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 a source with knowledge of the meeting.  Some of the writers there today are clearly on the liberal side, while others more moderate.

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 …

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,” …

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 …

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.

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 …

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

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 …

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.

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.

ROURKE: ‘BUSH WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME’  —  Actor MICKEY ROURKE sympathises with U.S. President GEORGE W. BUSH - insisting he doesn't know how any politician could have successfully navigated America after the 9/11 attacks on New York.  —  The Hollywood tough-guy spoke …

Blagojevich oversees Senate swearing-in as impeachment trial looms  —  Starting around noon, you can view live video here:  —  SPRINGFIELD—Gov. Rod Blagojevich today made his first appearance at the Capitol since his arrest last month on federal corruption charges, overseeing the swearing …

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.

House In Disorder: Tennessee Democrats Elect Republican Speaker  —  The mood in the hall of the General Assembly Tuesday morning oozed with anxious anticipation.  —  Republicans stood poised to take control of the Tennessee General Assembly for the first time in nearly 140 years.

At Rallies, Giving ‘Please’ a Chance  —  Activists Weigh How to Push Message While Abandoning Adversarial Tacks  —  Code Pink, Arrest Bush, the Coalition for Peace and other liberal activist groups plan to jam the Mall and line the parade route on Inauguration Day.  They will hoist banners, wave signs and call for action.

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 …

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.