Obama Is Said to Consider Preventive Detention Plan  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama told human rights advocates at the White House on Wednesday that he was mulling the need for a “preventive detention” system that would establish a legal basis for the United States to incarcerate terrorism suspects …

FBI arrest four in alleged plot to bomb Bronx synagogues, shoot down plane  —  The FBI busted a homegrown terror cell late Wednesday night as the men sneaked around a Jewish temple in Riverdale planting what they thought were packages of C-4 explosives, sources told the Daily News.

Obama ‘Distracted’ by Biden's ‘Indiscipline,’ Book Asserts  —  The president is so “distracted by his vice president's indiscipline” that he has been forced to rebuke privately Vice President Biden, according to a new book by Richard Wolffe.  —  FOXNews.com

Specter defends Pelosi, questions CIA's honesty  —  Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) took the opportunity Wednesday to defend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has come under fire in recent weeks over a controversy surrounding when she was told of the use of enhanced interrogation techniques being used by the CIA.

Congressman: We're going to Disney  —  Rep. Alan Grayson was standing in the middle of Disney World when it hit him: What Americans really need is a week of paid vacation.  —  So on Thursday, the Florida Democrat will introduce the Paid Vacation Act — legislation that would be the first …

What the Sacramento Bee really thinks of voters  —  I wrote yesterday: “As expected, the liberal establishment will characterize voters as tantrum-throwers.  When initiatives go their way, voters are wise, smart, discerning citizens.  When initiatives fail miserably, the electorate is a moronic mob.”

President Obama as Commander in Chief  —  No new president finds that every aspect of the job suits him at once; some duties are inevitably more comfortable than others.  What we have witnessed in the past few weeks is Barack Obama trying on and fitting himself to the role of commander in chief.

California, a Broke State, Reels as Voters Rebuff Leaders  —  LOS ANGELES — Direct democracy has once again upended California — enough so that the state may finally consider another way by overhauling its Constitution for the first time in 130 years.  —  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger returned home …

Obama Huddles With Human Rights Groups Before Security Speech  —  Under heavy criticism for a series of decisions on national security that resembled, for some, those of the Bush years, President Barack Obama hosted a lengthy meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of several key human rights and civil liberties groups.

Pre-emption of State Laws Rolled Back  —  WASHINGTON — In a sweeping order Wednesday, President Barack Obama called for a rollback of Bush administration regulations designed to protect companies from product-liability lawsuits in state courts.  —  The memo didn't name specific industries …

Flip-Flops and Governance  —  Our president isn't quite as advertised.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Barack Obama inherited a set of national-security policies that he rejected during the campaign but now embraces as president.  This is a stunning and welcome about-face.

Trebek Makes Bush Joke as Texas Teen Wins Geography Bee  —  WASHINGTON — The nation's top geography whiz breezed through questions about mountain ranges, rivers and world capitals Wednesday, but he was stumped when National Geographic Bee host Alex Trebek asked him to name one of his weaknesses.

Distributing The Regulatory Surplus  —  It occurs to me that you can think of the policy debate around auctioning carbon permits as an example of a very general phenomenon.  Whenever you enact regulations aimed at restricting an activity, but not aimed at outright banning the activity, you create a kind of “regulatory surplus.”

Obama: Plame Lawsuit Should Not Be Reconsidered By Supreme Court  —  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:  —  CREW learned today that the Obama administration is opposing our request that the Supreme Court reconsider the dismissal of the lawsuit, Wilson v. Libby, et al.

Judge Diane Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan Seen as Supreme Court Hopefuls  —  President Obama is intensifying his search for a Supreme Court nominee and has interviewed Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago, believed to be among a handful of top contenders.