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 …

Democrats Subpoena Rove  —  WASHINGTON — House Democrats renewed their effort to force former White House aide Karl Rove to testify in a probe into Justice Department controversies, presenting a challenge to President Barack Obama, who will have to decide whether to defend his predecessor's legal arguments.

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.

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 …

Who should replace Bill Kristol?  —  With William Kristol gone from the New York Times op-ed page, that leaves David Brooks — a fan of talking philosophy with Obama — as the lone conservative regularly on the page.  Since September 2003, when Brooks joined the op-ed page …

Five Reasons Why Fiscal Policy Might Be Completely Ineffective: A Textbook Exposition  —  It's been frustrating to me that so much virtual ink has been spilled about why the fiscal package will or will not be effective, with so little clarity.  Lots and lots of words are being thrown around …

GORE HEARING ON WARMING MAY BE PUT ON ICE  —  Al Gore is scheduled before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday morning to once again testify on the ‘urgent need’ to combat global warming.  —  But Mother Nature seems ready to freeze the proceedings.

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)

Obama's victory?  Burris credits Martin Luther King and himself  —  Gov. Blagojevich compared himself to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.  But he's not the only Illinois official stretching to elevate himself to high stature.

Hired PR gun doomed Caroline, insiders say  —  Gov. Paterson's decision to go nuclear on Caroline Kennedy was a hatchet job run by a pricey out-of-state consultant who specializes in political scandals, disgruntled administration sources said.  —  Judy Smith, a Washington-based PR guru …

Egypt to Hamas: Take Gaza truce before Netanyahu is voted PM  —  Officials in Egypt are attempting to persuade Hamas to accept Israel's current offer of a cease-fire in Gaza before a far less accommodating government under Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu is elected, the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported Monday.

Bill Bennett Takes Rush Limbaugh To Task For Saying He Hopes Obama Fails  —  It's a mild, polite rebuke but still it's a rare occasion when high-profile conservatives go after each other in the media.  Bill Bennett says Rush Limbaugh was wrong to hope President Obama crashes and burns …

Just ask me  —  Question: Has Barack Obama's popularity already plunged by 15 points?  —  Answer: Citing a Gallup Poll, the London Sun reported President Obama is “down” to 68% approval.  If this keeps up, he'll be in negative numbers by Easter.  But then there is the cool Etch-A-Bama, so all is good in Barackworld.

Nations turn to barter deals to secure food  —  Countries struggling to secure credit have resorted to barter and secretive government-to-government deals to buy food, with some contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.  —  In a striking example of how the global financial crisis …

Bloody Monday: Over 71,400 jobs lost  —  Seven companies announce massive job cuts in a scary start to the week.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The final week of January began with a bloodbath for the job market, as over 71,400 more cuts were announced on Monday alone.