Obama Has Upper Hand in Stimulus Fight  —  Obama's 67% approval rating on the stimulus is more than twice that of Republicans  — USA - Congress - Democrats - Government and Politics - Leadership - Republicans - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America

The Destructive Center  —  What do you call someone who eliminates hundreds of thousands of American jobs, deprives millions of adequate health care and nutrition, undermines schools, but offers a $15,000 bonus to affluent people who flip their houses?  —  A proud centrist.

Obama Administration Maintains Bush Position on ‘Extraordinary Rendition’ Lawsuit  —  From Jake Tapper and Ariane de Vogue:  —  The Obama Administration today announced that it would keep the same position as the Bush Administration in the lawsuit Mohamed et al v Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.

U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailouts as Senate Votes  —  Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — The stimulus package the U.S. Congress is completing would raise the government's commitment to solving the financial crisis to $9.7 trillion, enough to pay off more than 90 percent of the nation's home mortgages.

Obama's Unscreened Town Hall Audience Is Clean Break From Bush's Supporters-Only Public Events  —  Today, President Obama hosted a town hall meeting in Elkhart, IN — which faces the nation's fastest-rising unemployment rate — to promote his recovery and reinvestment plan.

Leahy: Investigate Bush Now  —  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy insisted on Monday in firm and passionate terms that a comprehensive investigation be launched into the conduct of the Bush administration, saying anything less would prevent the country from moving forward.

Newsweek Plans Makeover to Fit a Smaller Audience  —  When US Airways Flight 1549 glided safely onto the Hudson River last month, Newsweek did what news organizations have done for more than a century — it sent reporters and photographers to the scene.  Considerable effort yielded …

High-ranking Foreign Office diplomat arrested over anti-Semitic gym tirade … A high-ranking diplomat at the Foreign Office has been arrested after allegations that he launched a foul-mouthed anti-Semitic tirade.  —  Middle East expert Rowan Laxton, 47, was watching TV reports of the Israeli attack …

IT'S A RECESSION NOT A ‘CATASTROPHE’  —  PRESIDENT Obama, writing in The Washington Post, said, “By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression.”  But how would we know if and when this crisis is really more “deep and dire” than others?

Obama Stumps for Stimulus in a City Hit Hard by Downturn  —  ELKHART, Ind. — President Obama took his case for an $800 billion economic recovery package to one of the most distressed places in America on Monday as he opened a series of campaign-style events intended to press Congress to approve the plan by week's end.

How Government Created the Financial Crisis  —  Research shows the failure to rescue Lehman did not trigger the fall panic.  —  Many are calling for a 9/11-type commission to investigate the financial crisis.  Any such investigation should not rule out government itself as a major culprit.

Amazon Raises an E-Book Specter  —  Amazon.com Inc. is announcing a new version of its Kindle e-book reader on Monday.  And, in a sign that the electronic book is gaining clout in the publishing world, Amazon is also expected to say it has acquired a new work by best-selling novelist Stephen King …

Coleman Says ‘God Wants Me to Serve’  —  While Al Franken remains fairly elusive, Norm Coleman is keeping a high profile these days as his court challenge of the Minnesota U.S. Senate recount plods along.  —  Coleman is adept, somewhat too adept, his critics might say …

A letter to Rush Limbaugh  —  Congratulations!  You have been selected by the Obama administration, the mainstream media and 20 million of your most passionate followers to be the new head of the Republican Party.  —  As such, you are given all the rights and responsibilities that come with being a true political leader.

Porn Star for Senate  —  An Interview with the Porn Star Running Against Sen. David Vitter by Max Blumenthal  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Sen. David Vitter's phone number was found in the records of the notorious D.C. madam.  Now he faces re-election (and massive karmic payback) against a sultry adult entertainer named Stormy.

Gitmo Detainee's ‘Genitals Were Sliced With A Scalpel,’ Waterboarding ‘Far Down The List Of Things They Did’  —  Last week, two British High Court judges ruled against releasing documents describing the treatment of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay.

Steele calls for 'bling'-free stimulus  —  Just ran into new RNC Chairman Michael Steele who watched President Obama's town hall in Indiana and wasn't impressed.  —  The Obama-backed stimulus, he said, “is just a wish list from a lot of people who have been on the sidelines for years.. to get a little bling, bling.”

Does CNN's John King think construction work is done pro bono?  —  Apparently.  Because asking questions about the stimulus bill, King, perfectly echoing GOP talking points, wonders if a construction project one mayor is proposing (a community wave pool) will actually create jobs.

kf Goes In the Tank  —  I saw my friend and Slate contributor Tom Geoghegan speak in L.A. at a fundraiser for his Congressional run.  ** He wasn't as good as I expected.  He was much better.  The joy of Geoghegan is that he usually has a big interesting new theory, often a (dare I say it) contrarian one.

People Hate Republicans  —  It seems that conservative legislators are really excited about their efforts to block efforts at an economic recovery package: … The public is less entranced by this behavior:  —  I'm not surprised to see most Republican legislators acting this way.

Comparing this recession to the last five  —  The dramatic chart Nancy Pelosi's office put out comparing job losses so far in the current recession with those in 2001 and 1990-1991 has gotten a lot of play in the Internets.  As well it should-it paints a dramatic picture (job losses in the current recession have been much more severe).

Roland Burris received about $1.2 million in loans from businessman during gubernatorial bid  —  Illinois senator repaid only about $6,000 to businessman Joseph Stroud, state records show  —  Roland Burris, Illinois' newest senator, likes to talk about his years of service to the people …

Obama's insipid emails are annoying Leon Wieseltier.  —  I was going to do a blog post a week or so ago titled Barack Obama is spamming me — you could sing it to this tune — but it was clear enough on the face of the email that a simple click would unsubscribe me from his email list …

Obama Backs Rule Change to Modify Mortgages  —  President Barak Obama said on Monday that he supported changing the rules to let judges modify first mortgages to prevent home foreclosures.  Obama made his comments at a townhall meeting in Elkhart Indiana, as he campaigned …