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 …

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.

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.

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.”

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.

An IG for Chas Freeman  —  Chas Freeman, designated head of the National Intelligence Council, has all the right enemies.  And his enemies are going after him because they don't like the fact that he's criticized Israel in strong terms in the past.  But that said, just because his enemies …

EXCLUSIVE: Rove Warns of ‘Show Trial,’ Says Dems ‘Would Love to Have Me Barbecued’  —  Karl Rove tells FOX News he is looking forward to telling the House Judiciary Committee about his alleged role in the firing of federal prosecutors and the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

Brown says he hasn't filed federal, state taxes in 2 years  —  ATLANTA — Nearly 10 percent of Georgia state legislators are late filing or paying their state taxes, and state Sen. Robert Brown is apparently among them.  —  Brown, D-Macon, said Wednesday he's not sure whether he actually owes …

Jon Stewart's rant: Santelli re(un)wound  —  Apparently Rick Santelli - famous for “Santelli's rant” on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a broadcast diatribe against the Obama administration's bailout of bad mortgages - should have shown up on The Daily Show.

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.

One France Is Enough  —  The French writer François Mauriac once said during the cold war that he loved Germany so much, he was glad there were two of them.  After what an undivided Germany had done to France in World War II and before, that was understandable.

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.

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.