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 …

Officials: Family planning money may be dropped  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - House Democrats are likely to jettison family planning funds for the low-income from an $825 billion economic stimulus bill, officials said late Monday …

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.

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 …

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 …

Senate passes bill to delay digital TV switch  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate passed a bill on Monday to delay the nationwide switch to digital TV signals, giving consumers nearly four more months to prepare.  —  The transition date would move to June 12 from February 17 under the bill …

Geography Is Dividing Democrats Over Energy  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is moving quickly to act on the environmental promises that were a centerpiece of his campaign.  But tackling global warming will be far more difficult — and more costly — than the new emissions standards …

Power, politics, gossip on daily call  —  The conversations don't begin with hello.  They don't end with goodbye.  Most often they pick up with a low, drawling voice uttering something between a sentence and a grunt.  —  “Wahzgoanawn?”  —  For those not accustomed to hearing James Carville …

“VERY DIFFICULT”  —  Some train wrecks are just impossible to watch and impossible not to watch.  Here's ex-Merrill CEO John Thain explaining the whole $1.2 million office renovation story in an interview with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo this afternoon.  The first question is just about the office renovation …

Animal Spirits Depend on Trust  —  The proposed stimulus isn't big enough to restore confidence.  —  President Obama is urging Congress to pass an $825 billion stimulus package as soon as possible.  But even that may not be enough to stabilize the economy, since it fails to take into account …

93-year-old man freezes to death indoors  —  93-year-old man had more than $1,000 in unpaid power bills  —  BAY CITY, Mich. - A 93-year-old man froze to death inside his home just days after the municipal power company restricted his use of electricity because of unpaid bills, officials said.

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.

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.

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)

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.