Obama Allies Launch New Ad Directly Attacking GOP Leaders — White House Told In Advance  —  President Obama's allies on the left, AFSCME and the labor-backed Americans United for Change, are ramping up with a massive advertising blitz containing the most direct and hard-hitting attack yet …

Bailed-Out Firms Distributing Cash Rewards: “Please Do Not Call It A Bonus”  —  Two Wall Street firms that received at least $60 billion in government bailout funds will be rewarding their financial advisers with controversial retention payments, the terms of which one senior executive described as …

Obama on Sweden  —  In response to a very good question for ABC News' Terry Moran, President Barack Obama specifically addressed why he's rejected a “Swedish” approach to the financial crisis: … Obama makes two arguments here, one about scale and one about national tradition.

Why Markets Dissed the Geithner Plan  —  Here's how he should handle the banks.  —  One of the cool things about being Treasury Secretary is that you get your signature on dollar bills, giving them authority, defending their honor.  Timothy Geithner's plan to save the struggling banking system probably does …

A rocky first few weeks  —  Obama sputters out of the gate — but don't fear yet.  Plus: Buxom foodies, frocks for the ages, and the eternal appeal of Mary McCarthy and Justin Timberlake.  —  Money by the barrelful, by the truckload.  Mountains of money, heaped like gassy pyramids in the national dump.

CONGRESS $HOPPING CARTS  —  WASHINGTON - “Fore!”  —  The federal government is preparing to spend millions to purchase a fleet of small electric vehicles that critics compare to golf carts.  —  The $838 billion economic stimulus bill that passed the Senate yesterday contains $300 million …

Analysis: Election arithmetic puts Netanyahu in the driving seat  —  For all the confusion prompted by the near parity of Kadima and the Likud in Tuesday's election, and even before final adjustments necessitated by Thursday's release of soldiers' votes and the complex surplus-vote distribution …

For senators, tax questions are taxing  —  When Timothy Geithner appeared before the Senate Finance Committee last month, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) accused the soon-to-be treasury secretary of “dancing around” questions about his taxes.  —  When news broke that Tom Daschle had failed …

19 Killed in Suicide Attacks on Government Sites in Kabul  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Attackers firing automatic rifles and wearing explosive vests stormed the Justice Ministry in central Kabul while others burst into another government building in the north of the city, triggering chaos as ministry workers fled, witnesses said Wednesday.

Tennessee: HHS post probably won't come his way, Bredesen tells lawmakers  —  NASHVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen told top legislative leaders this morning that he doesn't think President Obama will nominate him for the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary position, lawmakers said.

A CONSERVATIVE LIE CASE STUDY.... To paraphrase Twain, a right-wing talking point can travel the media world, while the truth is still getting its pants on.  We've seen a classic example over the last 48 hours.  —  On Monday, Bloomberg ran an opinion piece from Betsy McCaughey …

As Mainstream Exits D.C., Niche Media Tide Rises  —  The growing exodus of mainstream reporters from the nation's capital has ceded much of the turf to a new, more specialized kind of journalism.  —  Just as newspaper, magazine and television bureaus here are shrinking or shutting …

Where does the conservative movement go from here?  —  ANALYSIS/OPINION:  —  The conservative movement has a simple and almost certainly successful future if it does three things:  —  1. Advocate first principles with courage, clarity, persistence and cheerfulness.

Stimulus Agreement: $789.5-Billion Price Tag  —  Negotiators on Capitol Hill wrangling with reconciling the House and Senate versions of the stimulus package have come to an agreement on the top line figure for the recovery bill: $789.5-billion, Democratic and Congressional sources tell me and my colleague Rick Klein

How to Save the Suburbs: Solutions from the Man Who Saw the Whole Thing Coming  —  For a half century, it's been easy to mock suburbia for being too comfortable, white-bread and conformist.  That's all changed in the last 18 months as many suburbs have abruptly taken on a sense of tragedy …

67% Say They Could Do A Better Job On The Economy Than Congress  —  When it comes to the nation's economic issues, 67% of U.S. voters have more confidence in their own judgment than they do in the average member of Congress.  —  Nineteen percent (19%) trust members of Congress more …

From Seattle's top cop to ‘drug czar’  —  Kerlikowske reportedly gets offer to join Obama Cabinet  —  Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has been appointed to a law enforcement post within the Obama administration, which would return him to Washington, D.C., after almost a decade as Seattle's top cop, sources said Tuesday.

On War Criminals' Trail, NBC News Stirs Criticism  —  NBC News, which teamed up with local police officers to trap sex offenders for its successful but scandalous “To Catch a Predator” series, is now using similar tactics to hunt bigger game: war criminals.  —  But one of the first efforts …

Marc Ambinder grants anonymity to “officials” to defend the Obama DOJ  —  (updated below)  —  From The New York Times Editorial Page today ("Continuity of the Wrong Kind"): … Last night, Rachel Maddow interviewed the torture victims' attorney, Ben Wizner of the ACLU …

Agent Claims Evidence on Stevens Was Concealed  —  WASHINGTON — An F.B.I. agent who worked on the investigation of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who was convicted on ethics charges, has said in a stunning formal complaint that a fellow agent and prosecutors contrived to improperly conceal evidence from the court and the defense.

Israel: What a Center-Right Nation Looks Like  —  I read some folks in comments yesterday suggesting that somehow the outcome of the Israeli elections debunks my preference for parliamentary systems.  Indeed, I recently heard Hubert Védrine, the former Foreign Minister of France …

Let 'em filibuster!  —  House Dems aren't ikely to revolt on the stimulus — but there's a brewing sentiment that Senate Democrats ought to call the Republicans on their bluff — and let 'em filibuster President Obama's big bills, 60 be damned.  —  A revealing moment from Tuesday's Democratic powwow …

Focus on the Family vastly outpaced Mormon spending on Proposition 8  —  Focus on the Family administration building in Colorado Springs.  (Photo/David Shankbone, Wikimedia)  —  Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family gave $727,250 in cash and services to the anti-gay marriage Proposition 8 campaign …

Solicitor general nominee says ‘enemy combatants’ can be held without trial  —  Elena Kagan tells a senator she agrees with Attorney General Holder that the U.S. is at war and therefore may detain suspected terrorists indefinitely.  —  Reporting from Washington — Harvard Law Dean Elena Kagan …

Gates Orders Review of Policy on Soldiers' Coffins  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested today that he was open to allowing the media to photograph the flag-draped coffins of fallen soldiers as their bodies and remains are returned to the United States.

Big Lessons in Finance From a Little Bank You've Never Heard Of  —  Wall Street is not pleased.  —  Hunkered-down executives and hyperactive traders were more than a little disappointed with what they heard from our straight-shooting new Treasury secretary as he unveiled his plans for Bank Bailout 2.0.

The Case for Free Transit  —  A reader asks what I think about Irwin Kellner's argument that mass transit ought to be free.  Broadly speaking, I agree.  —  To understand how to think about this, it's easier to start by thinking about roads.  Say there's no road between Washington, DC and Frederick, Maryland.

Group pledges to fight GOP senators who support stimulus  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — An influential conservative political action committee is pledging to support primary challenges to any Republican senator who backs the economic stimulus package — the latest public show of dissatisfaction …