Cheney warns of new attacks  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration's policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.

Support for Stimulus Package Falls to 37%  —  Support for the economic recovery plan working its way through Congress has fallen again this week.  For the first time, a plurality of voters nationwide oppose the $800-billion-plus plan.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found …

Senate Lacks Votes to Pass Stimulus  —  Democrats Trying to Trim $900 Billion Plan to Gain GOP Support  —  Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support …

Well, That Certainly Didn't Take Long  —  On 9/11, President Bush learned of disaster while reading “The Pet Goat” to grade-school kids.  On Tuesday, President Obama escaped from disaster by reading “The Moon Over Star” to grade-school kids.  —  “We were just tired of being in the White House …

THANKS A LOT, DUDE  —  I think it's understandable, though unfortunate in terms of the future of the country and the interests of justice, that Sen. Gregg (R-NH) made it a condition of his accepting the Commerce appointment that he'd be replaced by a Republican.

The Impending Obama Meltdown  —  Some of us have been warning that it was not healthy for the U.S. media to have deified rather than questioned Obama, especially given that they tore apart Bush, ridiculed Palin, and caricatured Hillary.  And now we can see the results of their two years of advocacy rather than scrutiny.

EXCLUSIVE: Obama backs out on Iraq appointment  —  The Obama administration asked retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni to be U.S. ambassador to Iraq but abruptly withdrew the appointment without explanation, Gen. Zinni said Tuesday.  —  Gen. Zinni, a former commander of Central Command …

U.S. Plans $500,000 Cap on Executive Pay in Bailouts  —  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.  —  Executives would also be prohibited …

California farms, vineyards in peril from warming, U.S. energy secretary warns  —  'We're looking at a scenario where there's no more agriculture in California,' Steven Chu says.  He sees education as a means to combat threat.  —  Reporting from Washington — California's farms and vineyards …

WHAT CHANGE LOOKS LIKE.  —  My reporting has been similar to that of Jon Cohn.  Everyone I've spoken to in the administration has expressed total shock over Daschle's withdrawal.  As recently as last night, they were counting votes and felt certain the nomination was on track for a bumpy but comfortable confirmation.

Death Of A Blogger  —  A prolific blogger is dead.He wroter diaries on the progressive blog, The Daily Kos.  Here's the beginning of the post written by a friend in his spot on the site, under his byline: … Go to the link to read it.  Yes, he left a political message …

CNBC's Clueless Mark Haines Calls Me “Clueless” on Morning Joe: I Respond  —  I was on Morning Joe this morning, talking about the bailout.  —  Right after my segment, CNBCs Mark Haines came on and, armed with lots of hostility and no facts, started taking shots at me, calling me “clueless” …

Daschle's withdrawal won't derail healthcare reform  —  Lawmakers are moving ahead with plans for legislation to advance many of the goals outlined by President Obama and Daschle, who combined a rare understanding of the issue and Capitol Hill politics.  —  Reporting from Washington …

In Attack on Kennedy, Echo of a Spitzer Tactic  —  ALBANY — An administration leaks damaging information about a political figure.  The leak is denounced by the governor, who says that he had nothing to do with it.  —  This is what happened during the tenure of Gov. Eliot Spitzer …

Vatican: Holocaust denier must recant  —  VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Wednesday demanded that a prelate who denied the Holocaust recant his positions before being fully admitted as a bishop into the Roman Catholic Church.  —  It also said Pope Benedict XVI had not known …

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.

Obama to Wallace: “I Think It's Fair to Say That I Don't Always Get My Most Favorable Coverage on Fox”  —  During his interview with Pres. Obama, Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace asked the president if he's “a trifle thin skinned?”  Wallace asked the question based on Obama's comment …

The Karl Rove of the Commode?  —  Call it a pipe dream come true: When members of the Conservative Working Group held their weekly strategy meeting on the Hill on Tuesday morning, they were joined by none other than Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, who had come to offer his thoughts on the economic recovery bill.

Phelps Takes a Hit  —  It's hell being a celebrity, especially if you're young and find yourself at a party, where marijuana and cameras should never mix.  —  And it's not exactly heaven being sheriff of a county with escalating drug crimes and pressure to treat all offenders equally.

Obama To Circumvent Media By Selling Stim Package Directly To Public Via Video  —  Here it is: President Obama's first major effort to use his massive campaign email list and communications apparatus to get around the filter of the big news orgs in order to personally sell his agenda directly to the American people.

A Barack Too Far?  New Rochelle Public Schools Assign Seven Year Olds to Obama Campaign  —  Students at an elementary school in New Rochelle, NY, a largely Democratic suburb of New York City with a City Council and School Board dominated by Democrats, were recently assigned an in-class assignment …