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  —  As Hillary Rodham Clinton keeps her distance from President Obama's health care plan, the White House is grappling with the cloud that still lingers over her failed policy from the 1990s.

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 …

Was ‘Lady Macbeth’ behind Barack Obama's snub of Gordon Brown?  —  On US radio's Garrison show today, I was asked for my reaction as a true born Englishman to President Obama's double insult - first the sending back of the Winston Churchill bust, then his snub to Gordon Brown.  “Tough one.

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.”

New jobless claims unexpectedly drop to 639,000  —  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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For Young President, Flecks of Gray  —  For a guy who prides himself on a stress-free demeanor, the changes above President Obama's temples may be speckled evidence of the strains of the job.

Merrill Men Paid Over $10 Million Subpoenaed  —  New York state's attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, has issued subpoenas to several top Merrill Lynch & Co. executives who were each paid more than $10 million in cash and stock last year, according to people familiar with the situation.

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.

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.

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!”