Michelle Obama serves food to D.C. poor and homeless, but...  First Lady Michelle Obama showed up Thursday as a surprise and welcome volunteer at Miriam's Kitchen, a soup kitchen for homeless poor people not far from the White House.  —  She brought with her some food donated by White House staff.

Clinton gift gaffe: ‘Overcharge’  —  GENEVA — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened her first meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by giving him a present meant to symbolize the Obama administration's vow to “press the reset button” on U.S.-Russia relations.

Obama to Lift Ban on Funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research  —  President Obama is planning to sign an executive order on Monday rolling back restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, according to sources close to the issue.  —  Although the exact wording …

Judge assails cases doubting Obama's citizenship  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit questioning President Barack Obama's citizenship, lambasting the case as a waste of the court's time and suggesting the plaintiff's attorney may have to compensate the president's lawyer.

A fight I didn't intend to get into: Chas Freeman  —  I have never met Chas Freeman, the man whose reported selection as head of the National Intelligence Council has drawn such criticism, including from my colleague Jeffrey Goldberg.  Not having had a chance to assess him first hand …

‘Obama Bear Market’ Punishes Investors as Dow Slumps  —  President Barack Obama now has the distinction of presiding over his own bear market.  —  The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 20 percent since Inauguration Day, the fastest drop under a newly elected president in at least 90 years …

Should Geithner go?  —  Henry Blodget thinks it is time for Timothy Geithner to go.  So far, Geithner's performance has been shockingly unimpressive.  It's not as if he's walking into the crisis anew; he's been the head of the New York Fed for years, and dealing with these issues from the very beginning.

Al-Marri detention case ended  —  The Supreme Court on Friday wiped out a lower court ruling that gave the President the authority to detain indefinitely as terrorism suspects individuals who are living legally in the United States.  The order also approved transfer of Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri …

Nominee for Solicitor General Revises Her Opinion on Opinions  —  Perhaps every nominee committed a dark, regrettable act in the past that he or she hopes will never see the light, but unfortunately for Elena Kagan, hers was discovered pretty quickly after she was nominated to be solicitor general:

Is Obama responsible for Wall Street's meltdown?  —  “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer.  —  Is Obama responsible for the meltdown of the Dow?  The consistently wrongheaded Wall Street Journal's editorial page says so, as does Republican Fox News, CNN's reliably demagogic Lou Dobbs, and now CNBC …

President Barack Obama dislikes Britain, but he's keen to meet the Queen  —  President Obama has been rudeness personified towards Britain this week.  His handling of the visit of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling.  First Brown wasn't granted a press conference with flags …

A Heated Exchange: Al Gore Confronts His Critic(s)  —  The Goreacle has spoken-again.  —  Former Vice President Al Gore repeated his message that climate change is a planetary emergency at the WSJ's Eco:nomics conference in California.  The Nobel-prize winner declined to take any questions from reporters …

When Obamatons Respond  —  On Tuesday, I wrote that the Obama budget is a liberal, big government document that should make moderates nervous.  The column generated a large positive response from moderate Obama supporters who are anxious about where the administration is headed.

Court Upholds Most Charges Against Ex-Governor  —  A federal appeals court panel in Atlanta upheld the bribery conviction of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on Friday, giving new weight to a prosecution that Democrats have contended was an example of the political use of the courts during the Bush administration.

Fox News' Glenn Beck strikes ratings gold by challenging Barack Obama  —  His success comes as Fox News embraces the role of voice of opposition to the new administration.  —  Reporting from New York — Before Glenn Beck started his new show on Fox News in January, he sat down with Roger Ailes …

Obama's Radicalism Is Killing the Dow  —  A financial crisis is the worst time to change the foundations of American capitalism.  —  It's hard not to see the continued sell-off on Wall Street and the growing fear on Main Street as a product, at least in part, of the realization …

Deception at Core of Obama Plans  —  WASHINGTON — Forget the pork.  Forget the waste.  Forget the 8,570 earmarks in a bill supported by a president who poses as the scourge of earmarks.  Forget the “$2 trillion dollars in savings” that “we have already identified,” $1.6 trillion …

The Big Dither  —  Last month, in his big speech to Congress, President Obama argued for bold steps to fix America's dysfunctional banks.  “While the cost of action will be great,” he declared, “I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy …

Accidental Guerrilla: Read Before Burning  —  I was a little nonplussed by Andrew Bacevich's review of my recent book, The Accidental Guerrilla (Oxford University Press, 2009).  Mr Bacevich is a highly intelligent and knowledgeable man whose work I have admired over many years (in fact, I quote him at length in two places in the book).

Drug Legalization Isn't the Answer  —  Countries that have experimented with a permissive approach have always turned back.  —  Since 2001 the number of young people using illegal drugs has dropped by 900,000 to about 2.7 million.  This drop is an important development for all the obvious reasons, plus one.

State high court denies Franken bid for election certificate  —  The Democrat had sought to be seated in the U.S. Senate provisionally while Republican Norm Coleman's lawsuit plays out.  Meanwhile, Franken also is pressing to have that suit dismissed.  —  The Minnesota Supreme Court today ruled …

Limbaugh: My Ratings are Way, Way Up  —  One side effect of the Democratic campaign against Rush Limbaugh has been to increase — dramatically increase — the talk show host's ratings.  This morning I asked Rush if he had any numbers he could share on just what effect the increased visibility has had on his business.

AP Source: Prosecutor seeking FBI tapes of Burris  —  CHICAGO (AP) — A county prosecutor exploring the possibility of perjury charges against U.S. Sen. Roland Burris has asked federal officials for FBI tapes of phone conversations between Burris and ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich's brother …

651,000 Jobs Reported Lost in February  —  Another 651,000 jobs were lost in February, adding to the millions of people who have been thrown out of work as the economic downturn deepens.  —  In a stark measure of the recession's toll, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday …