My Response To The White House  —  When I come to work each day, whether as a commentator for TheStreet.com or a host of Mad Money With Jim Cramer, I have only one thought in mind: helping people with their money.  —  I fight to help viewers and readers make and preserve capital.

RNC-YA  —  Washington, DC — Two years ago I left a prominent technology company in Silicon Valley to join the Republican National Committee as e-campaign director to elect the next Republican president.  We lost, but there was more than a software glitch that contributed to our November 2008 defeat.

THE BANALITY OF PROGRESS.  —  The speech ended.  “Let's get to work,” the President said.  The attendees — a mixture of congressmen, advocates, stakeholders, and analysts — filed down the long hall to their breakout sessions.  Another reporter turned to me.  “What did you think of the speech?”

Obama's safety net: the TelePrompter  —  President Barack Obama doesn't go anywhere without his TelePrompter.  —  The textbook-sized panes of glass holding the president's prepared remarks follow him wherever he speaks.  —  Resting on top of a tall, narrow pole, they flank his podium during speeches …

First Lady Michelle Obama shows even she has a gift for the gaffe  —  It was all going so well.  The dresses, the brains, the Vogue cover shoot - everything so far about Michelle Obama has left us wide-mouthed in admiration.  It seemed there was no end to her fabulousness.  Then Mr and Mrs Brown came to stay.

Obama Preferred Over Reagan — In Fox News Poll  —  Are we still a center-right nation, as many Republicans continue to insist?  And can the GOP revive itself through a return to the spirit of Ronald Reagan, as Rush Limbaugh has said?  —  Check out this question from the new Fox News poll …

California Supreme Court signals mixed response to Proposition 8  —  As foes and supporters of the gay-marriage ban argue before the court, the justices appear ready to uphold the ban, but they also sound reluctant to invalidate same-sex marriages already performed.

Clinton Proposes Including Iran in Talks on Afghanistan  —  BRUSSELS — Setting up the possibility of its first face-to-face encounter with Iran, the Obama administration proposed a conference on Afghanistan at the end of this month that is likely to include Iran among the invited countries, American officials said on Thursday.

GM is toast  —  After today's annual report, I don't think there's any question of GM's staying out of bankruptcy.  The company's revenue fell from $180 billion in 2007 to $149 billion in 2008, with the worst crash in the fourth quarter.  Car sales have continued to plunge into the new year.

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.”

Bachmann: GOP Must ‘Do Everything We Can To Thwart’ Obama From Securing ‘A Power Base...For All Time’  —  Conservative talker Bill Bennett interviewed Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) on his radio show this morning.  During the interview, Bennett asked, “Why [is Obama siding] …

Daley leaning toward Illinois Senate bid  —  Former Commerce Secretary William Daley is leaning toward running for the Senate seat President Obama once held, sources close to Daley tell The Hill.  They characterize the decision as all but finalized.  —  Daley would likely be an instant front-runner …

IS HE DOING IT ON PURPOSE?  —  There's a school of thought that the Obama administration is deliberately damaging the economy and gutting the stock market, on the theory that doing so will make more people dependent on the government and pave the way for a far-left regime.  Doug Ross makes the argument:

Minnesota Voters See Franken As Winner, Closely Divided Over Senate Race Revote  —  Forty-seven percent (47%) of Minnesota voters now believe Democrat Al Franken has been elected to the U.S. Senate in a race so close that it's been working its way through the state's court system for the last four months.