The Public Option: Rumor Check  —  A rumor is making the rounds that the White House and Senator Reid are pursuing different strategies on the public option.  Those rumors are absolutely false.  —  In his September 9th address to Congress, President Obama made clear that he supports …

Obama's pointless bipartisanship.  —  From the magazine issue dated Nov 2, 2009  —  “There she is, the Party of One!” cried Sen. Barbara Mikulski when she saw Sen. Olympia Snowe outside the Senate chamber last week.  Mikulski, in a wheel-chair because of a broken ankle, rolled closer to the object of her praise.

Conservatives Maintain Edge as Top Ideological Group  —  Compared with 2008, more Americans “conservative” in general, and on issues  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Conservatives continue to outnumber moderates and liberals in the American populace in 2009, confirming a finding that Gallup first noted in June.

U.S. tested 2 Afghan scenarios in war game  —  Obama and advisers evaluating exercise that used different troop levels  —  The Pentagon's top military officer oversaw a secret war game this month to evaluate the two primary military options that have been put forward by the Pentagon …

U.S. Considers Reining In ‘Too Big to Fail’ Institutions  —  WASHINGTON — Congress and the Obama administration are about to take up one of the most fundamental issues stemming from the near collapse of the financial system last year — how to deal with institutions that are so big …

Hiatt on the public option — Talk cloaks political inaction  —  The “public option” is dangerous not for what it might do but for what it allows the politicians not to do.  —  From the start, the Obama administration has said that health-care reform has to make health care both more accessible and less costly .

Newt Gingrich Says He May Run for President in 2012  —  Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker and perennial big thinker in the Republican party, said this morning that he will likely run for president in 2012 if he and his wife, Callista, assess the field of candidates in 2011 and feel “a requirement as citizens that we run.”

After Reform Passes  —  So, how well will health reform work after it passes?  —  There's a part of me that can't believe I'm asking that question.  After all, serious health reform has long seemed like an impossible dream.  And it could yet go all wrong.

EXCLUSIVE: How Sanford unplugged  —  Second-term focus was not on SC, records show  —  Gov. Mark Sanford typically packed more than a dozen events into his daily schedule when he took office in 2003 - sometimes jumping from meetings about tort reform, cutting state income taxes …

Online auction to raise funds in Scott Roeder case  —  An Army of God manual.  A prison cookbook compiled by a woman doing time for abortion clinic bombings and arsons.  An autographed bullhorn.  —  These are among the items that abortion foes plan to auction on eBay and other Web sites …

Andy warns Rudy: Psst!  I'm running  —  Andrew Cuomo has secretly notified Rudy Giuliani that he will run for governor next year, The Post has learned.  —  The confidential message, conveyed through intermediaries, was delivered to Giuliani recently and is expected to play a central role …

Is it morning in America, or has hope given way to malaise?  —  (CNN) — Nearly a year after the presidential election, the excitement of Barack Obama's campaign has faded into the reality of an Obama White House.  —  As observers try to determine what time it is in American politics, they arrive at opposite conclusions.

“Showdown In Chicago”: Protesters Crash Bankers Convention, (VIDEO, IMAGES)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Via National People's Action, here is some footage from the protesters at the ABA conference.  From the footage, it's clear there are some strong emotions from the protesters.

Stimulus Contracts Go to Companies Under Criminal Investigation  —  A version of this story was co-published with USA Today.  —  The Department of Defense awarded nearly $30 million in stimulus contracts to six companies while they were under federal criminal investigation on suspicion of defrauding the government.

Recession Drives Surge in Youth Runaways  —  MEDFORD, Ore. — Dressed in soaked green pajamas, Betty Snyder, 14, huddled under a cold drizzle at the city park as several older boys decided what to do with her.  —  Betty said she had run away from home a week earlier after a violent argument with her mother.

Afghan protest over ‘burnt Koran’  —  There have been protests in the Afghan capital, Kabul, over allegations that foreign troops in the country burnt a copy of the Koran.  —  Hundreds of Kabul University students led the latest protest, burning an effigy of US President Barack Obama.