Republicans See Long-Term Victory in Defeat on Stimulus Plan  —  Three months after their Election Day drubbing, Republican leaders see glimmers of rebirth in the party's liberation from an unpopular president, its selection of its first African American chairman and, most of all …

Barack Obama is a novice - and it shows  —  After a rocky start, the new President knows he has to seize back the political agenda, says Toby Harnden.  —  During last year's epic election campaign, Hillary Clinton said that in the White House “there is no time for on-the-job training”.

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.

Steele Defends Payment to Sister  —  RNC Chairman Says Campaign Costs Were Legitimate and Documented  —  Michael S. Steele, the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, said yesterday that there was nothing improper in a payment of more than $37,000 to his sister's company for work …

‘Doom’ talk scored as ‘not presidential’  —  Poses risk for ‘Yes, we can’ candidate  —  From crisis to catastrophe.  Off a cliff.  Dark, darker, darkest.  Mortal danger of absolute collapse.  Armageddon.  —  President Obama and top Democrats on Capitol Hill are deploying …

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.

The Happy Party  —  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) They took a beating in November, but now, in the stimulus fight, Republicans are smiling again.  —  You see it all over Capitol Hill, in the hallways, the hearing rooms, the gathering spots.  Republicans, coming off a devastating, across-the-board electoral defeat, are ... happy.

US outlines new plan for Afghanistan  —  Ian Traynor Munich  —  The Obama administration today today outlined a new campaign strategy for the war in Afghanistan, scaling back the ambitions of George Bush in a shift which senior officials and diplomats described as a “new realism”.

Why I Support the Stimulus  —  I am supporting the economic stimulus package for one simple reason: The country cannot afford not to take action.  —  The unemployment figures announced Friday, the latest earnings reports and the continuing crisis in banking make it clear that failure to act …

Obama Aide: Health Care to Be “Central Focus” in Budget  —  The Obama administration's health care czar may be gone, but here is one hint that its commitment to pursuing major health care legislation in 2009 remains in place.  On Sunday, a senior administration official told me that health care would be a …

Obama wields the Oval invite  —  With Arlen Specter, the president was “crisp” and “professional” and threw in some talk about judges.  —  With Olympia Snowe, he was more casual, warming up with memories of the late Paul Simon, a mutual friend.  —  With Ben Nelson — a conservative Democrat …

A Military Tactician's Political Strategy  —  In Defending the Troop Increase, Commander Paved Way for a ‘Long War’  —  As Gen. David H. Petraeus flew into Baghdad in February 2007, preparing to take command of U.S. forces in Iraq, Col. Peter R. Mansoor, his executive officer, knelt alongside his seat.

Wake Up Call: Facebook Isn't A Safe Haven  —  Facebook just turned 5 years old.  But a week that should have been filled with reflection and good times was instead marred by a series of breaking news reports detailing sex scandals, phishing, and other malicious activity on the world's largest social network.

Stimulus will lead to ‘financial disaster,’ Republicans warn  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Leading Republicans warned Sunday that the Obama administration's $800 billion-plus economic stimulus effort will lead to what one called a “financial disaster.”  —  “Everybody on the street in America understands that …

Angelo Who?  —  After months of delay, Senator Christopher Dodd has offered a fuller but less than satisfactory account of the V.I.P. mortgage loans extended to him by a key player in the subprime mortgage crisis.  Mr. Dodd, the banking committee chairman who oversees remedies …

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.

Warrior in Drug Fight Soon Becomes a Victim  —  Mexican General Seized, Slain in Cancun  —  CANCUN, Mexico — The general didn't get much time.  After a long, controversial career, Brig. Gen. Mauro Enrique Tello Quiñones retired from active duty last month and moved to this Caribbean playground …