Text of Cheney's AEI Speech  —  THE WEEKLY STANDARD has obtained an advance copy of VP Cheney's remarks as prepared for delivery later this morning at the American Enterprise Institute.  I've read it quickly.  I think fair-minded people will find it very well-argued and powerful.

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

Independents Take Center Stage in Obama Era  —  Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2009  —  Centrism has emerged as a dominant factor in public opinion as the Obama era begins.  The political values and core attitudes that the Pew Research Center has monitored since 1987 show little overall ideological movement.

Cheney vs. Obama: A Mismatch  —  I've read both speeches.  —  Obama's is the speech of a young senator who was once a part-time law professor—platitudinous and preachy, vague and pseudo-thoughtful in an abstract kind of way.  This sentence was revealing: “On the other hand …

Secure our future responsibly  —  Last year I supported Sen. John McCain for president.  Despite these efforts, the American public chose Barack Obama as the person they wanted in the White House to confront the worst financial market turmoil since the Great Depression and the worst recession in a generation.

Sacramento Bee publishes vicious screed bashing taxpayers, gets caught, then scrubs with milquetoast replacement  —  Early this morning, the failing Sacramento Bee published a “vicious screed” that pilloried taxpayers for refusing to feed California's insatiable state government.

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 …

Crisis 18% salary slash for California officials isn't 100% what it seems  —  Boy oh boy, did California voters show bickering state officials a thing or two with their slam-dunk downing of five out of six financial propositions in Tuesday's voting.  As The Ticket reported then, they didn't just say No; they said No way!

Porter Goss Won't Say Whether He And Pelosi Were Told About Use Of Torture  —  Porter Goss, the former GOP Congressman who was in the room with Nancy Pelosi during their 2002 CIA briefing on interrogations, is declining through a spokesperson to say whether the two of them were told that enhanced interrogation techniques had been used.

House GOP to Force Vote on Pelosi  —  ABC News' Rick Klein, Jonathan Karl, and Dean Norland report:  —  House Republicans today plan to force their colleagues to vote on whether to launch an investigation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's allegation that the CIA misled her …

Obama's civil liberties speech  —  (updated below)  —  Obama's speech this morning, like most Obama speeches, made pretty points in rhetorically effective ways about the Constitution, our values, transparency, oversight, the state secrets privilege, and the rule of law.

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.