Is a top Dem stirring Daschle trouble?  —  Tom Daschle will tell his old Senate colleagues Monday that he made an honest mistake when he failed to pay taxes on the use of a limousine and a driver — and that he considered the services to be a gift from an old friend rather than income he had to report to the IRS.

Bailouts for Bunglers  —  Question: what happens if you lose vast amounts of other people's money?  Answer: you get a big gift from the federal government — but the president says some very harsh things about you before forking over the cash.  —  Am I being unfair?  I hope so.

Conservative Pajamas Media shuts down ad network, righty blogs hopping mad  —  This story is a little inside baseball about the blogosphere that sounds like another bit of fallout from the election and the economy is rocking the righty blogs right now.  A few years ago (2005) …

How Government Prolonged the Depression  —  Policies that decreased competition in product and labor markets were especially destructive.  —  The New Deal is widely perceived to have ended the Great Depression, and this has led many to support a “new” New Deal to address the current crisis.

As Obama Talks Of Bipartisanship, Definitions Vary  —  After a week of legislative successes for President Obama, Republicans seized on one asterisk: his inability to line up support from their ranks.  As he heads into his second full week in office, members of both parties are waiting …

The Man Who Made Obama  —  Campaign manager David Plouffe got the first black president elected.  Now he's moving on to something even more difficult, and potentially more important.  —  Plouffe with Obama at the second presidential debate last October.  The prep was serious, he says, “but we had fun.

Justice Dept. Under Obama Is Preparing for Doctrinal Shift in Policies of Bush Years  —  WASHINGTON — The Justice Department, probably more than any other agency here, is bracing for a broad doctrinal shift in policies from those of the Bush administration, department lawyers and Obama administration officials say.

Democrats Set High Goal Of Sweeping Fiscal Reform  —  As Senate Opens Stimulus Debate, Sacrifices Become More Urgent  —  It's the holy grail of Washington politics: a federal budget that generates ample funds through a simpler and fairer tax code, defuses the spending time bomb for health …

The Dems who bucked Obama  —  Nearly all of the 11 Democrats who voted against the economic stimulus package Wednesday had an incentive other than the plan's hefty price tag: Nine of them hold districts carried by John McCain in 2008.  —  While none cited that fact when explaining …

Comparing The January 2009 to January 2005 Provincial Elections  —  The results of the January 2009 elections will not be known for weeks, but the early returns show a lower turnout than the last time Iraqis voted on provincial councils in January 2005.  At that time, 58% of Iraqis …

PETER HITCHENS: We show tolerance to ‘gays’ and get tyranny in return … If I never again had to read or write a word about homosexuals, I would be very happy.  I really don't want to know what other people do in their bedrooms.  But these days they really, really want us all to know.

Carville: A history lesson for Rush Limbaugh  —  Editor's Note: James Carville, a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, was the Clinton-Gore campaign manager in 1992 and political adviser to President Clinton.  He is active in Democratic politics and a party fundraiser.

Damned if they do, damned if they don't  —  The left is angry at banks for not managing their credit risks well enough, loaning money to people who couldn't pay it back.  The implication is often that this was all some sort of scheme to get working stiffs into debt slavery.

Rahm Emanuel back to Congress?  —  White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is interested in potentially returning to Chicago someday to reclaim the congressional seat he held until a month ago, a candidate running to replace him said Sunday.  —  When 11 Democrats at the first 5th Congressional District forum …

New GOP chair comes out swinging  —  The new chairman of the Republican National Committee said Sunday that his party should put the brakes on Democratic initiatives, from the economic stimulus bill to President Obama's plans for his Cabinet.  —  Steele said in a telephone interview …

How Can the World Be Blind to Israel's Existential Threats?  —  I heard Benjamin Netanyahu, the person who could soon become Israel's new prime minister, speak this week at the Jerusalem Conference.  The most pressing point that he talked about was that under no circumstances should Jerusalem be divided.

Gingrich sees open field, mounting crises  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) suggested Monday morning that the country faces mounting challenges at home and abroad to an extent most Americans simply cannot comprehend.  —  “The world is much more difficult than any American realizes …

Palin pushes for road to Nome  —  PIPE DREAM?  Project would cost $3 million to $4 million a mile.  —  scockerham@adn.com  —  JUNEAU — Boomers talked for decades about building a road to Nome, an epic 500-mile plus project that would run through some of the most remote wilderness of forest, tundra, rivers and valleys in the world.

Renditions Buffoonery  —  In a breathless piece of reporting in the Sunday Los Angeles Times, we are told that Barack Obama “left intact” a “controversial counter-terrorism tool” called renditions.  Moreover, the Times states, quoting unnamed “current and former U.S. intelligence figures,” …

Michael Steele and Bloggers: A ‘Steele Curtain’ or an Olive Branch?  —  Michael Steele frequently reads blogs at 2 o'clock in the morning.  —  ... At least, that's what he told me a few months ago during our first (and only) blogger conference call conversation.

The Senate Carves $90 Million Out of Stimulus For Liberal Activist Group  —  The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights ("LCCR") is a far left interest group.  —  The group opposed conservative judges.  The group agitates for card check.  The group is in favor of the Fairness Doctrine.