Rush Job: Inside Dems' Limbaugh plan  —  Top Democrats believe they have struck political gold by depicting Rush Limbaugh as the new face of the Republican Party, a full-scale effort first hatched by some of the most familiar names in politics and now being guided in part from inside the White House.

McCain, Dowd Substitute Mockery for Understanding  —  You understand why politics might get up to dumb gimmicks.  They're trying to get press, they're trying to get elected, whatever.  But even though lots of people do it, I genuinely don't understand why someone would go into political journalism despite …

Rove, Miers to testify in prosecutor firings  —  Agreement on testimony of Karl Rove and Harriet Miers ends lawsuit  —  WASHINGTON - Former top aides to President George W. Bush agreed Wednesday to testify before Congress under oath about the firings of U.S. attorneys …

Thomas Friedman's Five Worst Predictions  —  In this morning's New York Times, columnist Thomas Friedman makes a grave prediction regarding Obama and the ongoing financial crisis: “I fear that his whole first term could be eaten by Citigroup, A.I.G., Bank of America, Merrill Lynch …

President Barack Obama just plain rude to Britain.  Don't call us in future.  —  Why couldn't President Obama have put on more of a show for his British guests?  He looked like he simply couldn't be bothered.  —  Gordon Brown and Barack Obama  —  Number 10 may be content …

The Pursuit of Social Democracy  —  Barack Obama won the 2008 Presidential election on an agenda that tilted him further leftward than most recent Democratic nominees on nearly every issue.  The one big exception was taxes, where he ran to the center, offering what was arguably …

Cap-and-trade plan will sink Michigan  —  President Barack Obama's proposed cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gas emissions is a giant economic dagger aimed at the nation's heartland — particularly Michigan.  It is a multibillion-dollar tax hike on everything that Michigan does, including making things, driving cars and burning coal.

Ted Kennedy to be knighted  —  Comment Central: (Sir) Teddy...and Alan...and Bill...  Ted Kennedy, one of the leading members of the family dynasty that dominated American politics in the final decades of the last century, is to receive an honorary knighthood.

Miami abortion clinic owner threw live baby away, prosecutors say  —  MIAMI - An abortion clinic owner is accused of delivering a live baby during a botched procedure and then throwing the infant away.  —  Belkis Gonzalez, 42, was arrested Tuesday and charged with practicing medicine without …

What Obama Could Learn from Watchmen  —  Ana Marie Cox does a webchat for The Washington Post: … I like the idea of the Ozymandias reference, but I'm not sure that I actually get it.  By contrast, though you shouldn't click the links unless you want an implicit Watchmen spoler …

Whitehouse: ‘Blanket immunity’ that prevents prosecution of Bush officials is a ‘mistake.’  —  Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the creation of a “truth commission” to investigate Bush administration wrongdoings.  Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) has suggested that the commission may grant …

Ex-Bush lawyer talks about torture memos  —  Visiting Chapman professor wrote opinions on interrogation methods.  —  Recommend  —  ORANGE - John Yoo has brought attention to the Chapman University School of Law, where he is a distinguished visiting professor, with his experiences in the Office …

Hidden Pension Fiasco May Foment Another $1 Trillion Bailout  —  The Chicago Transit Authority retirement plan had a $1.5 billion hole in its stash of assets in 2007.  At the height of a four-year bull market, it didn't have enough cash on hand to pay its retirees through 2013, meaning it was underfunded to the tune of 62 percent.

FIRST THOUGHTS: A TALE OF TWO PARTIES  —  From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro  —  *** A tale of two parties: To paraphrase Dickens, the last six weeks have been the best of times for Obama and the Democrats, and the worst of times for the Republicans.

Krauthammer's Take  —  From last night's All Stars.  —  On President Obama's secret letter to Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev proposing a deal on missile defense: … On the president's proposed cap-and-trade plan:

Union official: Franken 60th vote on card-check  —  Al Franken could be the missing piece of the puzzle for passage of the labor movement's No. 1 legislative priority this Congress, a senior union official said Wednesday.  —  Once seated, the Democratic Minnesota Senate candidate …

Merrill's $10 Million Men  —  Top 10 Earners Made $209 Million in 2008 as Firm Foundered  —  As bad as 2008 was for Merrill Lynch & Co., it was very good for Andrea Orcel, the firm's top investment banker.  Although Merrill's net loss ballooned to $27.6 billion last year, Mr. Orcel …

Bayh: Why Spending Bill Should Fail  —  A Democratic senator says no to a huge federal spending bill.  —  This week, the United States Senate will vote on a spending package to fund the federal government for the remainder of this fiscal year.  The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 is a sprawling …

Voter's Remorse  —  I should have known better.  —  For those of you who have been following me, most of you know that I grudingly voted for Obama last November.  It was a ticket-splitting vote: voted for Obama and then voted GOP down the line.  I noted that I was going to cast my vote with some trepidation:

Wyeth v. Levine - First Real Thoughts  —  First, a minor correction.  We lost by 6-3, not 6-2 (when you're typing fast you're all thumbs).  We lost Kennedy, Thomas, and Breyer.  We needed to win at least two of them.  —  The court relied on two facts established by the trial: (1) …

UK mulls lifting ban on Hezbollah  —  Britain is considering dropping a ban on contact with the political wing of the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah, a British minister has confirmed.  —  The government has had no official talks with Hezbollah since 2005.