RNC loses communications director, Castellanos signs on  —  Update 6:03 p.m.: Alex Castellanos, a Republican media consultant, will take over as a senior communications adviser to RNC Chairman Michael Steele, according to a source familiar with the move.  The announcement of Castellanos' role comes hours …

Obama's Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage  —  When he entered office, US President Barack Obama promised to inject US foreign policy with a new tone of respect and diplomacy.  His recent trip to Asia, however, showed that it's not working.  A shift to Bush-style bluntness may be coming.

Hostage situation in the United States Senate … That's Steve Benen, describing the dynamic in the Senate.  As I've said before, I think a lot of folks imagine this as a negotiation, in which both sides want to get to yes, and so everyone is involved in a complex game to signal their comfort …

Sarah Palin vs. Barack Obama: The approval gap silently shrinks to a few points  —  Not that it matters politically because obviously she's a female Republican dunce and he's obviously a male Democrat genius.  —  But Sarah Palin's poll numbers are strengthening.  —  And President Obama's are sliding.

Fox News Management Fed Up by Mistakes  —  After a few footage mishaps at Fox News like their recent slip-up: “Fox News Uses Old Palin Footage,” the higher ups at the network have had enough.  —  In an email obtained by FishbowlDC, FNC management alerted the Newsroom that they were going to a …

Why I Remain Bullish On Obama  —  He's taking the usual slew of tactical hits as his opponents try every single line of attack and pound every day, squeezing every ounce of agitprop from the news cycle.  His numbers are gliding downward (although not by much), his foreign policy gains …

BREAKING: San Diego ACORN Document Dump Scandal  —  On October 1st, 2009 California Attorney General Jerry Brown announced that an investigation had been opened into ACORN's activities in California, resulting from undercover videos showing employees seemingly offering to assist …

Obey Calls for War Tax  —  Back in October, David Obey floated the radical idea that war spending in Afghanistan should be put in a “normal” budgetary context and put in the same fiscal constraints as health reform.  Today he's taken that idea one step further and said an escalation …

Ex-CNN anchor Lou Dobbs is considering running for president in 2012  —  Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs has never been elected to any government office, but he said Monday he's considering a run for the White House in 2012.  —  During an interview on WTOP radio in Washington …

Dennis Moore won't seek re-election  —  U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, a Democrat who confounded the GOP by winning six consecutive elections in a heavily Republican district, will not seek re-election next year, key Democrats said Sunday.  —  Moore, who represented Johnson, Wyandotte and a portion …

New documents: White House scrambled to justify AmeriCorps firing after the fact  —  Just hours after Sen. Charles Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa released a report Friday on their investigation into the abrupt firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin, the Obama White House gave …

Support for legalizing marijuana gaining ground rapidly  —  Approval for medical use expands alongside criticism of prohibition  —  The same day they rejected a gay marriage ballot measure, residents of Maine voted overwhelmingly to allow the sale of medical marijuana over the counter at state-licensed dispensaries.

11/23: Gillibrand Approval Rating Stagnates  —  Ten months after Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor David Paterson, the junior senator from New York has failed to become a household name among registered voters in New York State.

Could Crist run for re-election, rather than Senate?  —  It's a scenario that we hear raised surprisingly often now that Gov. Crist is in a tougher-than-expected Senate race against Marco Rubio.  So today we asked Crist about the chances of that happening: “Zero.

The indelible whiteness of MSNBC  —  MSNBC host Chris Matthews, MSNBC reporter Norah O'Donnell, and MSNBC guest Joan Walsh shamelessly played the race card against Sarah Palin and her book-buying audience last week.  —  In Michigan, O'Donnell smugly noted that Palin's fans were “largely white — almost no minorities in this crowd.”

Low Tea Party moment symbolic of muddy week  —  As a journalist covering Chicago politics, verifying information is like climbing a mountain of sand.  With each step you take, the deeper you sink.  —  Last week while researching claims from a local Tea Party activist …

Viscount Monckton on Climategate: ‘They Are Criminals’ (PJM Exclusive)  —  The man who challenged Al Gore to a debate is furious about the content of the leaked CRU emails — and says why you should be, too.  —  This is what they did — these climate “scientists” on whose unsupported word …

BCS hires Fleischer  —  The college football Bowl Championship Series has hired Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush, to help improve its image.  —  The BCS, which combines polls and computer data to select a national championship game …

An Unsurprising Slide for Obama  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama returned from his trip to Asia facing some unsettling news: two new public-opinion polls showing that his approval rating has dipped below 50 percent for the first time.  To many of his critics, who chafed …

US ‘will announce climate target’  —  US draft legislation is being re-visited to take account of coal interests  —  The US will announce a target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions before next month's UN climate summit, according to a White House official.

Articles and Analysis  —  A quick look at Obama trends with independents.  There have been several articles in the last week about independents deserting the Dems.  A good bit of that was spurred by the huge Rep margins among independents in VA (66-33) and NJ (60-30-9) governors races.

Existing-Home Sales Record Another Big Gain, Inventories Continue to Shrink  —  Driven by the first-time buyer tax credit, existing-home sales showed another big gain in October with a strong uptrend established over the past seven months, while inventories continue to decline, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Panel charges Sanford with 37 ethics violations  —  The S.C. Ethics Commission has charged S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford with 37 counts of breaking state ethics laws.  The commission filed its charges last week but only released them Monday.  —  Those charges allege that, in 18 instances …