No Boiled Carrots  —  Barack Obama even needs a teleprompter to get mad.  —  On St. Patrick's Day, the president spoke a bit of Gaelic, dyed the White House fountains green and talked about his distant relatives in the tiny Irish town of Moneygall, aptly named since money and gall are the two topics now consuming him.

Begorra!  Irish PM trips over White House speech  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar.

Hedge Funds May Get AIG Cash  —  Some Bailout Money Is Set Aside to Pay Firms That Bet Housing Market Would Crater  —  Some of the billions of dollars that the U.S. government paid to bail out American International Group Inc. stand to benefit hedge funds that bet on a falling housing market …

Bush says it's ‘essential’ to help Obama  —  CALGARY, Alberta - Former President George W. Bush, making his first public speech since leaving office in January, says he wants Barack Obama to succeed and that it's “essential” to support the new leader.  —  Bush declined to critique …

In a First, Bankruptcy Judge Rules Calif. City Can Void Union Contracts  —  Post a Comment Printer-friendly Email this Article Reprints & Permissions  —  In the first ruling of its kind, a bankruptcy judge held the city of Vallejo, Calif. has the authority to void its existing union contracts …

At G20, Kremlin to Pitch New Currency  —  The Kremlin published its priorities Monday for an upcoming meeting of the G20, calling for the creation of a supranational reserve currency to be issued by international institutions as part of a reform of the global financial system.

President's Budget Strategy Under Fire  —  Tactic May Break Obama's Bipartisan Pledge, GOP Says  —  Senior members of the Obama administration are pressing lawmakers to use a shortcut to drive the president's signature initiatives on health care and energy through Congress without Republican votes …

Obama's Jay Leno Tonight Show Gig Will Diminish His Presidency  —  By Mary Kate Cary, Thomas Jefferson Street blog  —  When I was writing speeches for President Bush #41, we'd start working every Spring on the annual “joke” dinners—the Gridiron Club, the Alfalfa Club, and the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Men are women's ‘issue’  —  Last week, President Obama signed an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls.  He did so with a speech in which he praised the perseverance and pluck of his own single mother, the grandmother who ultimately raised him, and especially his wife …

Guns on a plane  —  Obama secretly ends program that let pilots carry guns  —  After the September 11 attacks, commercial airline pilots were allowed to carry guns if they completed a federal-safety program.  No longer would unarmed pilots be defenseless as remorseless hijackers seized control …

Veterans Groups, Lawmakers Condemn Obama Idea to Bill Private Insurers for Service-Related Care  —  An Obama administration proposal to bill veterans' private insurance companies for treatment of combat-related injuries has prompted veterans groups to condemn the idea as unethical …

The Uninvited  —  Brad DeLong objects to the hed—"Inside the echo chamber"—on Michael Calderone's piece discussing the underknown leftish email cabal organized by Ezra Klein: … Fair enough.  But I think the headline-writers' worry was that an “echo chamber” is what the outside world tends …

Specter won't rule out run as an Independent  —  Sen. Arlen Specter said Tuesday that he will not run for reelection in 2010 as a Democrat, but might run as an Independent.  —  The Pennsylvania Republican has been under tremendous pressure from the GOP base since being one of just three Republicans …

U.S. Weighs Taliban Strike Into Pakistan  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the American covert war in Pakistan far beyond the unruly tribal areas to strike at a different center of Taliban power in Baluchistan …