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 …

Russia rejects link between missile defence and Iran - Update  —  Madrid/Washington - Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Tuesday showed willingness to discuss the US-planned missile defence system opposed by Moscow, but without “haggling” linking it to Iran.

Wealthy Idiots Meet Idiot Reporter  —  I've seen a lot of dumb news reports in my life, but I'm not sure anything can quite match this one from ABC News.  The premise of the report is this: Barack Obama plans to raise taxes on people who make more than $250,000, so the reporter has gone …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Red States Gobble Up Omnibus Earmarks  —  If it's budget time, it's good to be a red state.  And it's very good to be Mississippi.  —  According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense, Mississippi has won the earmark contest in the omnibus budget package.

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.

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 U.N. resolution seeks to criminalize opinions that differ with the Islamic faith.  —  The Muslim religion makes unusually large claims for itself.  All religions do this, of course, in that they claim to know and to be able to interpret the wishes of a supreme being.

Gov. Paterson's Approval Rating Plunges Lowest Gubernatorial Rating in Marist Poll History  —  This Marist Poll reports:  —  · Freefall!  Governor Paterson's Approval Rating Plummets 20 Percentage Points...Lands at 26%: New Yorkers are sending a strong message to Governor David Paterson, “Shape Up!”