For GOP: all pain, no gain  —  Four months after John McCain's sweeping defeat, senior Republicans are coming to grips with the fact that the party is still - in stock market terms - looking for the bottom.  —  Republicans this week are processing two sobering new polls that found …

Obama Taps Clinton Ideas but Not Clinton Herself  —  WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton has not participated in any of the White House's planning sessions on health care, the issue that defined her public persona during the 1990s.  Intent on establishing herself as a powerful secretary of state …

Democrats' Diversionary Tactics  —  In the first two months of 2009, the Democratic Congress and the White House have spent more money than the combined cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the response to Hurricane Katrina.  After they doled out taxpayer dollars at such a blistering pace …

Foreign ties of nominee questioned  —  Post handles classified data  —  An independent inspector general will look into the foreign financial ties of Chas W. Freeman Jr., the Obama administration's pick to serve as chairman of the group that prepares the U.S. intelligence community's …

Why is John McCain being such a jerk?  —  The post-election lovefest is over.  The defeated senator has even learned Twitter to attack Obama.  But don't call him jealous.  —  Sen. John McCain smiles during a news conference in December.  —  WASHINGTON — A couple of weeks …

Obama surprises daughters with new swing set  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — First daughters Malia and Sasha Obama got a big surprise after school Wednesday: a brand-new swing set.  —  They squealed with delight upon seeing it, a spokeswoman for the first lady said.

New jobless claims unexpectedly drop to 639K  —  WASHINGTON - The number of new jobless claims and the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits both dropped more than expected last week, though they remain at elevated levels and are unlikely to fall substantially in the coming months.

For Young President, Flecks of Gray  —  WASHINGTON — Well, that didn't take long.  Just 44 days into the job, and President Obama is going gray.  —  It happens to all of them, of course — Bill Clinton still had about half a head of brown hair when he took office but was a silver fox two years later …

Congressman: We're Living in ‘Atlas Shrugged’  —  Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.), who gives his departing interns copies of Ayn Rand's novel “Atlas Shrugged,” told me today that the response to President Obama's economic policies reminded him of what happened in the 51-year-old novel.

Professor Takes Heat for Calling Cops on Student Who Discussed Guns in Class  —  A professor in Connecticut reported one of her students to the police after he gave a class presentation on why students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.

White House Rethinks Tax Hikes  —  Obama Open to Revising Plan to Cap Breaks on Mortgage Interest and Donations  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is meeting strong Democratic Party resistance to his proposal to reduce tax deductions enjoyed by upper-income Americans and could be forced to drop or modify the idea.

Matters of Principal  —  TO stanch the hemorrhage of foreclosures, we don't need another bailout.  What we need is a fix — and the wisdom to see what is in our own self-interest.  —  An avalanche of foreclosures is coming — as many as eight million in the next several years.

Sex Appeal May Have Hurt Sarah Palin  —  In a Sept. 4, 2008 column, just after Sarah Palin accepted the Republican nomination for vice-president, Will Wilkinson wrote admiringly of her “sexual power,” adding: “I think she is a tremendously sexy woman.  How this will affect the race, I have no idea, but it's just got to.”

Mission Accomplished!  Did Obama intentionally nuke the economy?  —  Is President Obama intentionally attempting to bring the stock market to its knees?  Some argue that, indeed, he is.  “The free market has failed,” he could say, “just as it failed the housing market!”

Beautiful Banker Yields Interest: Life After Goldman Is a Catwalk!  —  Jesse, a 27-year-old former New York City investment banker, moved to Buenos Aires 11 months ago.  In the last few months, he says the trickle has turned into a full spray: On average he meets two new arrivals a week.

Democrats Stop Effort To Remove Earmarks  —  The Senate approved $10 million in funding yesterday for clients of a now-disbanded lobbying firm that is under federal investigation for alleged fraud in political contributions to members of Congress, while approving an additional $16 million …

GM: ‘Substantial doubt’ about survival  —  Automaker's annual report says it hopes to get $7.7 billion from the government to remain viable.  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — General Motors Corp. said in a government filing Thursday that its accounting firm has found there is “substantial doubt” about the automaker's ability to survive.

When Will Voters Blame Obama?  —  Buried in the latest NBC/WSJ survey (.pdf) is a question asking voters who they blame for the country's economic problems.  Currently, 8 percent of voters say that Obama's policies are “mostly responsible” for the poor economy and another 6 percent blame him in part.

Jerusalem: Bulldozer plows into police vehicle; terrorist killed  —  Tractor hammers into police squad car on Menachem Begin Boulevard in the capital; misses nearby bus.  Two officers injured, attacker neutralized  —  Ronen Medzini  —  A tractor plowed into a police squad car on Menachem Begin Boulevard in Jerusalem on Thursday.

A Global Retreat As Economies Dry Up  —  As World Trade Plummets, Bustling Ports Stand Idle And Foreign Workers Track Back Home  —  SINGAPORE This shimmering city-state was the house globalization built.  When world trade boomed, Singapore's seaport at the crossroads of East and West became …