Senate on Verge of Health Bill  —  Measure With Stiffer Penalties on Employers and Public Plan Could Come This Week  —  WASHINGTON — Top Senate Democrats are close to finalizing their health bill and could unveil a measure as soon as early this week that would include stiffer penalties …

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 …

CFG Poll: Hoffman Leading in NY-23  —  Hoffman Surges Into Lead in NY-23  —  New CFG Poll shows Hoffman 31.3%, Owens 27.0%, Scozzafava 19.7%  —  Washington - A poll released today by the Club for Growth shows Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman surging into the lead in the special election …

The Great American Ideological Crackup  —  From the magazine issue dated Nov 2, 2009  —  Shortly after the 2004 presidential election, I was chatting with a senior figure in the Democratic Party when, inevitably, the talk turned to why John Kerry had lost.

Samuelson on the fake debate on the public health plan  —  In the health-care debate, the “public plan” is all things to all people.  For supporters, it would discipline greedy private insurers and make health-care coverage affordable.  For detractors, it's a way station on the path …

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.

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 …

‘60 Minutes’: Medicare Fraud Raises 'Troubling Questions About Our Government's Ability to Manage a Medical Bureaucracy'  —  “60 Minutes” did a fabulous exposé Sunday on Medicare fraud that should be required viewing for all people who support a government run healthcare program in this country.

PRESIDENT OBAMA TIES GEORGE W. BUSH ON GOLF  —  President Barack Obama has only been in office for just over nine months, but he's already hit the links as much as President Bush did in over two years.  —  CBS' Mark Knoller — an unofficial documentarian and statistician of all things White House-related …

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.

The Cover-Up Continues  —  The Obama administration has clung for so long to the Bush administration's expansive claims of national security and executive power that it is in danger of turning President George W. Bush's cover-up of abuses committed in the name of fighting terrorism into President Barack Obama's cover-up.

Gingrich will consider presidential bid  —  Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) will consider whether to run for president following midterm elections in 2010, he said this weekend.  —  Gingrich, who has long been one of the Republican Party's leading developers of new policy …

Healthcare system wastes up to $800 billion a year  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud …

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 …

Hot Button  —  War on coal  —  While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama said his cap-and-trade tax plans would “bankrupt” anyone building a coal-fired power plant.  Although those taxes haven't materialized, the Environmental Protection Agency has put …