GOP defies Obama overtures  —  House Republicans have proposed an alternative that leaders say would create 6.2 million jobs for only $478 billion.  —  “What Member can't go back his or her District and explain: Rather than voting for a bloated bill, ... I voted for an alternative …

My Bipartisan Stimulus  —  Let's cut taxes, as I want, and spend more, as Obama would like.  —  There's a serious debate in this country as to how best to end the recession.  The average recession will last five to 11 months; the average recovery will last six years.

White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code  —  WASHINGTON — The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket.  There was, however, a logical explanation: Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.

Obama Seeks Accord With Military on Iraq  —  WASHINGTON — As President Obama moves to redefine the nation's mission in Iraq, he faces a difficult choice: Is he willing to abandon a campaign promise or risk a rupture with the military?  Or can he finesse the difference?

With Al Due Respect, We're Doomed  —  The lawmakers gazed in awe at the figure before them.  The Goracle had seen the future, and he had come to tell them about it.  —  What the Goracle saw in the future was not good: temperature changes that “would bring a screeching halt to human civilization …

Obama Signs First Piece of Legislation Into Law  —  Lilly Ledbetter Act Makes It Easier for Workers to Sue for Pay Discrimination  —  President Obama this morning signed a law that expanded the time frame in which workers can sue for discrimination they have experienced based on gender, race, national origin or religion.

Palin, Obama to share stage  —  In what could be a preview of the 2012 presidential race, Sarah Palin and Barack Obama will share a stage together this Saturday night in Washington, D.C., Politico has learned.  —  The Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee …

Our economic appetite  —  Nearly eighty years ago, John Maynard Keynes did the math on economic growth and concluded that within a few generations—by the time his peers' great-grandchildren came of age in, say, the 2000's—the persistent economic problem of too-scarce resources and too-few goods …

Obama Made a Rash Decision on Gitmo  —  The president will soon realize that governing involves hard choices.  —  During his first week as commander in chief, President Barack Obama ordered the closure of Guantanamo Bay and terminated the CIA's special authority to interrogate terrorists.

Bad  —  As the Obama administration apparently prepares to launch Hankie Pankie II — buying troubled assets from banks at prices higher than they will fetch on the open market — it occurred to me that an updated version of an old Communist-era joke may be appropriate: under Bush …

Obama's Open Records Pledge Tested Over Citigroup Guarantees  —  Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) — U.S. government guarantees on securities totaling $419 billion for bank bailouts provide an early test of President Barack Obama's pledge to be open with taxpayers about what they have at risk in the credit crisis.

Bush War on Roquefort Raises a Stink in France  —  ROQUEFORT-SUR-SOULZON This seems an unlikely spot to fight a trade war.  —  A village of 600 souls in a remote part of southern France, Roquefort clings precariously to the side of Combalou Rock, a promontory overlooking a deep valley …

The power of Obama's hand  —  Joe Lieberman has felt it.  So has Joe the Plumber.  —  It's the Obama Touch — the squeeze on the biceps, the pat on the shoulder or the tap on the back that signals the displeasure of the commander in chief.  Let others turn on the deep freeze or lose their cool when they're annoyed.

Would I Have Voted No?  —  That's a good question.  It's also a silly one, since the odds of my being a Republican Congressman as a married man are nil (they only want you to have a stable family life if you're straight).  I'm not an economist and so it's very hard for me to judge how big …

The Moral Hazard of the “Bad Bank”  —  I've been closely following the various (new & improved!) bailout plans for the big banks — from the modified TARP to the recapitalizations to the “bad bank” plan.  —  I've noticed something I find a bit disturbing about our new Treasury Secretary …

‘Buy American’ Rider Sparks Trade Debate  —  The stimulus bill passed by the House last night contains a controversial provision that would mostly bar foreign steel and iron from the infrastructure projects laid out by the $819 billion economic package.  —  A Senate version, yet to be acted upon …

Quinn: ‘I will be ready’  —  The Bible is ready.  The oath has been prepared.  The lieutenant governor and his family are on their way to Springfield.  And the current governor's belongings are boxed up and waiting to be picked up at the Executive Mansion.