Bumps in the Road: Obama's HHS Secretary Nominee Faces Tax Questions Over Car and Driver  —  ABC News has learned that the nomination of former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to be President Obama's secretary of health and human services has hit a traffic snarl on its way through the Senate Finance Committee.

GOP losing patience with Obama, Dem leaders  —  Republicans wrapped up their retreat Friday by signaling they are losing patience with President Obama and the Democratic leadership in Congress.  —  Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) criticized the new administration on Friday …

What getting kicked to the curb in the age of new media looks like … What this means is that as of April 1, I am officially out of work.  So save going to a pay model, this site will likely have to shut down.  —  Small price to pay for helping PJM pick up an audience and credibility during its “formative years.”

Steele Makes History, but Can the New Party Chief Remake the GOP?  —  Michael Steele speaks at the Republican National Convention  —  The selection on Friday of Michael Steele, 50, as the Republican National Committee's next chairman is remarkable not merely because he is the first African American to head the party of Lincoln.

It's Theirs and They're Not Apologizing  —  Getting between a broker and his bonus is like getting between a schnauzer and his lunch bowl.  He may not bite you, but you are going to smell his breath.  —  “People come here because they want to work hard and get paid a lot for working hard …

Card: Obama has brought a ‘locker room experience’ to the WH with his informal dress code.  —  Card: Obama has brought a ‘locker room experience’ to the WH with his informal dress code.»  —  On Thursday, the New York Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg wrote about how President Obama had brought …

Under Tight Security, Voting Seems Calm in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD — Voters turned out early and calmly on Saturday for Iraq's provincial elections, the first in the country for four years.  By noon, halfway through the voting, no one had been reported injured or killed.  —  Early reporting showed a lighter turnout than expected.

Defense Official: Obama Calling for Defense Budget Cuts  —  Some overall budget figures are expected to be announced Monday.  —  FOXNews.com  —  The Obama administration has asked the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff to cut the Pentagon's budget request for the fiscal year 2010 by more than 10 percent …

White House Lawyers Look to Limit Commercial Use of President  —  Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) — Barack Obama's popularity makes him a marketer's dream.  Now, the honeymoon may be over for those trying to profit from his appeal.  —  White House lawyers want to control the use of the president's image …

Supreme Court Steps Closer to Repeal of Evidence Ruling  —  WASHINGTON — In 1983, a young lawyer in the Reagan White House was hard at work on what he called in a memorandum “the campaign to amend or abolish the exclusionary rule” — the principle that evidence obtained by police misconduct cannot be used against a defendant.

Claire McCaskill Lays Down Law On CEO Compensation  —  Sen. Claire McCaskill has delivered a sharp threat to the wallets of corporate executives who have received large compensation packages even as their companies received government bailout funds.  Things, she warned, are going to change.