Specter Will Vote Against Employee Free Choice Act  —  UPDATE: Senator Specter ended speculation on where he would come down on the Employee Free Choice Act by declaring, on the Senate floor, that he would oppose the legislation until the economy improves.  —  “The problems of a recession …

The GOP's Cheney Problem  —  The least popular vice-president in memory is not helping the Republicans regroup - according to this piece from the Hill.  But Cheney is not giving these disgraceful and classless interviews to help the GOP.  He's giving them because it is beginning to dawn …

Culture Shock  —  What happened when one conservative Web site ventured outside the movement bubble.  —  Last May, Conor Friedersdorf, a twenty-eight-year-old recent graduate of NYU's Journalism School, decided he was going to save conservative journalism.

K-Lo & Crew: Only Republicans Should be Honored at Catholic Colleges  —  Right-wing Catholics are furious that President Obama is [defiling the sanctity of] delivering the commencement address at Notre Dame.  —  K-Lo called it “disgraceful,” grunting, “They took a giant step away …

Contender for TARP Job Drops Out  —  WASHINGTON — The leading candidate to run the Treasury Department's $700 billion bailout program has withdrawn his name from consideration, according to people familiar with the matter.  —  Frank Brosens, a hedge-fund manager and big Democratic donor …

Dems Hammer GOP's New “Too Many Ideas” Strategy  —  Dems are opening fire on the GOP in response to our story below, which quotes Mitch McConnell's spokesperson saying that the GOP will start attacking the Obama administration for throwing out too many ideas on the economy, with not enough cohesion.

Treasury rewards waiting  —  Maybe it was worth the wait.  —  Judging from preliminary details, the US Treasury's plan to rescue the financial system is a lot savvier about the relationship between financial markets and the macroeconomy than are the usual-suspects: critics from both left …

Reines storm: Clinton conflict brews  —  Hillary Clinton's departure for the State Department was meant to end the era of Clinton drama, and to leave the turmoil of her campaign behind.  But one former Clinton aide, now a senior adviser to Secretary Clinton, has brought at least some of that drama along with him.

Coleman won't rule out federal appeal  —  Former Sen. Norm Coleman is still considering taking his election lawsuit to the federal court if he's unsuccessful in reversing Al Franken's 225-vote lead in the Minnesota Senate recount.  —  Speaking to reporters at the Capitol …

A major difference between conservatives and progressives  —  (updated below - Update II)  —  One of the linchpins of the Bush presidency, especially during the first term (and well into the second, until he became a major political liability), was the lock-step uncritical reverence …

Dems propose cutting Obama budget by billions  —  CNN Congressional Producer  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Hours before President Obama was to hold a prime-time news conference — in part to boost his $3.6 trillion budget plan — a key Democratic senator Tuesday unveiled a scaled-down budget proposal.

Bunning: McConnell making fundraising difficult  —  FRANKFORT, Ky. — U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning is blaming his fundraising difficulties on a fellow Kentucky Republican, Senate Minority Floor Leader Mitch McConnell.  —  Bunning said during a conference call Tuesday that McConnell and Texas …

Money For Nothing  —  Jilted Wall Street donors should rethink future political donations.  —  An honest politician, as an old saw has it, is one who stays bought.  If this is true, then we have the most dishonest bunch of officeholders ever, and it may lead Wall Street to reconsider its donations in the future.

Obama seeks filter-free news  —  At a time when his Washington honeymoon is turning into a hazing, President Barack Obama and his team are launched on a strategy to sail above the traditional White House press corps by reaching out to liberal commentators, local reporters and ethnic media.

The 1966 Election's Warning to Obama  —  It was a historic tidal wave of rejection.  Symbolized by, of all things, housewives boycotting supermarkets.  And the active participation of seven future presidents of the United States.  —  The 1966 “off year” or congressional elections …

House Passes Hitler Youth Bill  —  Obama promised during the campaign to create a Socialist National Civilian Security Force similar to what they have in other Marxist regimes.  Yesterday, the US House took the first step in organizing Dear Leader's dream youth service corp.  —  German youth praising Hitler.

Maxine Waters Puts On Her Goldman Sachs Conspiracy Hat (CLIP)  —  Whenever they hold these banking hearings, there are two people we enjoy hearing from: Ron Paul and Maxine Water.  Ron Paul because he challenges the administration on core questions of monetary theory and that's fun.

Space storm alert: 90 seconds from catastrophe  —  Related editorial: We must heed the threat of solar storms  —  IT IS midnight on 22 September 2012 and the skies above Manhattan are filled with a flickering curtain of colourful light.  Few New Yorkers have seen the aurora this far south but their fascination is short-lived.

Meghan McCain: ‘I support the president’  —  (CNN) — Meghan McCain, a contributor to TheDailyBeast.com, is the daughter of Sen. John McCain and Cindy McCain.  But it's her recent verbal sparring with conservative Republicans that's put her in the spotlight.

Madoff's pain is a Queens man's gain  —  Someone is finally making some money off Bernie Madoff.  —  A Queens construction worker used the swindler's prison number to play the lottery and won $1,500.  —  Ralph Amendolaro, 50, noticed the digits under Madoff's mug on the front page …

Labor votes in favor of joining Netanyahu coalition  —  The Labor Party Central Committee voted on Tuesday in favor of joining Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, despite vocal opposition from within the party.  —  Netanyahu reached the preliminary agreement with Barak early Tuesday.

TAMMY BRUCE.  —  It's worth considering the full context of Tammy Bruce's comments on Michelle Obama yesterday.  Bruce said this of the first lady: … Right.  Nothing that makes a racist comment more obvious than a self-conscious attempt to qualify it as not being racist.

Senator proposes nonprofit status for newspapers  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Struggling newspapers should be allowed to operate as nonprofits similar to public broadcasting stations, Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., proposed Tuesday.  —  Cardin introduced a bill that would allow newspapers to choose tax-exempt status.