolf Hilter Campbell and his two sisters from their parents' home in Holland Township …

Bush Presidency Closes With 34% Approval, 61% Disapproval  —  Three-quarters of Republicans approve of Bush, up slightly from recent months  — USA - Democrats - Government and Politics - Independents - Presidential Job Approval - Republicans - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America

Afghan Schoolgirls Undeterred by Attack  —  KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — One morning two months ago, Shamsia Husseini and her sister were walking through the muddy streets to the local girls school when a man pulled alongside them on a motorcycle and posed what seemed like an ordinary question.

BART officer arrested on murder warrant in NY Day shooting  —  (01-14) 00:13 PST Oakland — The BART police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man on an Oakland train platform and then refused to explain his actions to investigators was arrested Tuesday in Nevada on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

Bin Laden Challenges Obama in New Audio Message  —  “Is America Capable of Fighting Us After Bush?”  Osama Asks.  —  In a direct challenge to President-elect Barack Obama, Osama bin Laden questions whether America “is capable to keep fighting us for more years” in a new audio message attributed …

Gibbs: Ending 'don't ask, don't tell' must wait  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — In an overlooked YouTube video posted on Friday, a spokesman for Barack Obama said the president-elect is committed to ending the policy that bars openly gay men and women from serving in the U.S. armed forces.

Joe the Plumber—Out of His Depth  —  Previously in this space I remarked that PJTV's sending Joe The Plumber to Israel felt like a shark-jumping publicity stunt and it was a risk that could put PJTV's credibility at risk.  —  After watching a few reports , I felt Joe was fine, when he related things as the average Joe that he is.

Obama's early stumbles  —  Dear Camille,  —  When Obama is reading off a teleprompter or in a scripted environment like a debate (where the game is to plug in your prepared sound bites regardless of the question), he comes across as a magnificent and inspiring speaker.

GOP could win 3 key Senate seats  —  Despite the shock of three recent Senate retirements in battleground states, Republicans find themselves unusually well-positioned to weather the loss and compete for those open seats in 2010 — a stark contrast from the dismal early recruiting environment in 2008.

Carnahan is early front runner in Missouri  —  Democrat Robin Carnahan would be the early favorite for Missouri's open Senate seat if she decides to enter the field, Public Policy Polling's newest survey finds.  —  Carnahan leads three potential Republican opponents in hypothetical contests.

Inauguration declared ‘emergency’  —  Unprecedented action helps D.C. cover costs  —  Dan Leaderman and Jon Ward THE WASHINGTON TIMES  —  President Bush on Tuesday declared the District a federal emergency area, clearing the way for the city to receive federal money to help cover …

4G war, conflicts of interest loom behind possible DTV delay  —  Last week, President-elect Barack Obama's call for a delay in the Digital TV transition, long scheduled for February, sent tech and telecom firms into a tizzy.  Both Verizon and the Consumer Electronics Association have been pushing …

Current, Future Justice Officials Clash Over OLC Proposal  —  In a revealing conflict of views between outgoing and incoming Justice Department officials, Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently told Congress that a proposal that was conceived by Prof. Dawn Johnsen to require expanded reporting …

Barack Obama's money machine: Now he's selling orange juice!  —  We've written here before about the compulsion of Barack Obama's campaign and transition team and inauguration team to send out e-mails seemingly every day pleading for more money and more money, even weeks after he won the whole national election.

Senate takes oath as Blagojevich impeachment jurors  —  SPRINGFIELD—The Illinois Senate took an oath today to be sworn in as jurors in the historic impeachment trial of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, hours after he made his first Capitol appearance since his arrest last month on federal corruption charges.

Gov. Lynch won't challenge Sen. Gregg  —  CONCORD - Gov. John Lynch said today he will not be a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010.  —  Lynch, a Democrat, acknowledged speculation in political circles that he might challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg.  He said he plans to focus on budget issues here in New Hampshire.

Unfairly Rewarding Greedy Bankers, and Why It Works  —  There's been a lot of grousing lately about the Treasury's $700 billion bailout program, which, according to its many critics, has accomplished nothing other than line the pockets of undeserving bankers and their shareholders.

Race and The Israel Lobby  —  Freddie deBoer emails: … It's a fair issue to raise.  To be clear, I don't think that Walt and Mearsheimer are mimicking anti-Semitic tropes intentionally; I think they're doing so obtusely, in the course of a tendentious and simplistic argument about the roots of U.S. foreign policy.

The House Republicans Propose A Stimulus Alternative  —  There is no pride of authorship, President-elect Barack Obama said last week.  His economic team is open to and all ideas, regardless of progenitor.  —  So — the Republican Study Committee in the House has come out with an all-tax, no spending variant.