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.)

Detainee Tortured, Says U.S. Official  —  Trial Overseer Cites ‘Abusive’ Methods Against 9/11 Suspect  —  The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned …

Treasury Nominee Accounts for Own Tax Errors  —  Timothy F. Geithner, the man tapped to lead the nation out of the greatest economic crisis in decades — and who would oversee the Internal Revenue Service — trekked to Capitol Hill yesterday to explain to senators how he made almost $43,000 worth of mistakes on his own tax returns.

Bin Laden urges jihad against Israel  —  CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden urged Muslims to launch a jihad against Israel and condemned Arab governments as allies of the Jewish state in a new message aimed at harnessing anger in the Mideast over the Gaza offensive.

The Money-Changers  —  As Barack Obama looks back to Franklin Roosevelt's first inaugural address — the only other such address that came smack in the middle of an economic meltdown — I hope he pays special heed to Roosevelt's words on America's bankers, who then as now had plunged the nation into an economic abyss.

Dems cool on Burris Senate seating  —  Roland Burris will take his seat in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, but he shouldn't expect a warm welcome.  Republicans are ready to portray Burris as a poster child for all that's wrong with the Democratic Party, and Democrats aren't sure that they want to back him if he runs for the seat in 2010.

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.

Canada votes alone for Israel  —  VIDEO: UN chief heads to Mideast  —  We're the only one of 47 nations on UN rights panel to refuse to condemn military offensive in Gaza  —  OTTAWA-Canada stood alone before a United Nations human rights council yesterday, the only one among 47 nations …

Poll finds low trust in feds  —  A majority of voters say their confidence in the federal government's ability is falling, according to a new Public Strategies Inc./Politico poll.  —  Sixty-two percent of respondents say their confidence in Washington has decreased over the past 12 months …

Pentagon: 61 Gitmo Grads Returned to Terror  —  Former Gitmo detainee Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi recently exploded in Iraq.  —  Abdallah Salih al-Ajmi was released from Gitmo in November 2005.  —  The WaPo reported that Ajmi left a lengthy martyrdom audio recording before his death.

Israel's Goals in Gaza?  —  I have only one question about Israel's military operation in Gaza: What is the goal?  Is it the education of Hamas or the eradication of Hamas?  I hope that it's the education of Hamas.  Let me explain why.  —  I was one of the few people who argued back in 2006 …

Feds play candid camera with Gov. Blagojevich  —  Federal authorities used a video camera as part of their cache of tools to investigate Gov. Blagojevich in the final weeks of 2008 before his arrest, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.  —  The camera, which likely was remote-controlled …

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

No drilling off Va.'s coast, says Democratic candidate  —  In the race to become the next governor, Brian Moran, a Democrat, broke ranks Tuesday with other candidates by vowing to fight all efforts to allow oil and natural gas drilling off the Virginia coast.

Clinton Pledges Tough Diplomacy and a Fast Start  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday deflected calls for greater limits on her husband's fund-raising, struck a sharper tone toward Israel on violence in the Middle East and emerged from a daylong confirmation hearing headed for swift approval as secretary of state.

Bachmann's sudden transformation  —  Freshman members of Congress are supposed to be quiet, unobtrusive, deferential.  Michele Bachmann must have missed the memo.  —  At her first State of the Union address in 2007, the petite Minnesota GOP congresswoman with the sparkling blue eyes …

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.