Pelosi Rips McChrystal For Publicly Airing His Views On Afghanistan  —  This one should stir up Nancy Pelosi's critics on the right: Towards the end of an interview with Charlie Rose that ran late last night, Pelosi took a surprisingly hard shot at General Stanley McChrystal for publicly airing …

White House's botched ‘op’  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet — and handed out doctors' white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message.  —  In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform …

Sotomayor Takes Active Role on Court's First Day  —  The Supreme Court began its new term Monday with an inquisitive new justice and a case from Maryland about how long police must honor a suspect's request for an attorney.  —  Justice Sonia Sotomayor displayed no reticence …

Pelosi says new tax is ‘on the table’  —  A new value-added tax (VAT) is “on the table” to help the U.S. address its fiscal liabilities, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday night.  —  Pelosi, appearing on PBS's “The Charlie Rose Show” asserted that “it's fair to look at” …

How Health Care Reform Won  —  The biggest story in health care reform this year has not been the town hall meetings, or President Obama's big speech on health care.  It's that the Senate Democrats have decided they're going to pass a bill.  You just haven't heard much about this story …

MSNBC's Ratigan battles McCaughey  —  Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy  —  Anthony Weiner and Betsy McCaughey brought their act to MSNBC this morning, where Weiner — unlike last night — was a relatively mellow presence while host Dylan Ratigan tangled bitterly with McCaughey.

The Obamas' Ego Trip to Copenhagen  —  In the Niagara of words spoken and written about the Obamas' trip to Copenhagen, too few have been devoted to the words they spoke there.  Their separate speeches to the International Olympic Committee were so dreadful, and in such a characteristic way …

Attorney General Says Alleged Bomb Plot in N.Y. Was ‘Very Serious’  —  Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Tuesday that an alleged hydrogen peroxide bomb threat was “very serious” and “could have resulted in the loss of American lives.”  —  In a wide-ranging conversation …

Thoughts on Delaware  —  Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I am not particularly optimistic about Democratic prospects for next year.  But I think that as long as Beau Biden still runs now that Mike Castle is in the race, Democrats will hold onto the Senate seat in Delaware.

The joint Post/Obama defense of the Patriot Act and FISA  —  (updated below)  —  The Washington Post's Anne Kornblut today produces an extreme piece of government-serving, stenographic “journalism,” publishing a dubious administration press release masquerading as a lengthy news article …

Oil States Say No Talks on Replacing Dollar  —  ISTANBUL/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Big oil producing nations denied a British newspaper report on Tuesday that Gulf Arab states were in secret talks with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace the U.S. dollar with a basket of currencies in trading oil.

President Obama's Inner Circle; First Swine Flu Vaccine Released  —  THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.  THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.  —  CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tonight, here are the questions we want answered.  What advice is the president really getting from his inner circle?

Let's Remember That Letterman's a Clown, Not a Cleric or Congressman  —  One of many sad things about recent stanzas in the ballad of David Letterman is that now, in all media, Dave will be lumped in with other sexually misbehaving celebrities, even though he stands head and heart above most of them.

Acorn CEO Blasts Critics  —  Nomaan Merchant reports on politics.  —  Acorn CEO Bertha Lewis called the uproar over hidden-camera videos “Acorn McCarthyism.”  —  And as for the threatened cutoff of federal funding, she said the community organizing and housing group will survive without it.

Does Obama Get It?  —  The big question on the domestic front right now is whether President Obama understands the gravity of the employment crisis facing the country.  Does he get it?  The signals coming out of the White House have not been encouraging.  —  The Beltway crowd and the Einsteins …

Video: CNN helps Obama out by ... fact-checking SNL's skit  —  Via Greg Hengler.  Heaven forbid that the average half-drunk late-night Saturday TV viewer be “misinformed” about our savior by a comedy show reminding them that health care's “not done” (which it isn't) and that Afghanistan's gotten worse this year (which it has).

How Israel Was Disarmed  —  News analysis from the near-future.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Jan. 20, 2010  —  NEW YORK—When American diplomats sat down for the first in a series of face-to-face talks with their Iranian counterparts last October in Geneva, few would have predicted …

Most Would Use Force to Stop Iranian Nukes  —  Support for Talks and Sanctions, Skepticism They Will Work  —  The public approves of direct negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, although most Americans are not hopeful the talks will succeed.  And a strong majority - 61% …