Lawmakers look dumb for reviving Obama hoax  —  In the Handy Guide for Newspaper Opinion Columnists, this is called shooting fish in a barrel.  Or hitting a slow-pitched softball.  —  Four Tennessee state representatives, all Republicans, have signed up to be plaintiffs in a lawsuit …

STUDY HARDER  —  I'm not sure what other ways he's going to follow in Newt Gingrich's steps.  But GOP House whip Eric Cantor seems to have the megalomania and ego front down pat.  He's been putting out word over the last few days that he's modeling himself off Newt and now apparently Winston Churchill too.

Decade at Bernie's  —  By now everyone knows the sad tale of Bernard Madoff's duped investors.  They looked at their statements and thought they were rich.  But then, one day, they discovered to their horror that their supposed wealth was a figment of someone else's imagination.

The Fairness Doctrine Returns.  It Just Won't Be Called That.  —  Here we go folks.  —  The Fairness Doctrine is going to make a comeback under the Obama administration.  It just won't be via Congress and it won't be called the “Fairness Doctrine.”  It'll come via the FCC …

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris tries to quell new questions about his controversial appointment by Blagojevich  —  Senator addresses Blagojevich ties as Republicans call for inquiry, ouster  —  Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., talks to the media about an affidavit that he filed Feb. 5 with the Illinois House committee.

The Two Progressivisms  —  The definitions of the terms “liberal” and “conservative” have been the subjects of much debate in contemporary American politics.  But it has become increasingly clear that the term “progressive” is equally ambiguous, and is associated with at least two relatively distinct philosophical traditions.

THE PARTY THAT LOST ITS MIND  —  Have you heard about the marsh mouse?  The little swamp critter that got $30 million of stimulus bill spending thanks to Nancy Pelosi?  Of course you have!  The mouse was highlighted on Drudge and chortled over by Glenn Beck.  One Republican congressman actually dandled a toy mouse in debate.

California's GOP lawmakers should do the budget math  —  To avoid raising taxes and still balance the books in Sacramento, you'd have to virtually shut down state government.  —  George Skelton, Capitol Journal  —  From Sacramento — The math seems pretty simple.

BAD WILL HUNTING.... George Will, who has always presented himself as something of an intellectual among the conservative chattering class, seems to be struggling a bit now that there's a Democratic president.  Some of his recent columns have varied between wrong and bizarre.

Gay snipers stalk WV  —  The same-sex marriage wars, though largely absent from the presidential campaign, remain hot in the states, as this new video from the group wv4marriage.com shows.  —  The narrator warns that same-sex marriage in West Virginia is “a closer reality than you may think” …

Dismal scientists: how the crash is reshaping economics  —  With the chattering classes consumed by concern for the devastated value of their 401K funds, and their suddenly precarious lifestyles, there has been much anger and scorn directed at those former masters of the universe, financiers.

Sam Donaldson, Moving Out of Shouting Distance  —  Forceful Newsman to Retire After Four Decades at ABC  —  Whatever else he accomplished in his 41 years at ABC News, Sam Donaldson knows he'll be remembered mainly for his bellowing voice.  —  “I guess it'll be on my tombstone: ‘He yelled at Ronald Reagan,’ ” Donaldson says.

Liberals not pleased with go-slow approach by Obama  —  Activists recall his promises as a candidate and express frustration at his equivocation as president.  They cite stem cell research and the detainee policy as examples.  —  Reporting from Washington — Slowly over the last few weeks …

C-SPAN ranks presidents: Abe still on top, new shocker at the bottom  —  On this sacred United States holiday devoted to honoring the birthdays of the two most important presidents in the nation's history by selling bed linens and used automobiles at discount prices, we're publishing …

The Eye of the Storm  —  CHICAGO — Barack Obama senses that he's in the middle of a hurricane whose gale-force winds could blow history his way.  —  He doesn't mind acknowledging that he is learning as he goes, and he is not bitter about how little help he is getting from Republicans.

Fareed Zakaria  —  PostGlobal co-moderator Fareed Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International, overseeing all Newsweek's editions abroad.  He writes a regular column for Newsweek, which also appears in Newsweek International and often The Washington Post.  He is a member of the roundtable of ABC News' …

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she keeps 2 rifles under bed  —  WASHINGTON - - New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who argues her pro-gun stance aims to protect hunters' rights and the Second Amendment, last week said she and her husband, Jonathan, keep two rifles under their bed to protect their upstate home.

White House Backs Off ‘Car Czar’  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will not name a “car czar” to help oversee the auto industry's restructuring and will instead create an inter-agency task force to deal with the issue, according to senior administration officials.

What does Slim want?  —  Carlos Slim, who pumped $250 million into the NY Times last month, is profiled today in the paper as a Mexican telecom billionaire with a “complex relationship to the news media.”  —  That's because despite several media investments, Slim “sometimes gives the impression …