Ross Douthat's New Perch  —  It's one step back for the Atlantic, but an order of magnitude forward for the country: my colleagues and I learned today that senior editor Ross Douthat will, in short order, become an opinion columnist for the New York Times.  —  Ross is a late-twenties-year …

The Reconstructionist  —  Michael Steele, the embattled new head of the Republican Party, on whether he'd be in this job if he were white, why he left the seminary for the GOP, and where his diminished party goes from here  —  I met Michael Steele in his office at the RNC several weeks into his new job …

Hersh: ‘Executive assassination ring’ reported directly to Cheney  —  Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when he told an audience at the University of Minnesota that the military was running an “executive assassination ring” throughout the Bush years …

Bristol Palin & Fiancé Split  —  Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin  —  Bristol Palin and her fiancé Levi Johnston have broken up, two sources tell PEOPLE.  —  The split happened “a few weeks ago,” according to a source close to the couple, but it's unclear what precipitated it.

Blame the ‘Lobby’  —  FORMER ambassador Charles W. Freeman Jr. looked like a poor choice to chair the Obama administration's National Intelligence Council.  A former envoy to Saudi Arabia and China, he suffered from an extreme case of clientitis on both accounts.

Obama backs pet projects and signs spending bill  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama, sounding weary of criticism over federal earmarks, defended Congress' pet projects Wednesday as he signed an “imperfect” $410 billion measure with thousands of examples.

LIBERAL HACKERS AT IT AGAIN  —  At the end of January, a hacker broke into Senator Norm Coleman's web site and gained access to information there about donors to the Coleman campaign.  Coleman's staff had a forensic analysis performed and were assured that the donor information had not been downloaded.

TSA Probing Vitter Incident  —  The Transportation Security Administration is examining Sen. David Vitter's much-reported decision to open the closed gateway door to his plane — even though he was warned against it by an airline worker.  —  “We will be reviewing the alleged incident,” …

Obama, Geithner Get Low Grades From Economists  —  U.S. President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner received failing grades for their efforts to revive the economy from participants in the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.  —  The economists' assessment stands …

Cities' Plans to Swap Cash for Stimulus Are Stopped  —  LOS ANGELES — Suppose the federal government gave you and your neighbor $500 each to buy a new bike, but what you really wanted was a $250 shopping spree for running gear instead.  So you offered to sell your $500 federal check …

Pelosi Travel Abuse?  Case Not Proved  —  Watchdog Group Criticizes House Speaker for Travel Perks, but Records Don't Agree  —  The treasure trove of documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Department of Defense regarding Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's use of military aircraft …

A Dereliction Of Journalistic Duty  —  If a revolution happens and no reporters cover it, will it make a sound?  That's a good question because an anti-tax revolution as American as they come is under way, and the country's top newsmen could care less.  —  Anti-tax protests have been sprouting …

TOP JOBS  —  Justice Souter Describes ‘Annual Intellectual Lobotomy’ During Court Term  —  Post a Comment Printer-friendly Email this Article Reprints & Permissions  —  Robert Bork once said serving on the Supreme Court would be “an intellectual feast.”  On Monday night, by contrast …

Obama's Council on Women and Girls  —  President Obama has just signed an executive order establishing the “White House Council on Women and Girls.”  The purpose of the new group “is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy,” he said at the signing.