Steele to Rush: I'm sorry  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele says he has reached out to Rush Limbaugh to tell him he meant no offense when he referred to the popular conservative radio host as an “entertainer” whose show can be “incendiary.”

Panel Says Ron Kirk Underpaid Taxes  —  (Credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)  —  Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee this afternoon revealed that another of President Obama's nominees — U.S. Trade Representative-designate Ron Kirk — has tax problems.

AP Newsbreak: CIA destroyed 92 interrogation tapes  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — New documents show the CIA destroyed nearly 100 tapes of terror interrogations, far more than has previously been acknowledged.  —  The revelation Monday comes as a criminal prosecutor is wrapping up his investigation in the matter.

Dow Below 6,800; Lowest Close Since '97  —  Stock prices tumbled around the world Monday, amid new evidence that economies were weaker than had been thought.  The losses were especially severe in Europe, where an emergency summit meeting over the weekend ended in bickering and the rejection of a bailout plea from Hungary.

Limbaugh misquotes Constitution while arguing Obama policies are ‘bastardization’ of Constitution.  —  During his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, Rush Limbaugh got some of his loudest applause when he declared that President Obama's policies represent a “bastardization of the Constitution.”

Pelosi's list: Who's on her bad side?  —  Nancy Pelosi likes to keep lists.  —  As a young political protégé of her father, Baltimore Mayor Tommy D'Alesandro, the preteen speaker-to-be would spend hours leafing through the list of voters her father had helped in some way …

Pelosi Snowed-Out of Global Warming Rally  —  (CNSNews.com) - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had to cancel an appearance Monday at a global warming rally in Washington, D.C., that was hit by a snowstorm because her flight was delayed, her office told CNSNews.com.

Upper-Income Taxpayers Look for Ways to Sidestep Obama Tax-Hike Plan  —  President Would Slap More Taxes on Those Who Make Over $250K to Fund Health Care  —  President Barack Obama's tax proposal - which promises to increase taxes for those families with incomes of $250,000 or more …

Web-Savvy Obama Team Hits Unexpected Bumps  —  Issues of Technology, Security and Privacy Slow the New Administration's Effort to Foster Instant Communication  —  The team that ran the most technologically advanced presidential campaign in modern history is finding it difficult to adapt that model to government.

ACTION: Tell Speaker Pelosi To Stand Up to Ellen Tauscher and the Bank Lobbyists She Represents  —  On Saturday I wrote a post about the efforts of former Wall Street investment banker Ellen Tauscher to gut legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to write down mortgages …

Is Obama embracing the lawless, omnipotent executive?  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  As I detailed over the weekend, the Obama administration — in the case brought by two American lawyers and their charity-client claiming that their conversations were illegally intercepted …

Rush and Oprah  —  Hugh Hewitt writes that Limbaugh's speech at CPAC “will be talked about for years and even decades.”  I hope he's wrong about that, but he's definitely right about this: … Not only do I think this is true, I've actually said it myself!  (Though Reihan said it first.)

‘Potential’ Disruption?  —  REP. DAVID R. Obey (Wis.) and other congressional Democrats should spare us their phony concern about the children participating in the District's school voucher program.  If they cared for the future of these students, they wouldn't be so quick as to try to kill …

Agent says ousted Gov. Blagojevich has book deal, will talk Senate  —  Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has landed a book deal, his publicist said today.  —  The ousted governor will focus on “the discussions, the considerations and the factors involved in picking” …