Temporary Beltway Sanity  —  The doctor fix blows up in the Senate, no thanks to the AMA.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Yesterday saw some rare good news on the health-care front, with the stealth Democratic plan to move $247 billion in ObamaCare costs off the books collapsing in the Senate on a procedural vote of 47 to 53.

On the NY23 Race, We Have A Practical Choice To Make  —  In the statement and audio clips below, Speaker Gingrich explains his decision to endorse Dede Scozzafava in the NY 23 special election:  —  Through my experience as Speaker of the House and building a Republican majority in 1994 …

Conservatives roar; GOP trembles  —  Many top Republicans are growing worried that the party's chances for reversing its electoral routs of 2006 and 2008 are being wounded by the flamboyant rhetoric and angry tone of conservative activists and media personalities, according to interviews with GOP officials and operatives.

Cheney's Speech Tonight  —  Dick Cheney that is, who will be speaking at the Center for Security Policy tonight.  The speech is a real humdinger.  Check back here at 6 for the full text of the former vice president's remarks.

Obama administration to cut executive pay at 7 bailed-out firms  —  NEW YORK — The Obama administration plans to order companies that have received exceptionally large amounts of bailout money from the government to slash compensation for their highest-paid executives by about half on average …

How John Kerry got the Afghan leader to see sense.  —  Sen. John Kerry's successful mission to Kabul—in which he convinced Afghan President Hamid Karzai to hold a second-round runoff to August's fraud-soaked election—suggests that the Obama administration is putting the squeeze on Karzai …

Fewer Americans See Solid Evidence of Global Warming  —  Modest Support for “Cap and Trade” Policy  —  There has been a sharp decline over the past year in the percentage of Americans who say there is solid evidence that global temperatures are rising.  And fewer also see global warming …

Attention, Sarah Palin bashers: Lookalike book ‘Going Rouge’ is coming!  —  We know that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin can hunt, and even field-dress a moose, but how will she take to poachers on her book sales?  Start-up publisher OR Books has announced plans to publish Going Rouge …

EVEN NPR.... Ken Rudin is the political editor for NPR.  To see him swallow the latest Republican attack meme whole is more than a little painful.  Here's his commentary on “Talk of the Nation” yesterday, complaining about the White House's criticism of Fox News. … I'd like to think Ken Rudin knows better.

Home-Buyer Tax Credit Scrutinized  —  (WASHINGTON) — Tens of thousands of people may have taken advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit to defraud the government, an IRS watchdog office said Thursday, in testimony that could jeopardize efforts to extend the popular program.

It's Time for Dede Scozzafava and Her False Police Report to Go — By: Jim Geraghty  —  When a candidate commits a crime, the usual bonds of loyalty that a party requires are severed.  When Sen. Larry Craig got caught in the airport restroom, Mitt Romney threw him off his campaign team.

The Strategic Challenge of Somalia's Al-Shabaab  —  Dimensions of Jihad  —  Fall 2009, pp.  25-36  —  Since emerging from an era of colonialism under Italy and Britain, Somalia has passed through military dictatorship, famine, and civil war to regional fragmentation.

AHIP Lobbyist To GOP: Don't Give “Comfort To The Enemy” On Health Care  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A top lobbyist for the major private insurance industry trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), urged Congressional Republicans to not even consider helping Democrats pass …

Snowe: I Do Not Support Opt Out Compromise, Would Likely Filibuster Public Option Bill  —  In a huddle with reporters moments ago, I asked Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for her thoughts on a public option compromise that would allow states to opt out of a national government insurance program …

Tzipi Livni Shows Prime Ministerial Stuff on J Street Conference  —  The more I listen to Congressional Opposition chief John Boehner as of late, the more I wish he could find the dignity and common ground for big objectives that Israel's Opposition Party Leader, Kadima Party chief Tzipi Livni …

For Some Parents, Shouting Is the New Spanking  —  JACKIE KLEIN is a devoted mother of two little boys in the suburbs of Portland, Ore. She spends hours ferrying them to soccer and Cub Scouts.  She reads child-development books.  She can emulate one of those pitch-perfect calm maternal tones to warn …

At n+1 Panel, the Cat Got Douthat's Tongue on Topic of of Gay Marriage  —  Ross Douthat, conservative op-ed columnist for the New York Times, was made visibly uncomfortable for a moment while onstage last night at the New School's Tishman auditorium.  Having sailed through a discussion titled …