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.

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) …

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.

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.

35 years later, Jerry Brown runs for governor again  —  The ‘reformed reformer’ wants to be governor again — 35 years after first winning the post.  —  It was 1974 when Jerry Brown ran for governor as a dashing 36-year-old reformer, the embodiment of change in Watergate's aftermath.

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.

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.

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,” …

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 …

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 …

NBC's David Gregory falsely claimed Social Security will “pay out more than it's taking in by 2010” … During the February 1 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, host David Gregory falsely asserted that “Social Security is about to go — pay out more than it's taking in by 2010.”

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.

The Political Suspicions of 9/11  —  A coming episode of the acclaimed FX drama “Rescue Me” will tackle what may sound like a far-fetched plot line: that the attacks of Sept. 11 were an “inside job.”  The actor who espouses the theories on camera, it turns out, also subscribes to them in real life.

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 …

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.

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.

Richard Shelby wants Senate to filibuster stimulus bill  —  U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, said he is prepared to filibuster the proposed economic stimulus bill, but fears enough Republicans will side with Senate Democrats to override any attempt to block the bill's passage.

Some thoughts on Michael Steele  —  It's tempting to go all roflerz over the RNC's selection of Michael Steele as chairmen.  But I think the proper response is a salute.  I have no idea whether Steele will be any good, but I think his selection marks the start of excising the Obama is a M00zlim contingent of the party.

Loyal Bushies Create Bush-Cheney Alumni Association Website To ‘Help Build A Lasting Legacy’  —  Even before President Bush left office, he and his loyal Bushies were hard at work shaping his legacy, comparing him to Abraham Lincoln and claiming his failed policies were smashing successes.

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 true face of Hollywood  —  ANALYSIS/OPINION:  —  Sometimes I just don't get the Republican Party.  —  Back in 2004, a smart, good-looking moderate Republican Hispanic ran for Congress.  At the time Victor Elizalde was just under 40 years old and working as an executive at a big-time Hollywood studio.