GOP governor: Congressional leadership ‘inconsequential’  —  S.A. Miller and Stephen Dinan, THE WASHINGTON TIMES  —  NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW:  —  The Republican governor of Utah on Monday said his party is blighted by leaders in Congress whose lack of new ideas renders them so “inconsequential” …

OBAMA'S HEALTH CARE PLAN EXPECTS AN INDIVIDUAL MANDATE.  —  I've now been able to confirm with multiple senior administration sources that the health care proposal in Obama's budget will have a mandate.  Sort of.  —  Here's how it will work, according to the officials I've spoken to.

Michael Steele Threatens To Withhold RNC Funds From GOP Senators Who Backed Stimulus  —  This one passed unnoticed last night, but it's definitely noteworthy — yet another measure of the degree to which the Republican Party has bet all its chips on opposing the stimulus package.

STATEMENT FROM RUPERT MURDOCH  —  As the Chairman of the New York Post, I am ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages.  The buck stops with me.  —  Last week, we made a mistake.  We ran a cartoon that offended many people.  Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted.

Scandal-plagued Republican says Burris should resign  —  Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (R), who survived a 2007 sex scandal, called on Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) to resign Tuesday for his ethical shortcomings.  —  Vitter was connected with a prostitution ring two years ago and dismissed …

Obama Selling a New Deal, but Promising It Will Be Brief  —  It was only 13 years ago that Bill Clinton declared before a joint session of Congress that “the era of big government is over.”  President Obama's challenge on Tuesday night is to declare that, out of ugly necessity …

Gibbs hints at ‘Reaganesque’ speech  —  President Barack Obama won't speak until prime-time, but his aides fanned out to the morning shows Tuesday morning to talk up his first speech before a joint session of Congress.  And the word they used to preview it: “Reaganesque.”

Soldier doubts eligibility, defies president's orders  —  ‘As an officer, my sworn oath to support and defend our Constitution requires this’  —  A U.S. soldier on active duty in Iraq has called President Obama an “impostor” in a statement in which he affirmed plans to join as plaintiff …

Bunning: ‘I would have a suit’ if Republicans recruit an opponent  —  Sen. Jim Bunning is vowing to fight back as his feud with Republican leadership over his 2010 re-election bid spills into the national political scene.  —  If Republican campaign organizations tried to recruit another candidate …

Newsom sneaking around and sipping out of a bottle?  —  Is the Green Mayor holding out on us?  —  This week, the City Insider spotted an almost empty case of bottled water in the back of Mayor Gavin Newsom's hybrid sport utility vehicle as it was parked in front of City Hall.

Schumer on governors rejecting recovery funds: The package is not ‘multiple choice.’  —  In response to several Republican governors declaring their intention to reject portions of the recently signed economic recovery package, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sent a letter to OMB Director Peter Orszag …

Politics in the Guise of Pure Science  —  Why, since President Obama promised to “restore science to its rightful place” in Washington, do some things feel not quite right?  —  First there was Steven Chu, the physicist and new energy secretary, warning The Los Angeles Times that climate change …

Obama Job Approval Dips Below 60% for First Time  —  Fifty-nine percent now approve as more express no opinion on his performance  — USA - Government - Government and Politics - Leadership - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — For the first time since …

Plus, J. Edgar Hoover on how to spot a homosexual.  —  When Bill Moyers left his show Now With Bill Moyers at the end of 2004, he told the Associated Press that his immediate project would be a book about the year he worked for Lyndon B. Johnson.  Upon returning to PBS in the spring of 2007 …

Gay Bloggers' Voices Rise in Chorus of Growing Political Influence  —  Only the blogosphere, perhaps, has room for Pam Spaulding — a black lesbian who lives in North Carolina, the only state in the South that has not banned same-sex marriage.  —  “California, Arizona and Florida …

HOLDER IS TONIGHT'S STAY-AWAY  —  From NBC's Pete Williams  —  Attorney General Eric Holder is the cabinet member who will not attend tonight's presidential speech.  —  By custom, one member of the cabinet is designated to go to — as we say these days — “a secure location,” …

The renter/owner divide  —  It occurs to me that while there is a big conservative/liberal split on the Obama foreclosure plan, there may be a bigger divide between renters and owners.  I think that most of the people supporting the mortgage plan really do feel like falling home prices is an obvious catastrophe.

McCain Confronts Obama On Marine One (VIDEO)  —  At the closing session of the president's fiscal responsibility summit on Monday, high-ranking members of Congress were asked to put on their reportorial hats, quizzing Barack Obama on various aspects of his economic priorities.

‘Liberal bias?’  IU professors find network TV election coverage favors Republicans  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  Broadcast media: To arrange a live on-camera, studio interview with the professors via Indiana University's broadcast facilities, please contact George Vlahakis at 812-855-0846 or gvlahaki@indiana.edu.

How politics works: Senator Christopher Dodd and his cosy Irish cottage  —  An intriguing item here from the dogged Kevin Rennie of the Hartford Courant that highlights a classic example of why ordinary citizens become cynical about politicians and the way business in Washington is conducted.

The 92 Percent Solution  —  Feel the anger - here is a website dedicated to the 92 percent of Americans who are making their mortgage payments.  The mission statement reads more like the Declaration of Independence; the intro:  —  The 92% Group Charter  —  1. The sole purpose …

Newsflash: McCain Lost the Election!  —  Why are Republicans taking so many pages out of their failed candidate's campaign playbook?  —  The Republican Party has been using a grab-bag of strategies to counter Obama's policies over the past month.  They rail against the stimulus package for its (supposed) pork.

Chu Works to Get the Green Cash Flowing  —  After environmentalists and mainstream politicians alike succeeded in dedicating a good chunk of President Obama's stimulus package to green energy, Obama's new energy secretary has been working on ways to make that happen more efficiently.

Bailout Bank Blows Millions Partying in L.A.  —  A bank that received $1.6 billion in bailout money just spent a fortune last week in L.A. hosting a series of lavish parties and concerts with famous singers ... and TMZ cameras caught it all.  —  Northern Trust, a Chicago-based bank …

Coleman may continue legal challenges  —  Republican Norm Coleman on Tuesday refused to rule out an appeal if a three-judge panel rules against his challenge in what he called “the race that never ends.”  —  Coleman, who now has no Senate office to call his own, lunched with Senate Republicans Tuesday …

1,000 Points of Data  —  THE speech that President Obama gives tonight to Congress reminds us of the more formal one he must deliver next January to meet his obligation to, in the words of the Constitution, “from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the Union.”