Obama Dines With Conservative Opinion Leaders  —  It's true.  —  He motorcaded to a house in Maryland this evening, and if the press pool report is accurate, he is breaking bread with William Kristol and David Brooks.  (If Brooks and Kristol seem to be unusually briefed about Obama's thinking, you'll know why.)

Senators Raise Questions About Geithner's Nomination at Treasury  —  Sen. Charles E. Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is raising questions about a housekeeper who worked briefly for Treasury Secretary-nominee Timothy Geithner without proper immigration papers …

Palin slams ‘bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie’  —  (CNN) — Sarah Palin fired a new salvo in her war on the media, unloading in a new interview on her home state paper and “bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie.”  —  The Alaska governor, who has granted a steady stream …

Obama Issues First Veto Threat  —  President-elect Barack Obama made his first veto threat Tuesday in a closed-door meeting with Senate Democrats.  Obama told his former colleagues that if Congress passes a resolution blocking release of the second half of the financial bailout funds he will veto it …

Obama backed same-sex marriage in 1996  —  A document has emerged suggesting that Obama had taken more public, liberal stands in the past than had been revealed in the digging of reporters and opposition researchers over two years of campaigning, the latest of several pointing to a rightward shift as he moved into national politics.

Australia offers ‘best job in world’ on paradise island  —  SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian state is offering internationally what it calls “the best job in the world” — earning a top salary for lazing around a beautiful tropical island for six months.  —  The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars …

House Judiciary Issues Scathing Report on Bush/Cheney Imperial Presidency  —  Post-it tabs via _ES.  Now where are my highlighters?  —  In a report just made public (PDF), the House Judiciary Committee issues a scathing report on the Bush/Cheney abuses against the rule of law.

Rollins: Bush still doesn't get it  —  Editor's Note: Ed Rollins, who served as political director for President Ronald Reagan, is a Republican strategist who was national chairman of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign.  —  NEW YORK (CNN) — One week from today …

Nazi?  You?  —  Ever thought about how you would have reacted had you lived in Nazi Germany?  Ronald Bailey reflects on a famous experiment that meant to discover whether it could happen here, in America.  His conclusion is instructive: … In other words, American culture …

My Dinners with Dubya  —  When a college drinking buddy invited C. Brian Smith to hang out with her parents, he tried not to sweat the fact that they lived in the White House.  He even had fun—until 9/11 made watching bad movies with the president feel like a guilty pleasure America couldn't afford.

Bush: Obama should be careful predicting economy  —  (CNN) — President Bush on Tuesday cautioned his successor, Barack Obama, “not to become an economic forecaster” after he takes office later this month.  —  In an interview with CNN's “Larry King Live,” scheduled to air 9 p.m. Tuesday …

Video: Freudian slip of the day  —  Slog through the interminable platitudes of her prepared remarks or WaPo's joyless running account of the Q&A and you'll see that this really was the most interesting thing said all day.  Somehow the closing of Guantanamo and what it would mean …

Europe Reimports Jew Hatred  —  The mythical Arab Street now reaches deep into Paris, London, Berlin and Madrid.  —  Give Giancarlo Desiderati credit for his unintellectual honesty.  While most left-wing detractors of Israel claim their animosity toward the Jewish state has nothing …

Joe the Plumber plunges deeper: ‘Military should decide what information to give the media.’  —  Continuing his reporting from Israel, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher tried to clarify his remarks criticizing media coverage of war, in a new Pajamas TV segment.

Europe baffled by broken gas promises  —  By Isabel Gorst in Moscow, Joshua Chaffin in Brussels and Roman Olearchyk in Kiev  —  The bitter gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine descended into near-chaos on Tuesday, leaving European Union diplomats baffled as promises to restart supplies fully …

Dem blasts Obama econ team's ‘mumbo jumbo’  —  A Democratic senator on Tuesday accused President-elect Obama's incoming director of the Office of Management and Budget of talking “mumbo jumbo” instead of offering hard details on the economy.  —  “I would think that in this era of freshness …

Report Calls Online Threats to Children Overblown  —  The Internet may not be such a dangerous place for children after all.  —  A high-profile task force created by 49 state attorneys general to find a solution to the problem of sexual solicitation of children online has concluded …

Pentagon: 61 ex-Guantanamo inmates return to terrorism  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Tuesday that 61 former detainees from its military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, appear to have returned to terrorism since their release from custody.

Senate Democrats Gain Big Edge in New Committee Ratios  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have reached a tentative agreement that would give Democrats a three-seat advantage on most committees during the 111th Congress.