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.

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

Detroit Calls Emissions Proposals Too Strict  —  DETROIT — Automakers said Monday that they were working toward President Obama's goal of reducing fuel consumption, but rapid imposition of stricter emissions standards could force them to drastically cut production of larger, more profitable vehicles, adding to their financial duress.

“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 …

Gillibrand trapped in exile  —  New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will be sworn in at 12:30 Tuesday, but she won't be handed the keys to Hillary Clinton's swanky Russell Senate Office Building suite for two whole months.  —  She'll be relegated instead to temporary quarters …

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.

The Same Old Song  —  What's up with the Republicans?  Have they no sense that their policies have sent the country hurtling down the road to ruin?  Are they so divorced from reality that in their delusionary state they honestly believe we need more of their tax cuts for the rich …

Welch gives back $20K from Rangel  —  Rep. Peter Welch (Vt.), a new Democratic member of the House ethics committee, gave back nearly $20,000 in donations he received from Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who is under investigation by the panel for an array of ethics charges.

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.

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 …