Limbaugh Responds to Obama  —  According to an account in the New York Post, President Barack Obama yesterday told Republican leaders, “You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done.”  With George W. Bush now off the stage, it may be that Obama and some of his fellow Democrats view Limbaugh …

MS. KENNEDY REGRETS  —  She's unable to be in the Senate today.  —  Last Tuesday, Caroline Kennedy attended the Presidential Inauguration.  The sun was shining on the Capitol, the sky was blue, the Marine Band was playing.  Barack Obama, for whom she had campaigned ardently for nearly a year …

Obama's Partisan, Profane Confidant Reins It In  —  WASHINGTON — Early this month, Barack Obama was meeting with the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other lawmakers when Rahm Emanuel, his chief of staff, began nervously cracking a knuckle.  —  Mr. Obama then turned to complain to Mr. Emanuel about his noisy habit.

Two ex-Guantanamo inmates appear in Al-Qaeda video  —  WASHINGTON (AFP) — Two men released from the US “war on terror” prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have appeared in a video posted on a jihadist website, the SITE monitoring service reported.  —  One of the two former inmates …

Obama Starts With 68% Job Approval  —  One of the better initial ratings of post-World War II presidents  — USA - Gallup Daily - Government and Politics - Leadership - Presidential Job Approval - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — In the first Gallup Poll job approval rating …

Michelle Obama: ‘Inappropriate’ to use daughters to sell dolls  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - They've been in the White House less than a week, but the first daughters have already been co-opted by marketers — and Michelle Obama isn't happy about it.  —  Ty, the toy company responsible …

Reagan wouldn't recognize this GOP  —  The Gipper may be the patron saint of Limbaugh and Coulter, but he'd be amazed at what's been done in his name.  —  In my mind's eye, I can see Ronald Reagan, wearing wings and a Stetson, perched on a cloud and watching all the goings-on down here in his old earthly home.

There's no new motor to drive the economy  —  Forget all the talk of post-recession rebuilding.  We were living beyond our means and must now reduce our expectations  —  There's a piece of fashionable political nonsense you should be vaccinated against before the virus hits us …

Obama Plans Fast Action to Tighten Financial Rules  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration plans to move quickly to tighten the nation's financial regulatory system.  —  Officials say they will make wide-ranging changes, including stricter federal rules for hedge funds …

Obama raises heart rates, lowers expectations  —  His boring inaugural doesn't diminish his hotness in the eyes of his usual acolytes.  —  Recommend  —  How dazzling is President Obama?  So dazzling that he didn't merely give a dazzling inaugural speech.  Any old timeserving hack could do that.

House Stimulus Bill (FULL TEXT)  —  The 647-page House stimulus package scored the coveted designation of H.R. 1, which the Speaker reserves for her highest legislative or symbolic priority.  The bill is a combination of legislation that moved this week through the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Appropriations Committees.

Obama Presents Further Details on Economic Stimulus  —  President Obama laid out the most detailed benchmarks to date of his massive economic recovery package this morning as he took to the airwaves with urgency, warning in his first weekly presidential address that the economy …

Disgraced pastor faces more gay sex accusations  —  DENVER - Disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard's former church disclosed Friday that the gay sex scandal that caused his downfall extends to a young male church volunteer who reported having a sexual relationship with Haggard …

Obama breaks from Bush, avoids divisive stands  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - Barack Obama opened his presidency by breaking sharply from George W. Bush's unpopular administration, but he mostly avoided divisive partisan and ideological stands.

Price Paid for Merrill Is Rising  —  You could hardly blame Kenneth D. Lewis, the embattled leader of the Bank of America Corporation, for feeling a bit of buyer's remorse.  —  His audacious acquisition of Merrill Lynch, the giant brokerage, looks so disastrous that many on Wall Street wonder if he can keep his job.

Despite shrines to Obama, the bookstore was nearly deserted.  —  Shrine #1:  —  Shrine #2:  —  Overview of the deserted place:  —  Where is everyone?  It's about 5:30 p.m. here at Borders, and I feel as though I've stayed until after closing time.  I used to like to go here to browse …