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.

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 …

Steele pushes back; rivals gripe  —  With Republican criticism of Michael Steele intensifying following his dust up earlier this week with Rush Limbaugh, the new Republican National Committee chairman's high command is moving to rebut claims that he's not up to leading the party.

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 …

Obama Highlighting Stimulus Funds for Law Enforcement  —  In January, more than two dozen new police recruits in Columbus, Ohio, were sent notices that they would be laid off, even before they were sworn in as officers.  The city had spent $1.4 million to train them, but like cities everywhere, Columbus was running out of money.

The Great Non Sequitur  —  The Sleight of Hand Behind Obama's Agenda  —  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 …

WEINER'S ‘NAUGHTY’ HOTTIE$  —  FOREIGN BABES GAVE ILLEGALLY  —  Talk about the wrong kind of foreign aid!  —  After he proposed to expand the visas available to foreign models so they can work in New York, Rep. Anthony Weiner's mayoral campaign took contributions from some cat walkers from abroad.

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 …

Undisclosed Losses at Merrill Lynch Lead to a Trading Inquiry  —  CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One Merrill Lynch trader apparently gambled away more than $120 million in the currency markets.  Others seemingly lost hundreds of millions on tricky credit derivatives.  —  But somehow all this red ink …

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 …

Afghan Supply Chain a Weak Point  —  With Troop Buildup Coming, U.S. Is Challenged on the Ground and in the Air  —  The U.S. military is laboring to shore up a vulnerable supply chain through Pakistan and Central Asia as it seeks to expand the flow of supplies into Afghanistan by at least 50 percent …

Never waste a good crisis, Clinton says on climate  —  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience on Friday “never waste a good crisis,” as she highlighted the opportunity of rebuilding economies in a greener, less energy intensive model.

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 …

Paterson Draws Fire in Shift on Emissions  —  ALBANY — At the urging of the energy industry, Gov. David A. Paterson has agreed to reconsider a key rule New York adopted as part of a 10-state pact aimed at reducing the threat of global warming by cutting power plant emissions.

Recession Job Losses Top Four Million  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy continues to hemorrhage jobs at monthly rates not seen in six decades, a government report showed, signaling that there's still no end in sight to the severe recession that has already cost the U.S. over four million jobs.

Barack Obama bets the farm in $4 trillion poker game  —  The President believes he can change US politics for a generation.  If he's wrong he could bankrupt the whole country  —  One of the most seductive elements of Barack Obama's ascent to the White House was his unshakeable conviction …

New quid pro quo questions between Burris, Blagojevich.  Sun-Times exclusive.  —  BY DAVE MCKINNEY AND CHRIS FUSCO  —  On the same December day then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich named Roland Burris to fill President Obama's U.S. Senate vacancy, Burris' right-hand political man, Fred Lebed …

Birther smackdown  —  As the many lawsuits challenging Obama's eligibility make their way through the courts, judges appear to be getting a little fed up, and D.C. District Judge James Robertson penned a particularly harsh memo yesterday dismissing a case called Hollister vs. Soetero.