Why Daschle Withdrew His Nomination  —  Tom Daschle and his team went to bed last night believing they had had a good day after a horrible weekend.  —  Monday's Senate Finance Committee meeting was not easy.  (Ranking Republican Chuck Grassley pushed Daschle hard on his relationship …

Recount trial: Judges rule thousands of ballots can be considered  —  The court order applies to about 4,800 rejected absentee ballots and indicates that any that complied with state law should be counted.  —  Nearly 4,800 rejected absentee ballots may be reconsidered in the U.S. Senate recount trial …

U.S. Plans to Curb Executive Pay for Bailout Recipients  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is expected to impose a cap of $500,000 for top executives at companies that receive large amounts of bailout money, according to people familiar with the plan.

President Obama to water down ‘Buy American’ plan after EU trade war threat  —  Obama seeks Russia deal to slash nuclear weapons 80 per cent  —  The European Union warned the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting a planned “Buy American” policy, intensifying fears of a trade war.

GOP leaders list ‘waste’ in Senate stimulus bill  —  (CNN) — On Monday, House Republican leaders put out a list of what they call wasteful provisions in the Senate version of the nearly $900 billion stimulus bill that is being debated:  —  • $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen …

Did WH encourage defiance of Pelosi?  —  Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) — one of the lead Blue Dogs — made a startling admission to lefty Liberadio today, suggesting the White House quietly encouraged him to buck House leadership on the stimulus.  —  Cooper was one of 11 Dems to vote no — joining every GOP House member.

Czar Mitt  —  President Obama could do worse.  Romney has a bad reputation among Congressional Democrats, so I can't imagine they'd cotton to this.  In fact, it's highly unlikely.  But what Romney, in a bipartisan fashion, was able to do in Massachusetts — even with caveats …

Lynch names Newman to Gregg's seat  —  J. Bonnie Newman knows a thing or two about short-term gigs.  —  In 2006, she was plucked from retirement and brought back to the University of New Hampshire, the school where she began her professional career, to serve as its interim president.

Ben Stein responds to UVM flap  —  Calls commencement flap ‘pathetic,’ denies he's anti-science  —  Ben Stein described the brouhaha over his selection as commencement speaker at the University of Vermont as “laughable” on Tuesday called the whole episode “pathetic.”

WHO KILLED DASCHLE?  —  I think Steve Clemons gets this wrong.  Daschle wasn't taken down by Republicans.  No senators, to my knowledge, came out against his appointment.  Major columnists didn't have time to attack his ethics.  Moreover, these revelations didn't come from Republican oppo researchers.

Naked Obama Unicorn-A-Rama  —  Via Boing Boing comes the single most disturbing Naked Obama/Unicorn pic yet.  In fact, it's so “right up against the line” that I'm actually going to stick it beneath the fold.  If you click through, don't say you weren't warned.

Obama HHS pick: Mikulski?  —  Unconfirmed rumors began seeping out of Capitol Hill late today that Maryland Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski is under consideration for the suddenly vacant position of Secretary of Health and Human Services.  —  A spokeswoman for Mikulski did not immediately return email …

Vitter: GOP Senators are “scared to death” of Obama and his polling numbers  —  A quickie from this morning's chat with Laura Ingraham courtesy of her producer, Tom Elliott.  [...] Read the rest »

IBM Offers To Move Laid Off Workers To India  —  Big Blue wants to help redundant U.S. employees relocate to developing markets, according to an internal document.  —  The climate is warm, there's no shortage of exotic food, and the cost of living is rock bottom.

Rahm Emanuel's Illegal D.C. Basement Rental  —  He's the cheapskate of staff.  Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's right-hand man, lives in a basement apartment on Capitol Hill rented to him by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.  Just one problem: He's not allowed to live there.

The Godless Stimulus  —  Bill Language Would Forbid Practice of Religion in College and University Buildings Given Renovation Money  —  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...unless your institution of higher learning …

Day 15 of Obama's honeymoon  —  One doesn't have to break a sweat searching for examples of the news media's ongoing love affair with our president.  In this, he is like FDR.  —  Barack Obama and his supporters have been relentlessly comparing the new president to Franklin Roosevelt.

Yepsen Leaves The Register  —  Every presidential year since 1975, one political reporter — just one — catapults himself to the top of the profession.  David Yepsen, 58, spent twenty years as the chief political reporter for the Des Moines Register, 33 years as the host of Iowa's top television chat show …

U.S. Officials: Al-Qaida Leadership Cadre ‘Decimated’  —  Listen Now  —  · CIA-directed airstrikes against al-Qaida leaders and facilities in Pakistan over the past six to nine months have been so successful, according to senior U.S. officials, that it is now possible to foresee a …

It Gets Worse: Boxer/Inhofe to Request $50B More for Highways  —  Barbara Boxer and infamous global warming denier James Inhofe will present an amendment to the Senate stimulus plan that could funnel as much as $50 billion in additional funding to highways, Streetsblog has learned.

Obama Justice Department Re-Hires Attorney Fired By Goodling Because Of Lesbian Rumor  —  In October 2006, Leslie Hagen, who was working as the liaison between the Justice Department and the U.S. attorneys' committee on Native American issues, was informed that despite her “outstanding” …

Letter from Paducah, Kentucky  —  I've been trying all day to get a hold of Senator McConnell but the line is busy.  I guess that is a good sign.  Out of frustration I called his local line here in Paducah, Kentucky and if anyone can't get through to his Washington office they can call:

Rod Blagojevich with David Letterman: ‘I sound like Christian Bale’  —  Set your TiVos, people!  On tonight's “Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS, Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former governor of Illinois, jokingly compares himself to the tantrum-susceptible “Dark Knight” star Christian Bale.

Frank Backs Regulator for Systemic Risk  —  WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said the first priority in overhauling financial regulation is to set up an entity to oversee systemic risks of the kind that walloped Wall Street last year.

Ward Three Morality  —  I've become increasingly concerned about the rising number of rich people who are being caught unawares by shifts in the sumptuary code.  First, there were those auto executives who didn't realize that it is no longer socially acceptable to use private jets for lobbying trips to Washington.

Biden Fumbles Clinton Oath  —  Vice President Biden learned on Monday how hard it can be to deliver an oath of office, when he slipped during the mock swearing-in of Secretary of State Clinton.  —  FOXNews.com  —  Mockery of and apologies to the Supreme Court chief justice aside …

DASCHLE'S REPLACEMENT: NAMES.  —  First point: There are fewer of them than you'd expect.  Every advocacy group and think tank and political operative I've called has said the same thing.  “Well, who have you heard?”  There's no “B” team.  In part, that's because Daschle was of unique stature …

U.S. to Get the Boot from Central Asia Base?  —  Stunning news from Moscow: Russian news agencies are reporting that the government of Kyrgyzstan will close Manas Air Base, a vital conduit for U.S. troops in Afghanistan.  —  RIA-Novosti quotes Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev as saying that his government …