White House Cheat Sheet: (Re)Defining Rush  —  Democrats are engaging in a concerted campaign to link the national Republican Party to conservative talk-radio show host Rush Limbaugh, an effort that will ramp up over the next few days in the form of another round of television ads …

Barack Obama cancels press conference with Gordon Brown “because of snow”  —  Strange goings on surrounding the programme for the first day of Gordon Brown's visit to Washington.  —  No sooner had the Prime Minister's plane touched down at Andrews Air Force on Monday evening when word …

Analysis: Obama-McCain relationship deteriorates  —  The rollercoaster-like relationship between President Obama and John McCain has taken a dive in recent weeks, culminated by the Arizona Republican's scathing Monday speech on the Senate floor.  —  McCain's diatribe on the Obama administration's decision …

A Moderate Manifesto  —  You wouldn't know it some days, but there are moderates in this country — moderate conservatives, moderate liberals, just plain moderates.  We sympathize with a lot of the things that President Obama is trying to do.  We like his investments in education and energy innovation.

U.S. to send two envoys to Syria  —  JERUSALEM — Two U.S. officials are being sent to Damascus for talks with Syrian officials on improving ties, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced — a sign of the Obama administration's interest in moving quickly on several fronts in the Middle East.

Obama Offered Deal to Russia in Secret Letter  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama sent a secret letter to Russia's president last month suggesting that he would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, American officials said Monday.

Post-9/11 Memos Show More Bush-Era Legal Errors  —  The number of major legal errors committed by Bush administration lawyers during the formulation of its early counterterrorism policies was far greater than previously known, according to internal Bush administration documents released …

“You Gotta Speak Up”  —  Senior citizens in this country — especially elderly women — are a big chunk of the folks who were preyed on by unscrupulous lenders in search of a quick buck: … And attorneys who are working with the at risk folks to try and forestall foreclosures?

The Obama Economy  —  As the Dow keeps dropping, the President is running out of people to blame.  —  As 2009 opened, three weeks before Barack Obama took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 9034 on January 2, its highest level since the autumn panic.

Bloggers killed Rocky, Polis asserts  —  The Boulder congressman tells a forum that new media is digging journalism's grave.  —  U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, who made his fortune selling greeting cards and flowers online, gave a shout-out to the blogosphere Saturday, giving it — and himself …

Blacks, whites hear Obama differently  —  On his pre-inaugural visit to Ben's Chili Bowl, a landmark for Washington's African-American community, President Barack Obama was asked by a cashier if he wanted his change back.  —  “Nah, we straight,” Obama replied.  —  The phrase was so subtle some listeners missed it.

Worry Grows Over Dem Defections On EFCA  —  Officials tasked with helping push the Employee Free Choice Act through Congress are growing concerned about the possible defection of Senate Democrats in a debate that is bound to be heated and close.  —  A senior official involved in getting EFCA passed …

Same-sex spouses challenge US curbs  —  Call Marriage Act discriminatory  —  “It hurts.  But I . . . need to stand up for what I believe in.  This is a nation of laws, and we're all supposed to have equal treatment under the law.”  - Dean T. Hara, Gerry Studds's spouse.  (Wendy Maeda/ Globe Staff/ 2006)

Coleman camp asks that election result be ‘set aside’  —  Request was made as Franken's lawyers prepare to make their case.  —  For more than a month, Norm Coleman stressed flaws in Minnesota's election system.  —  And on Monday, Coleman lawyer Jim Langdon wrote the three-judge panel …

More on earmarks: Obama's chief of staff has some in bill  —  WASHINGTON — Even though President Barack Obama has repeatedly pledged to ban congressional earmarks, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has 16 such projects, worth about $8.5 million, in the bill the Senate is scheduled to begin debating Tuesday.

Wars, Endless Wars  —  The singer Edwin Starr, who died in 2003, had a big hit in 1970 called “War” in which he asked again and again: “War, what is it good for?”  —  The U.S. economy is in free fall, the banking system is in a state of complete collapse and Americans all across the country are downsizing their standards of living.