Obama on terror trials: KSM will die  —  Americans who are troubled by the decision to send alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to New York for trial will feel better about it when he's put to death, President Barack Obama said Tuesday.  —  During a round of network television …

Palin: Obama Wrong on Israeli, Afghan Policy  —  Former Alaska Gov. Tells Barbara Walters President Obama ‘Dithering Around’ on U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan, Has It ‘Backassward’ on Economy  —  In an interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters, Sarah Palin, the former GOP vice presidential candidate …

Newsweek should worry more about how to solve its problem with sexism  —  There are a lot of legitimate reasons to criticize Sarah Palin, her new book, and her policies, but you don't have to stoop to sexism to do it.  Newsweek's November 23 issue, however, does just that by publishing …

As Many As 75 Detainees Could Remain In Limbo  —  The Washington Post appears to have broken a significant news story without really knowing it.  Here's Perry Bacon, writing about Congressional efforts to move Guantanamo prisoners: … 75 more... " too dangerous to release but cannot …

3 Democrats Could Block Health Bill in Senate  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, says he is not sure he is ready to help a Democratic health care proposal clear even the most preliminary hurdle: gaining the 60 votes his party's leaders need to open debate on the measure later this week.

$500 Million and Apology From Goldman  —  How much good will can an apology — and half a billion dollars — buy?  A lot, Goldman Sachs is hoping.  —  After first staunchly defending its outsize profits and pay, and then bristling at calls for restraint in these tough economic times …

John McCain: The Reason For All Of This  —  Richard Coen convenes a meeting: … The WSJ and TWS have long ago lost any intellectual credibility.  They use sophism to maintain power.  Their cynicism and/or denial mechanisms are deeper than most mortals can imagine.

Obama's China trip stands in stark contrast to those of past presidents  —  The U.S. tone toward Beijing is now much more conciliatory  —  BEIJING — President Obama has emerged from his first trip to China with no big breakthroughs on important issues, such as Iran's nuclear program or China's currency.

Audit The Fed Effort Under Threat In House  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A bipartisan effort to force transparency on the Federal Reserve is suddenly in jeopardy after a House Financial Services Committee member introduced an amendment that would let the multi-trillion dollar organization …

Conservative cowards  —  American liberals are tough on terrorists and secure in their knowledge that the Sept. 11 conspirators are guilty of mass murder.  American conservatives are timid cowards who fear that the U.S. government can't actually prove that the Sept. 11 killers committed their heinous crimes.

Obama Approval Dips Below 50% For First Time, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For U.S. Troops In Afghanistan Drops Below 50%  —  President Barack Obama's job approval rating is 48 - 42 percent, the first time he has slipped below the 50 percent threshold nationally …

Health ‘Reform’ Gets a Failing Grade  —  The changes proposed by Congress will require more draconian measures down the road.  Just look at Massachusetts.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  As the dean of Harvard Medical School I am frequently asked to comment on the health-reform debate.

Reid calls Dem caucus meeting  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will present the health care reform bill to Democratic senators at a special caucus meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday, his spokesman said Tuesday night.  —  Notice of the meeting went out to Democratic Senate …

What They Really Believe  —  If you follow the debate around the energy/climate bills working through Congress you will notice that the drill-baby-drill opponents of this legislation are now making two claims.  One is that the globe has been cooling lately, not warming …

Go Jodi Go!  Times' Kantor Scores Seven Figures From Little, Brown For Obama Book  —  New York Times Washington correspondent Jodi Kantor has secured a stunning seven-figure book deal this week with Little, Brown to write a volume on the Obamas.  —  The deal was the result of a heated citywide auction …

Washington Sketch: Republican senators do an about-face on judicial filibusters  —  In their quest to thwart President Obama, Republicans do not fear the hobgoblin of consistency.  —  For much of this decade, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, now the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee …

National Debt Now Tops $12 Trillion  —  Posted by Mark Knoller It's another record-high for the U.S. National Debt which today topped the $12-trillion mark.  Divided evenly among the U.S. population, it amounts to $38,974.34 for every man, woman and child.  —  Technically, the debt hit …

CNN Poll: Does the GOP want ideologically pure candidates?  —  Washington (CNN) - A new national poll suggests that the Democrats may be the party of pragmatism and Republicans may be the party of ideological purity.  —  The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey's release on Tuesday comes …

Spending Trends in Afghanistan  —  Something that I think gets underplayed in coverage of the Afghanistan debate is the extent to which our commitment to Afghanistan has already escalated substantially in the recent past.  In his recent report for the Carnegie Endowment …

Palin on Nidal Hasan: “Profile Away”  —  I spoke to Governor Palin by phone this afternoon.  Lots of interesting material, but to me the most interesting takeaways were the following:  —  1) I asked about Palin's upcoming visit to Ft. Hood.  “We had planned on that before the tragedy struck,” she said.