Obama fails his first test on civil liberties and accountability — resoundingly and disgracefully  —  Two weeks ago, I interviewed the ACLU's Ben Wizner, counsel to 5 individuals suing the subsidiary of Boeing (Jeppesen) which had arranged the Bush administration's rendition program …

Senate Clears Path for Vote on $838 Billion Stimulus  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Monday advanced the $838 billion economic stimulus bill, clearing a major procedural hurdle by a razor thin margin with the help of just three Republicans.  A vote on final passage of the bill is expected on Tuesday.

Manley sacks Shuler  —  Harry Reid spokesman Jim Manley on Heath Shuler's comment that Reid and Nancy Pelosi “failed” on bipartisanship.  —  It's a good one: … In four years as an NFL QB — three with the Redskins, one with the Saints — Shuler threw 32 INTs while tallying only 15 TDs.

Savior holds first fear-mongering press conference  —  The wealth-redistributor-in-chief, his High Holiness, is set to begin his first official prime-time press conference at 8pm Eastern.  —  Will he go all Howard Dean?  —  Will he get snippy?  —  Drinking game buzzwords: “Bipartisan …

Liveblogging The Obama News Conference  —  After the jump.  —  20:58: Obama says that some Democrats have been “too resistant to reform” in education.  Says bad teachers need to be fired.  That “we should have high standards” ... “My whole goal over the next four years is to make sure …

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 …

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

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.

President Obama in Elkhart, Ind.  —  Remarks of President Obama at the town-hall style meeting in Elkhart, Ind., as provided by the White House  —  President Barack Obama traveled today to Elkhart, Indiana for a town hall on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

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).

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Betsy McCaughey  —  Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) — Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama's stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.  —  Tragically, no one from either party …

Lieberman: Republicans In The ‘Gang Of Moderates’ Are ‘Heroes,’ Deserve The ‘Congressional Medal Of Honor’  —  Today in his town hall address in Elkhart, IN, President Obama criticized heavy cuts to education funding in the Senate's economic recovery package crafted by the so-called “Gang of Moderates.”

Obama Aides Rip Cable News, D.C. Media And Political Elite  —  Here's an interesting dynamic: The yawning gap between what the pundits say about who's winning the stimulus war and what the polls say the public thinks has created an opening for the Obama team to reclaim Obama's campaign outsider mantle …

Muslim in America: a ‘voyage of discovery’  —  ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — Hailey Woldt put on the traditional black abaya, expecting the worst.  —  The last time she'd worn the Muslim dress that, with a head scarf, covered everything but her face, hands and feet, she was in Miami International Airport …

Question: ‘Morning Joe’ or Sen. Joe?  —  Television host Joe Scarborough has a new radio show and is feeling good about the influence he's having on politics.  —  But the former congressman from Pensacola said he may run for office again, maybe even the U.S. Senate in 2010.

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.

EXCLUSIVE: Partisan dirt-digger joins WH office  —  Resume lacks legal training  —  Amid the furor over controversies regarding Cabinet-nominee tax problems and the seismic battle over a nearly trillion-dollar economic rescue bill, President Obama made a little-noticed appointment that is now generating intrigue.

Meg Whitman, EBay's former CEO, joins California governor's race  —  Whitman's chief rival for the GOP nomination is state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.  Other potential successors to replace Schwarzenegger in 2010 are Democrats Garamendi, Brown and Newsom.

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.

Climate change takes a mental toll  —  Last year, an anxious, depressed 17-year-old boy was admitted to the psychiatric unit at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.  He was refusing to drink water.  Worried about drought related to climate change, the young man was convinced that if he drank, millions of people would die.

Obama: This isn't run-of-the-mill recession  —  (CNN) — President Obama appeared before a national audience Monday night to make the case for his economic stimulus plan, saying this is not your “run-of-the-mill recession.”  —  “My bottom line is to make sure that we are saving or creating 4 million jobs …