The Sacking of Bill Kristol  —  Why The New York Times Sacked Bill Kristol by Scott Horton  —  Blogs and Stories  —  The famous neoconservative published his final New York Times column today.  Scott Horton reports on real reasons the Gray Lady didn't renew his contract.

Politico's Thrush invents Pelosi controversy  —  Glenn Thrush gets awfully creative in promoting the Right's attacks on Nancy Pelosi over her support for public funding for contraceptives.  —  Thrush writes: … Wow, really?  “One of her biggest political threats of the 111th” Congress?

President Obama Does First Formal TV Interview as President with Al-Arabiya  —  As special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell heads off to the region to begin work on negotiating a cease fire between Israel and the Palestinians, President Obama has sat for his first formal TV interview …

Woodward Suggests Future Scandal For Obama White House  —  Appearing on the Chris Matthews Show Sunday, Bob Woodward offered a rather cryptic prediction of scandal that will plague the Obama White House.  —  “This may be tantalizing but vague,” said the Washington Post scribe.

Cheney's Veil Lifted on Vice President's Residence  —  Hope and change has come to Google Maps.  The official residence of the vice president, obscured until Dick Cheney's last days in office and residence, now shines in satellite sunlight.  —  A reader tipped us off that Google Maps …

Prosecuting torture: ‘Hard to believe’  —  Eric Holder, President Barack Obama's nominee for attorney general, made plenty of people uncomfortable when he asserted, flatly, in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, that water-boarding is torture.

Obama begins reversing Bush climate policies  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama began reversing the climate policies of the Bush administration on Monday, clearing the way for new rules to force auto makers to produce …

Obama Sends Special Envoy to Mideast and Europe  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama dispatched his special envoy, George J. Mitchell, to the Middle East on Monday, kicking off a diplomatic initiative that Mr. Obama pledged would be vigorous and sustained, but would start off primarily as a listening tour.

Senate OKs 4-Month Delay to Digital TV Changeover  —  Senate votes to delay digital transition by 4 months to June 12  —  The Senate on Monday voted unanimously to postpone the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting by four months to June 12 …

Geithner Wins Confirmation  —  WASHINGTON — Timothy F. Geithner was sworn in as secretary of the Treasury on Monday evening, confirmed by a Senate majority that concluded that his experience in government and finance outweighed concerns about recent disclosures of some $34,000 in past tax delinquencies.

Analysis: More power for police, more immunity for prosecutors  —  Analysis  —  In opinions so spare that the Supreme Court did not labor long to produce them, the Justices on Monday unanimously expanded the control that police can exercise at the scene of roadside traffic stops, and …

KY-Sen: Mongiardo's In  —  Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning (R) faces a very difficult reelection race.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)  —  Kentucky Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo announced this morning that he will take on Sen. Jim Bunning (R) in 2010 — seeking a jump on what could be a crowded Democratic field.

How badly did Gaza poison the well?  —  The Israeli attack on Gaza during the last weeks of the Bush administration looks more than ever like Bush's “last gift” to Israel and to the region — carried out during the transition, with no American attempt to intervene, ending immediately before Obama's inauguration.

More to It Than Meets the Eye  —  The hidden coherence of Obama's recovery plan.  —  It grieves me to say so, but President Obama's conservative critics just don't get it.  The new president has put forward a plan for economic recovery that is more coherent than they are willing to admit.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009  —  CBO has released a cost estimate for H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was introduced today in the House of Representatives.  A link to the full cost estimate can be found here.

Fiscal Stimulus, Fiscal Inflation, or Fiscal Fallacies?  —  “Fiscal stimulus” is the proposition that by borrowing money and spending it, the government can raise the overall state of the economy, raising output and lowering unemployment.  Can it work?  Do the arguments for it make any sense?

New York Says Health Chief Abused Power  —  ALBANY — Gov. George E. Pataki's appointment of Antonia C. Novello, a former surgeon general, as state health commissioner in 1999 was seen as something of a coup for New York.  —  An appointee of President George H. W. Bush who was the first woman …

Obama Administration To Engage In “Direct Diplomacy” With Iran  —  UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama's administration will engage in “direct diplomacy” with Iran, the newly installed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday.  —  Not since before the 1979 Iranian revolution …

The B.O. Republicans who voted for Geithner — and video of Inhofe's statement  —  Here is the roll call vote on the Geithner nomination:  —  And here are the 10 B.O. (Barack Obama/Bend Over) Republicans who sided with Obama and the Dems:  —  Corker (R-TN)  —  Cornyn (R-TX)  —  Crapo (R-ID)