Cornyn: ‘We Will Not Spend Money in a Contested Primary’  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports:  —  With Republicans grappling with the fallout of an intra-party battle that may have cost them a House seat, the head of the Senate Republican campaign effort is making a pledge that may ease …

Letter to Reid on healthcare from former Surgeon General Koop shuts Senate  —  A letter about healthcare reform to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) from former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop triggered a security scare that briefly shut down much of the Senate on Wednesday.

Prejean Sex Tape Triggers Settlement  —  Carrie Prejean demanded more than a million dollars during her settlement negotiations with Miss California USA Pageant officials — that is, until the lawyer for the Pageant showed Carrie an XXX home video of her handiwork.

How Gay Marriage Lost In Maine  —  Mainers, and national observers, have woken up this morning asking how the Yes on 1 coalition won this fight.  Through most of the lead up to this vote, observers (including myself) felt that it would be extremely close, potentially to a recount, and that the No on 1 folks had the early advantage.

Axelrod to ABC News on Voters' Economic Anxiety: “There is a Heavy Burden That Falls on the Governing Party.  That's Just Something You Accept.  That's Part of the Deal”  —  This afternoon we spoke with White House senior adviser David Axelrod about the election results.

Conservatives on NY-23: We didn't lose  —  Conservative grass-roots activists asserted Wednesday that third-party candidate Doug Hoffman's loss in a New York special election was no setback but, rather, signaled a victory for the burgeoning political movement.

North and South in the Republican Party  —  One of my commenters has some thoughts on NY-23: … This resonates with me, because my mom's from Western New York.  I remember once noting that until I was in college, I hadn't known any Republicans, to which my mother blinked, and replied “You knew your grandparents.”

Bachmann aide no longer taking care of business  —  The aide who helped turn Rep. Michele Bachmann into a controversial mainstay of cable news has informed colleagues that she's quitting - just as the firebrand Republican congresswoman prepares for her biggest media moment yet.

AP Sources: AARP to endorse House health care bill  —  WASHINGTON — Officials are telling The Associated Press that AARP_the seniors' lobby_will endorse the health care overhaul bill that House Democrats are preparing to take to the floor.  —  Officials with knowledge of the group's decision told …

Panel goes AWOL in GOP earmark war  —  On Nov. 19, 2008, House GOP leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor created a select committee on earmark reform to bring “meaningful change to the process by which Washington spends taxpayers' hard-earned money.”  —  Nearly a year later …

Kerik Expected to Accept Prison Term in Corruption Case  —  Bernard B. Kerik, New York City's former police commissioner, is expected to plead guilty on Thursday to a single conspiracy charge in an agreement that would resolve the three pending federal criminal trials he faces in New York and Washington …

As Inhofe's Climate Bill Boycott Continues, Kerry, Graham, Lieberman Try End-Around  —  Colorless, odorless, invisible, deadly.  GOP senators boycott Tuesday's climate bill markup.  (photo via talkradionews)  —  James Inhofe (R-OK) appeared briefly today at a climate bill markup …

Obama Watched HBO Special About Himself Instead of Election Results  —  UPDATE: Fox News misreported Gibbs' press gaggle comments.  He did not claim President watched HBO special on election night.  —  During the 10AM ET hour of America's Newsroom on Fox News Channel …

Obama Uses Malia's Test Scores as a Teaching Example  —  MADISON, Wisconsin - President Obama marked the first anniversary of his election on Wednesday by calling on states to toughen their education standards - and wound up calling on parents to toughen theirs, too, as he confessed …

Bachmann Watch  —  We've spent the day trying to get a handle on just what Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has in mind with her boffo Capitol Hill Tea Party event tomorrow, whether she's going to get the crowd riled up and just send them in or actually lead the protestors into the offices.

STIMULUS WATCH: Salary raise counted as saved job  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's economic recovery program saved 935 jobs at the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, an impressive success story for the stimulus plan.  Trouble is, only 508 people work there.

That's NOT YOUR CAKE, Barack Obama!  —  That's BLUE GAL'S Anniversary Cake!  Her blog is five years old today!  —  I don't know how FOX News can claim they aren't a propaganda arm of the Republican Party after they sent you a half-eaten (Cavuto, natch) “aborted white babies” theme cake.

ELEMENTARY EPIDEMIC: 11 Uncovered Videos Show School Children Performing Praises to Obama  —  Big Hollywood has already posted a couple disturbing videos of young school children singing/speaking praises to President Obama, but when eleven more dropped in our email box it came as quite a shock.

Can Prosecutors Be Sued By People They Framed? … text sizeAAA  —  Do prosecutors have total immunity from lawsuits for anything they do, including framing someone for murder?  That is the question the justices of the Supreme Court face Wednesday.  —  On one side of the case being argued …

Axelrod: NY-23 Is A Reminder For Blue Dogs  —  Senior White House adviser David Axelrod just made an appearance on MSNBC, and, as host Andrea Mitchell asked him about the elections last night (which, by the way, are being cast by some as an “awful day” for President Obama) and their implications …

Who Are You Calling a Narcissist, Rush?  —  I had a four-hour dinner once with Rush Limbaugh at the “21” Club in Manhattan, back in the days when I was still writing profiles as a “reporterette,” to use a Limbaugh coinage.  —  He was charming, in a shy, awkward, lonely-guy way.  Not a man of the people.

Senate passes bill extending homebuyer tax credit, unemployment benefits  —  The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that extends several measures designed to spur the economy and help people who have lost their jobs, including a provision that will extend unemployment benefits for up to 20 weeks in states with high unemployment rates.

Why I'm running for Senate  —  Our most pressing problems today are too few jobs for Americans and too much spending in Washington.  —  CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE FROM CALIFORNIA  —  Recommend  —  Admittedly, I have not always been engaged in the electoral process, and I should have been.