Dear A.I.G., I Quit!  —  The following is a letter sent on Tuesday by Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group's financial products unit, to Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of A.I.G.  —  DEAR Mr. Liddy,  —  It is with deep regret that I submit …

Cantor Watched Britney Spears Concert During Obama Presser, Landrieu Denies Rumors  —  There was more than one whip at last night's Britney Spears concert in Washington DC.  —  Three GOP aides confirmed to the Huffington Post that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) …

House Democrats Slash More Than $100B From Obama's Plan  —  Budget Leaders Refuse to Include More Funding for Financial Sector Bailout  —  House budget leaders today unveiled a $3.45 trillion budget blueprint for fiscal 2010 that slices more than $100 billion from the spending plan President Obama proposed last month.

Geithner ‘open’ to China proposal  —  Geithner, at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the U.S. is “open” to a headline-grabbing proposal by the governor of the China's central bank, which was widely reported as being a call for a new global currency to replace the dollar …

Little-Known GOP Challenger Tops Specter In Primary, Quinnipiac University Pennsylvania Poll Finds; Support For Obama Plan Helps Among Democrats  —  Apparently paying a political price for his support of President Barack Obama's Stimulus Plan, longtime Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter …

Michelle Bachmann, Vigilant Guardian of the Constitution  —  Watch Timothy Geithner's face as he's grilled here by Bachmann.  Priceless. … Funny how all these Bush/Cheney Republicans have suddenly discovered there's this thing called “the Constitution,” isn't it?

Former CNN Anchor Moves to The Onion  —  In yet another sign that the line between real news and fake news is getting thinner, one of CNN's main anchors during the 1980s and 1990s, Bobbie Battista, has taken a step through the looking glass and can now be seen anchoring reports online for ONN, The Onion News Network.

Jindal defends those who want Obama to fail  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — It's OK for Republicans to want President Obama to fail if they think he's jeopardizing the country, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal told members of his political party Tuesday night.  —  Jindal described the premise of the question …

Limbaugh An Issue in New York Special  —  Democrats are seeking to use conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh to rally their base in advance of next week's special election in New York's 20th district.  —  A new direct mail piece from businessman Scott Murphy's campaign features …

E.U. President Calls U.S. Stimulus the ‘Way to Hell’  —  BRUSSELS — Transatlantic tension over the handling of the global economic crisis intensified on Wednesday when the prime minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the European Union presidency, described the U. S. stimulus measures as the “way to hell.”

Netanyahu, Lieberman ‘struck secret deal for West Bank construction’  —  Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has struck a secret deal with Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman for highly contentious construction on West Bank land known as E1, Army Radio reported Wednesday.

Is it back to the Fifties?  —  “My mother is 75,” said Jon Stewart, the US late-night comedian, at the end of his already famous interview with Jim Cramer, the television stock market pundit.  “And she bought into the idea that long-term investing is the way to go.  And guess what?”

Ed Henry's take on exchange with Obama  —  Ed Henry, CNN's senior White House correspondent, got a tough answer from President Obama when he asked Tuesday night why Obama waited days to express outrage on the AIG bonuses.  “Because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak,” Obama said.

My speech to Gordon Brown goes viral  —  The internet has changed politics - changed it utterly and forever.  Twenty-four hours ago, I made a three-minute speech in the European Parliament, aimed at Gordon Brown.  I tipped off the BBC and some of the newspaper correspondents but, unsurprisingly …

The man who survived both atomic bombings  —  Japan has certified a man aged 93 as the only known survivor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both hit by atomic bombs towards the end of World War II.  —  Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on 6 August 1945 when a US plane dropped the first atomic bomb.

Thompson: I don't want Obama's policies to succeed  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Count former GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson among the growing chorus of prominent Republicans who want President Obama's policies to fail.  —  Tuesday evening Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called pressure …

NYT on snub: 'We'll get our turn'  —  The New York Times' Washington bureau chief says he's not offended that President Barack Obama skipped over reporters from the Times and other traditional major daily newspapers during Tuesday night's primetime press conference.

Of all the reasons to plant a garden, free food may be the worst.  —  The much-discussed Obama kitchen garden seems very noble and well-intentioned (despite Michelle Obama's controversial outfit), and as an avid gardener, I was loving the whole project until I came across the following quote from an ecstatic Alice Waters:

New best friends have a great meeting of the minds  —  BARACK OBAMA delivered Kevin Rudd the ultimate compliment yesterday by citing the Prime Minister while defending his own approach to the global financial crisis.  —  During a live, nationally televised press conference that had been hyped …

The Very Face of Victory  —  Most of the facets of President Obama's personality that have made him intensely popular were on display last night during his second prime-time news conference, and so he emerged from it still every inch “President Wonderful,” as it were, untouched and intact.

Andrew Malcolm is bored, too  —  Los Angeles Times blogger/former Laura Bush press secretary wasn't impressed by President Obama last night.  Surprise, surprise. … Now, I don't want Andrew Malcolm to be bored.  That's a less-than-ideal way to go through your workday.  —  So here's a suggestion, Mr. Malcolm: Quit.

New York Times Deal Book: Dr. Doom Finds Promise in Obama's Toxic-Asset Plan  —  From the New York Times Deal Book: … So to clarify my viewpoint: I see the Geithner plan as being relevant only to banks that are solvent.  For those that are found - after stress tests …

Leading Iranian Official Ridicules Obama's Overture  —  BAGHDAD — Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran's Parliament, on Wednesday criticized the United States in harsher terms than any other leading Iranian figure has done since President Obama extended his videotaped olive branch to Iran last week.

Sen. Burr faces tough race in N.C.  —  By all accounts, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) has learned lessons from ex-Sen. Elizabeth Dole's (R-N.C.) loss in 2008.  But a new poll shows Burr has electoral troubles of his own, as he trails the Democrats' dream candidate.

Pentagon Plan to Regrow Limbs: Phase One, Complete  —  The first phase of the Pentagon's plan to regrow soldiers' limbs is complete; scientists managed to turn human skin into the equivalent of a blastema — a mass of undifferentiated cells that can develop into new body parts.

“Enervating”  —  The president was “not...fiery and inspirational,” write Peter Baker and Adam Nagourney in the morning NYT.  “Placid and unsmiling, he was the professor in chief, offering familiar arguments in long paragraphs — often introduced with the phrase, ‘as I said before’ …

Governor Will Veto Gay Marriage Bill  —  Updated:  —  Gov. Jim Douglas, R-Vermont, says he will veto the same-sex marriage bill if it passes the Legislature.  —  The Vt. Senate gave its final stamp of approval Tuesday to a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in Vermont.