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.

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 …

Democratic Revolt May Slow Obama Agenda  —  Democratic Reps. Jim Matheson of Utah and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona have joined a quiet revolt in the House that could slow some of President Obama's fast-moving priorities.  —  The two are among 49 Democrats from congressional districts …

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.

Supreme Court rejects limits on drug lawsuits  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a $6.7 million jury award to a musician who lost her arm because of a botched injection of an anti-nausea medication.  The court brushed away a plea for limiting lawsuits against drug makers.

Polls spell trouble for Corzine re-election bid  —  (CNN) — A new poll spells trouble for New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine's bid for re-election this year.  —  Forty percent of New Jersey registered voters questioned in a Fairleigh Dickinson University survey released Wednesday approve …

Job Losses Show Breadth of Recession  —  What does the worst recession in a generation look like?  —  It is both deep and broad.  Every state in the country, with the exception of a band stretching from the Dakotas down to Texas, is now shedding jobs at a rapid pace.

KRAUTHAMMER THEN AND NOW  —  At least one reader of my last post, in thanking me for drawing her attention to Charles Krauthammer's characterization of Obama's joint-session speech ("the boldest social democratic manifesto ever issued by a U.S. president"), assumes that Charles is as fervent a supporter of the President as she is.

Instructed to curtail crushing red tape, guards watched girl die in her cell  —  Court transcripts obtained by The Globe reveal staff instructed not to stop frequent self-asphyxiation attempts if 19-year-old was still breathing  —  As Ashley Smith slowly choked herself to death at dawn in her Kitchener …

Stage of Fools  —  If only Shakespeare had known how to Twitter.  —  There was a bit of King Lear in the scene on the Senate floor, a stormy, solitary John McCain on “this great stage of fools,” as the Bard wrote, railing against both parties and the president in fiery speeches and rapid-fire tweets.

Wall Street on the Tundra  —  Iceland's de facto bankruptcy—its currency (the krona) is kaput, its debt is 850 percent of G.D.P., its people are hoarding food and cash and blowing up their new Range Rovers for the insurance—resulted from a stunning collective madness.

Mission Accomplished II?  —  A group of 31 House Republicans have introduced a resolution “declaring victory in Iraq,” which is bound to evoke images of “Mission Accomplished” and George W. Bush in a flight suit.  —  The intention of the resolution isn't actually celebratory.

Russian Scholar Says U.S. Will Collapse Next Year  —  MOSCOW — If you're inclined to believe Igor Panarin, and the Kremlin wouldn't mind if you did, then President Barack Obama will order martial law this year, the U.S. will split into six rump-states before 2011, and Russia and China will become the backbones of a new world order.

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.

You're Dead?  That Won't Stop the Debt Collector  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The banks need another bailout and countless homeowners cannot handle their mortgage payments, but one group is paying its bills: the dead.  —  Dozens of specially trained agents work on the third floor of DCM Services here …

Obama's hidden bailout of General Electric  —  While many companies hire lobbyists to win earmarks, General Electric's unmatched lobbying force has secured a tax increase — or its equivalent — in President Barack Obama's budget.  —  Labeled “climate revenues” and totaling $646 billion over eight years …

Obama seeks major change in federal contracting  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Wednesday ordered an overhaul of the way the U.S. government awards contracts for private sector work, reversing a Bush administration policy …

Wanna bet some of that Nobel money?  —  Paul Krugman suggests that my skepticism about the administration's growth forecast over the next few years is somehow “evil.”  Well, Paul, if you are so confident in this forecast, would you like to place a wager on it and take advantage of my wickedness?

CNBC's Kudlow After Dodd's Seat?  —  As conservative economist on the weeknight CNBC show “Kudlow and Co.,” Larry Kudlow just last month was poking at U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.  —  Dodd “has yet to divulge fully his sweetheart mortgage deals with the former Countrywide,” Kudlow said in a Feb. 13 screed.

One in Five Homeowners ‘Underwater’  —  At least one in five U.S. homeowners who have mortgages— or about 8.3 million people — owed more on their homes by the end of 2008 than their homes were worth, according to data released today by First American CoreLogic.