LIMBAUGH AT CPAC  —  President Obama and Rush Limbaugh do not agree on much, but they share at least one thing: Both wish to see Rush anointed as the leader of the Republican party.  Here's Rahm Emanuel on Face the Nation yesterday: “the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican party.”

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.

Extraordinary Measures  —  A new memo shows just how far the Bush administration considered going in fighting the war on terror.  —  In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the Justice Department secretly gave the green light for the U.S. military to attack apartment buildings and office complexes inside …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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)

Group launches health care offensive  —  Firing some of the first shots in the coming showdown over health care, a conservative group led by the former owner of the Hospital Corporation of America is beginning a multimillion-dollar campaign Tuesday in opposition to government-run coverage.

“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?

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.

Newsweek Labels Israel “Palestinian Territory”  —  I see Brian is on the ball with the story about Newsweek's latest cover.  The dhimmis at Newsweek suggest how to ‘live’ with radical Islam.  I'm assuming that's not an inside joke, and that in ‘live’ they mean accepting as a part of life …

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 …

You're in the high rent district  —  Approximately 2% of the American households make more than $250,000 a year and (you may find this hard to believe) a very high percentage of these high-earning go-getting producers spend their days commenting over at Michelle Malkin's place …

Will Obama Stand Up for These Kids?  —  Dick Durbin has a nasty surprise for two of Sasha and Malia Obama's new schoolmates.  And it puts the president in an awkward position.  —  The children are Sarah and James Parker.  Like the Obama girls, Sarah and James attend the Sidwell Friends School in our nation's capital.