Obama and the Pirates  —  It's better to be lucky than good.  It's even better to be lucky and good.  One can easily imagine all the different ways the rescue of Captain Phillips might have been screwed up—and the political firestorm that would have resulted.

Tea Parties Forever  —  This is a column about Republicans — and I'm not sure I should even be writing it.  —  Today's G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party.  It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy.

An Early Military Victory for Obama  —  It was one of the earliest tests of the new American president — a small military operation off the coast of a Third World nation.  But as President Bill Clinton found out in October 1993, even minor failures can have long-lasting consequences.

A Reticent Justice Opens Up to a Group of Students  —  Justice Clarence Thomas has not asked a question from the Supreme Court bench since Feb. 22, 2006.  He speaks only to announce his majority opinions, reading summaries in a gruff monotone.  Glimpses of Justice Thomas in less formal settings are rare.

White House Announces Easing of Cuba Restrictions  —  WASHINGTON — The White House announced on Monday that it is abandoning longstanding restrictions on family travel, remittances and gifts to Cuba, and is also taking steps to open up telecommunications with the island …

Parsing the Polls: Dick Cheney, Joe Biden and America's Safety  —  Expect new poll numbers out of CNN this afternoon to draw a huge amount of attention.  —  Why?  —  Because they provide strong empirical evidence that suggests most Americans do not agree with former vice president Dick Cheney's contention …

The battle over the absentee ballots  —  Just like in the Minnesota Senate recount, the special election in New York's Twentieth District looks like it will be determined by disputed absentee ballots.  —  Both campaigns have already challenged the legality of around 600 absentee ballots …

The Jackson $5 million?  —  The Sun-Times has learned that 2 members of Chicago's Indian community sent word to Blagojevich's camp that Jesse Jackson Jr. would raise $5 million in exchange for Obama's Senate seat  —  Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. …

Trillions for pork but nothing for the Raptors?  —  Has the world really changed that much since 1990?  —  When the Air Force first announced its planned procurement of the F-22 Raptors, the intended acquisition was for 750 of the fighters.  The Soviet Union was the enemy then, and soon thereafter the Soviet Union fell apart.

Apologies to Glenn Greenwald.  —  I had accused him of being a partisan idiot.

Everyone Should Pay Income Taxes  —  It's bad for our democracy to exempt half the country.  —  If you thought Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme was bad, wait until you hear about the inverted pyramid scheme the federal government is working on.  While Mr. Madoff preyed on people who trusted …

What Would a “Bipartisan” Obama Look Like?  (Hint: A Lot Like the One We're Seeing)  —  Over at RealClarPolitics, Jay Cost takes Obama to task for failing to live up to his promises of bipartisanship.  Cost writes: … What Cost accuses Obama of is acting in bad faith — he promised “bipartisanship” and hasn't delivered.

Fox's Cavuto Claims Network Covered Protests Before Network Was Founded  —  Fox News' Neil Cavuto has gone on the defensive lately, defending his network's coverage of the coming political fringe tax day Renaissance Faires known as Tea Parties.  Naturally, no one in the wide world …

NO NUKES  —  There is no madness like nuclear madness.  That was the conceit of the Cold War's greatest comedy, “Dr. Strangelove,” and it was the conceit of North Korea's recent rocket-launch extravaganza.  By testing a missile that might one day be able to reach Alaska …

Rush & Me, Today  —  I'm not listening.  I have two pressing deadlines.  But I keep getting a lot of email about it.  For instance: Jonah, Apparently Rush is pointing out the absurdity in your praising Obama and not praising those who were directly responsible for the rescue by being absurd.

Americans Most Confident in Obama on Economy  —  Democratic leaders in Congress fare better than Republican leaders  — USA - Congress - Government and Politics - Presidential Ratings - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Over two-thirds of Americans …