Democrats Stung by Dissenters  —  Democratic leaders in Congress did not expect much Republican support as they pressed President Obama's ambitious legislative agenda.  But the pushback they are receiving from some of their own has come as an unwelcome surprise.

Obama to Push Merit Pay for Teachers  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is laying out his “cradle to career” agenda for education Tuesday, including a controversial plan to boost pay for teachers who excel.  —  The White House plan also includes new incentives for states to boost quality …

They Tried to Outsmart Wall Street  —  Emanuel Derman expected to feel a letdown when he left particle physics for a job on Wall Street in 1985.  —  After all, for almost 20 years, as a graduate student at Columbia and a postdoctoral fellow at institutions like Oxford and the University of Colorado …

Rush whacks Newt: ‘He wishes they were running TV ads against him’  —  Rush Limbaugh responded to Newt Gingrich's shot at him with a broadside at the former speaker on today's show.  —  “I'm frankly getting tired of talking about Newt.  I mean, it's a pointless exercise,” …

Stem cell decision ignites right's ire  —  He called for reducing abortions and seeking common ground on one of the nation's most divisive issues — promises that led some on the right to think maybe, just maybe, Barack Obama was a different kind of Democrat.  —  But no more.

Heroic Name Given to Photo of President Obama  —  Soon after President Barack Obama signed an executive order lifting the ban on the use federal funding of embryonic stem cells in medical research, the wizards behind the White House web site posted the photo above.

Obama Buffetted  —  First Time The MSM Has Ever Ignored Warren Buffett: The press accounts I've read have wildly underplayed Obama supporter Warren Buffet's criticism of the President on CNBC today.  It's fairly pointed, and Buffett comes back to it, suggesting he has a message he's trying to deliver.

Tibet and Chas Freeman  —  Today is Tibetan Freedom Day, also marking the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibet Uprising and the Dali Lama's flight to exile.  Chinese riot police are out in force on the streets of Tibet's cities to deter the kind of widespread civil disorder that broke out in the country a year ago.

Taking a Depression Seriously  —  The Democratic response to the economic crisis has its problems, but let's face it, the current Republican response is totally misguided.  The House minority leader, John Boehner, has called for a federal spending freeze for the rest of the year.

RNCdispute over $4 million  —  Republican infighting escalated Monday with allegations and denials over $4 million once destined for the party's congressional campaign committees.  —  Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele sought to placate critics by giving $1 million …

Bomber kills 33 at Iraq peace conference  —  BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — At least 33 people were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide car bombing targeting a national reconciliation conference in Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official told CNN.  —  The attack — which occurred outside …

Flournoy's Pentagon policy shop  —  Since her confirmation as under secretary of defense for policy last month, Michèle Flournoy - the highest-ranking woman in Pentagon civilian history — has become one of the most active and influential national security figures in the Obama administration.

Pandit Says Citigroup Having Best Quarter Since 2007  —  Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said his bank is having the best quarter since 2007, when it last posted a profit.  The shares rose as much as 27 percent and helped spur gains for finance company stocks.

Possible conflict of interest surfaces for President Obama's new urban czar Adolfo Carrion  —  President Obama's new urban czar renovated his Bronx home with help from the architect on a major development that needed his approval, a Daily News investigation has found.

McCain: 'I don't want him to fail'  —  After a losing presidential campaign in 2000, John McCain came back to the Senate and established himself as a force no White House could ignore.  Eight years later, he's home from defeat again, facing a very different landscape dominated by President Barack Obama …

Tim Geithner's Black Hole  —  Pity Barack Obama's economic advisers.  The blogs are now demanding their scalps, and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and his colleagues face a nasty dilemma: There are no solutions to the banking crisis without extraordinary political and financial risks.

Detainees Say They Planned Sept. 11  —  The five detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have filed a document with the military commission at the United States naval base there expressing pride at their accomplishment and accepting full responsibility …

Geithner Briefs Dems: “We're Doing In Weeks What Countries Did In Years”  —  At a meeting in the Capitol that stretched late into Monday night, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner briefed House Democrats on the ongoing efforts to revitalize the economy.  —  He pleaded for patience …

NOT EVEN CLOSE.... The LA Times' Andrew Malcolm played a little fast and loose yesterday, commenting on President Obama's directive on Bush's signing statements.  (thanks to reader J.R. for the heads-up) … No, this wasn't written by the Republican National Committee to be read on-air by Fox News personalities; it just seems like it.

Japan reconsidered  —  For a decade or so Japan's lost decade has been the great bugaboo of modern macroeconomics.  Economists constantly warned that you mustn't do X or you must do Y, because otherwise we'll turn into Japan.  And policymakers congratulated themselves in advance …