Tonight... We Are All Rush Limbaugh  —  Earlier this evening, as most of you now know, one of our own, Rush Hudson Limbaugh, while taking withering fire, crashed and burned.  —  Tonight, Rush is no longer ‘just’ a radio personality.  —  Tonight, Rush is no longer ‘just’ a NFL owner denied

Hillary Clinton Now More Popular Than Barack Obama  —  Secretary of state viewed favorably by 62% of Americans, president by 56%  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Hillary Clinton lost the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama, but in one respect she now ranks ahead of Obama.

Hatch: MoveOn.Org Is Scurrilous — And I'm Going To Kick Them In The Teeth  —  On MSNBC this afternoon, Andrea Mitchell asked Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) about a MoveOn-organized protest outside his Salt Lake City office, where protesters criticized Hatch for allegedly being beholden …

6-year-old missing after balloon lands in Colorado  —  (CNN) — A balloon that was set adrift by a 6-year-old boy from his parents' Colorado home was found empty, CNN affiliate KMGH said, citing a police report.  —  The balloon landed south of Prospect Springs, near Colorado Springs.

CNN Admits That On-Air Commentator Has Ties To Insurance Industry, Promises Full Disclosure  —  Looks like the insurance industry has another PR mess on its hands.  —  CNN has acknowledged in a statement to me that a high-profile Republican commentator who frequently discusses health care …

When Your Neighbor Loses His Job It's A Recession.  When You Screw A Whore Behind Your Wife's Back, Get Caught, And Lose Your Job, It's A Catastrophic Economic Meltdown  —  Disgraced criminal Eliot Spitzer has for reasons unknown been occupying a columnist spot at Slate.com for some period of time.

Gillibrand, Schumer, drop out of J Street conference  —  Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has asked to be removed from the host committee for a conference of the left-leaning Jewish group J Street and was “unaware” she had been included on the group's list of supporters, spokesman Matt Canter said.

Public Option Is Next Big Hurdle in Health Debate  —  WASHINGTON — As the White House and Congressional leaders turned in earnest on Wednesday to working out big differences in the five health care bills, perhaps no issue loomed as a greater obstacle than whether to establish a government-run competitor to the insurance industry.

‘Dead’ al Qaeda terrorist surfaces for media  —  Doubts raised on drone tactics  —  A key al Qaeda military planner thought dead by the United States and Pakistan gave an interview this week to a Pakistani reporter, illustrating the uncertainties of a military strategy based on air strikes by unmanned drones.

Sen. Vitter: Reid wants illegals counted in Census  —  Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who is sponsoring an amendment to an appropriations bill that would require illegal immigrants list their status on next year's Census, said late Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) …

French troops were killed after Italy hushed up ‘bribes’ to Taleban  —  When ten French soldiers were killed last year in an ambush by Afghan insurgents in what had seemed a relatively peaceful area, the French public were horrified.  —  Their revulsion increased with the news …

Third-party pooper: GOP's N.J. dilemma  —  The surging campaign of third-party candidate Chris Daggett has turned the New Jersey governor's race into a dead-heat and left Republicans divided over the seriousness of the threat he poses to GOP nominee Chris Christie.

Leading Blue Dog wants to open up Medicare to uninsured  —  Blue Dog Rep. Mike Ross, who made headlines by rejecting a compromise he'd negotiated on a public health insurance option, has suggested to Democratic leaders that the government-run Medicare program be opened to those without insurance.

Maverick fallout: GOP won't retaliate  —  Mitch McConnell and his deputies in the Senate Republican leadership are responding very cautiously to Olympia Snowe's decision to become the first GOP vote for a Democratic health care reform bill.  —  That's about all they can do.

A.P. Asks if Obama is “obnoxiously articulate”  —  Political reporters have now toggled from worrying that Obama gets “too much” media coverage to asking whether he is “too” good at communicating through the media.  Maybe even obnoxiously good.  Maybe even — here comes that loaded word from the primaries — too articulate.

The Death March  —  [ analysis ] Iran's post-election turmoil and the ensuing human rights crisis entered a new phase this week, after authorities announced death sentences for four defendants following the mass trials held for more than a hundred people accused of fomenting unrest and challenging the election results.

New book pins ‘debategate’ on Dem  —  In the annals of Washington scandals, “debategate” in 1983 may have set some sort of record for flare followed by fizzle.  It looked to some reporters, for a brief moment, like it could topple a CIA director, a White House chief of staff and maybe even a president.

House Republicans may face a ‘civil war’ over Scozzafava bid  —  The House GOP conference is bitterly divided over a centrist New York Republican's run for the House seat vacated by Army Secretary John McHugh.  —  Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who backs abortion rights and has voiced support …

Profile of Anita Dunn, White House Communications Director  —  Interim Media Strategist Leads Salvo Against Fox  —  Earlier this week, Anita Dunn inserted two words into the conservative electronic echo chamber: Anita Dunn.  —  With her CNN appearance on Sunday attacking Fox News as …

U.S. troop funds diverted to pet projects  —  Study finds $2.6 billion taken from guns and ammunition  —  Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops …