Oaf of Office  —  IN 1969, Neil Armstrong appeared to have omitted an indefinite article as he stepped onto the moon and left earthlings puzzled over the difference between “man” and “mankind.”  In 1980, Jimmy Carter, accepting his party's nomination, paid homage to a former vice president he called Hubert Horatio Hornblower.

Obama Staff Arrives to White House Stuck in Dark Ages of Technology  —  If the Obama campaign represented a sleek, new iPhone kind of future, the first day of the Obama administration looked more like the rotary-dial past.  —  Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign …

Kennedy Drops Bid for Clinton's Senate Seat, Citing Personal Reasons  —  Caroline Kennedy announced early Thursday that she was withdrawing from consideration for the vacant Senate seat in New York, startling the state's political world after weeks in which she was considered a top contender for the post.

The One-State Solution  —  THE shocking level of the last wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, which ended with this weekend's cease-fire, reminds us why a final resolution to the so-called Middle East crisis is so important.  It is vital not just to break this cycle of destruction and injustice …

Gazan doctor says death toll inflated  —  Physician at Gaza's Shifa Hospital tells Italian newspaper number of dead in Israeli offensive ‘stands at no more than 500 or 600, most of them youths recruited to Hamas’ ranks'.  Senior Palestinian Health Ministry official denies claims …

Coleman takes a new day job  —  Last session's senior senator from Minnesota Norm Coleman, still battling Al Franken to be seated in the Senate, has taken a paid job as a consultant to the Republican Jewish Coalition, which harshly attacked Obama last fall, its executive director, Matt Brooks, said.

Cheney Speaks Out on Libby  —  Former vice president calls prosecution a “serious miscarriage of justice” and disagrees with Bush's decision.  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney disagreed publicly with his boss just four times in the eight years they served together.

Robert Reich: Keep stimulus money away from skilled workers and “white male contractors”  —  I missed Clintonite moldy oldie-turned-Obama economic adviser Robert Reich's testimony a few weeks ago on how the government should spend federal stimulus money.  The Berkeley professor engaged …

Wounded vets walk out during inaugural ball concert  —  An inaugural ball honoring U.S. military veterans ended in a kerfluffle as several veterans walked out when a musical act's attempt at humor backfired.  —  During the Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball honoring the nation's veterans …

Clinton Confirmation: Explaining the 'No's  —  Hillary Rodham Clinton was confirmed as the new Secretary of State by a 94 to 2 vote today, a tally that — of course — prompts the question: Who voted “no”?  —  The answer: Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

New poll on torture and investigations negates Beltway conventional wisdom  —  (updated below)  —  One of the most common and most corrosive aspects of our political discourse is the endless assertions — based on nothing — about what “Americans believe.”

Obama Issues Directive to Shut Guantánamo  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama signed executive orders Thursday directing the Central Intelligence Agency to shut what remains of its network of secret prisons and ordering the closing of the Guantánamo detention camp within a year, government officials said.

Former French President Chirac hospitalised after mauling by his clinically depressed poodle … Former French president Jacques Chirac was rushed to hospital after being mauled by his own ‘clinically depressed’ pet dog.  —  The 76-year-old statesman was savaged by his white Maltese dog …

MSNBC Wants to Add a 3rd Prime-Time Show  —  WASHINGTON — Building on the momentum of its prime-time hours, MSNBC is developing a 10 p.m. program that would complement its left-leaning evening lineup, the cable news channel's president said this week.  —  A new program could increase …

Rep. Oberstar: Rail Had to Take a Back Seat to Tax Cuts  —  Elana Schor's got the quotes from Representative Jim Oberstar (D-MN) that indicate that the reason rail got so little funding in the stimulus proposal is that they were cut to make room for more tax cuts: … Not good.

And the Nominees Are:  —  BEST PICTURE  —  * “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)  —  * “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)  —  * “Milk” (Focus Features)  —  * “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)  —  * “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight)  —  BEST ACTOR

Government Spending Is No Free Lunch  —  Now the Democrats are peddling voodoo economics.  —  Back in the 1980s, many commentators ridiculed as voodoo economics the extreme supply-side view that across-the-board cuts in income-tax rates might raise overall tax revenues.