Obama puts brake on Afghan surge  —  PRESIDENT Barack Obama has demanded that American defence chiefs review their strategy in Afghanistan before going ahead with a troop surge.  —  There is concern among senior Democrats that the military is preparing to send up to 30,000 extra troops without a coherent plan or exit strategy.

Afghan Leader Finds Himself Hero No More  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — A foretaste of what would be in store for President Hamid Karzai after the election of a new American administration came last February, when Joseph R. Biden Jr., then a senator, sat down to a formal dinner at the palace during a visit here.

The Dissenter Who Changed the War  —  As the No. 2 Commander in Iraq, Raymond Odierno Challenged the Military Establishment, Pressing for More Troops and a Long-Term Strategy to Guide Them  —  Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno was an unlikely dissident, with little in his past to suggest …

Another Right-Wing Conspiracy in Washington?  —  If you're looking for a break from those conservative voices that dominate talk radio, take time out today to listen to local station OBAMA 1260 AM.  You'll hear the progressive voices of Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Lionel — or …

FLY ON THE WAL  —  UNDERCOVER AT WAL-MART, THE HEARTLAND SUPERSTORE THAT MAY SAVE THE ECONOMY  —  Some people, usually community activists, loath Wal-Mart.  Others, like the family of four struggling to make ends meet, are in love with the chain.  I, meanwhile, am in awe of it.

Congress Is Divided Over Competing Stimulus Bills  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate agreement on a roughly $827 billion economic stimulus bill sets up tough negotiations with the House, primarily over tens of billions of dollars in aid to states and local governments, tax provisions, and education, health and renewable energy programs.

What the centrists have wrought  —  I'm still working on the numbers, but I've gotten a fair number of requests for comment on the Senate version of the stimulus.  —  The short answer: to appease the centrists, a plan that was already too small and too focused on ineffective tax cuts …

Obama's NSC Will Get New Power  —  Directive Expands Makeup and Role Of Security Body  —  President Obama plans to order a sweeping overhaul of the National Security Council, expanding its membership and increasing its authority to set strategy across a wide spectrum of international and domestic issues.

Official: Sebelius near top for health post  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was very near the top of President Barack Obama's list of candidates to head the Health and Human Services Department, a senior administration official said Saturday.

Slumdogs Unite!  —  SOMEDAY historians may look back at Tom Daschle's flameout as a minor one-car (and chauffeur) accident.  But that will depend on whether or not it's followed by a multi-vehicle pileup that still could come.  Even as President Obama refreshingly took responsibility for having …

Economists Agree Time Is of the Essence for Stimulus  —  With Congress moving closer to adopting a $820 billion stimulus package and the Obama administration poised to unveil a new bank bailout plan, economists say that the federal government is taking its biggest role in the economy in a generation.

Cutbanks in the Fiscal Boost Program  —  The stimulus package is too small—and it looks like almost all of the cuts are from reasonable uses of government funds that are substantially labor intensive and thus are the right kind of thing to be in the stimulus package.  It looks like the cuts are: