General Zinni gets undiplomatic treatment from Obama team  —  When retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni told the Washington Times that he was offered the job of U.S. ambassador to Iraq before being passed over in favor of diplomat Christopher Hill, he did not say that one of the outrages …

Losing Control  —  Obama needs to reassert command of the agenda in Washington  —  Barack Obama began making his comeback on Wednesday, apparently aware that he has all but lost control of the agenda in Washington at a time when he simply can't afford to do so.

Obama could break 5-day rule  —  Obama appears poised to break his campaign pledge to give the public five days to review a bill before he signs it.  —  Obama scheduled a bill signing for 4:35 p.m. Wednesday, even though the House has yet to vote on the legislation expanding a children's health insurance program.

Panetta Earned $700,000 in Fees  —  WASHINGTON — The White House's nominee for Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Leon Panetta, has earned more than $700,000 in speaking and consulting fees since the beginning of 2008, with some of the payments coming from troubled financial firms …

Stimulus Setback: Which Side Is Obama On?  —  Sorry for my absence today—I was on jury duty (not selected though)  —  The stimulus bill has suffered a major setback.  Lacking the 60 votes to pass the bill, Senate Democrats have moved to a conference off-site, delayed the vote …

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 …

Uncovering Lost Path of the Most Wanted Nazi  —  CAIRO — Even in old age the imposingly tall, athletic German known to locals as Tarek Hussein Farid maintained the discipline to walk some 15 miles each day through the busy streets of Egypt's capital.  He walked to the world-renowned Al Azhar mosque here …

Carter tries to push Rangel out  —  Republican Rep. John R. Carter of Texas offered legislation Wednesday that would require Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel to relinquish his gavel until the ethics committee completes an investigation into Rangel's finances.

The Right Wing's Next Target: Hilda Solis?  »  —  Yesterday, President Obama's nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Daschle, withdrew after it was revealed he failed to pay over $100,000 in taxes.  In the wake of Daschle's departure, the right-wing is gunning …

Florida Student Asks Scalia a Question — and Gets Scolded  —  Where others fear to tread, a 20-year-old college student from Tequesta, Fla.,boldly stepped forward Tuesday to ask Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a question he did not like during a public appearance in West Palm Beach.

Bozell to ABC President: You Must Publicly Address Stephanopoulos' Apparent Conflict of Interest  —  Open Letter Demands Public Resolution to Daily Strategy Calls  —  Alexandria, VA - Media Research Center (MRC) President L. Brent Bozell, III has written a letter to ABC News President David Westin calling …

PHIL BREDESEN AS DASCHLE'S REPLACEMENT?  —  He's not the only candidate.  But an array of sources say he's a serious candidate.  And he'd be a very risky choice.  —  Phil Bredesen is the governor of Tennessee.  Before he was the governor of Tennessee, he made his money in the managed care revolution …

Rush Limbaugh Loses a Popularity Contest  —  America to Rush: Drop Dead by Max Blumenthal  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Congressional Republicans have turned to Rush Limbaugh to lead the battle against Obama.  One problem: A poll says he's less popular than Jeremiah Wright.

Have Mercy on This Spinner  —  Yesterday I was thinking that Robert Gibbs, President Obama's press secretary, reminds me of another recent one: Scott McClellan.  I was reassured, then, to read this comment by Victor Davis Hanson: … It's possible, of course, that Gibbs gets better as time goes on.

U.S. Attorney Scandal: Feds Probe Domenici for Obstruction of Justice In Iglesias Firing  —  A federal grand jury probe of the firings of nine U.S. attorneys during the Bush administration is focusing on the role played by recently retired Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and former senior Bush White House aides …

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.

Stumbling on Their Sense of Entitlement  —  Tom Daschle still doesn't get it.  —  John Thain never did.  —  Barack Obama gets it sometimes, Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner not so much.  —  Corporate executives think they get it but aren't even close.  —  College presidents …

Palin takes on Ashley Judd's ‘extreme fringe group’  —  (CNN) - Alaska governor Sarah Palin's support for aerial wolf-hunting has sparked a heated cross-country war of words between the governor and an environmental ad campaign fronted by the actress Ashley Judd, with Palin calling …

Labor victims of Madoff scheme  —  The 163-page, tightly spaced list (.pdf) of Bernard Madoff's victims, released today after a bankruptcy hearing and posted online tonight by the New York Post, makes pretty compelling reading and searching.  —  The Post focuses on the ballplayers …

Republican Momentum  —  On Capitol Hill, you can feel the Republicans' growing sense of confidence.  They've scored a lot of hits on the stimulus bill, and now they're aiming higher.  “We'll try to make the bill better,” Sen. Jim DeMint said a few moments ago, “but this bill is so bad …

‘Mum’ had 80 women raped for suicide missions  —  A WOMAN suspected of recruiting more than 80 female suicide bombers has confessed to organising their rapes so she could later convince them that martyrdom was the only way to escape the shame.  —  Samira Jassam, 51, was arrested by Iraqi police …

Do Tax Rebates Work?  —  The conventional wisdom is that the tax rebate signed by President Bush last year failed to stimulate the economy.  But there is now pretty good reason to question that wisdom.  —  The argument that the rebate didn't work is based on the notion that it didn't lift consumer spending very much.

DODD'S NEW DODGE  —  SEN. Chris Dodd is hoping to make his sweetheart deals with Country wide Mortgage - which saved him tens of thousands of dollars on two mortgages - disappear.  —  Dodd, the chairman of the Banking Committee, announced this week that he'll have the mortgages refinanced …

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.

DENIAL AS POLITICAL STRATEGY  —  Behind all the back and forth over the Stimulus Bill is a simple fact: the debate in Washington is rapidly moving away from any recognition that the US economy — and the global economy, for that matter — is in free-fall.  The range of outcomes stretches …