Rogers's unwanted new guest: Scrutiny  —  Social secretary's managerial style faces criticism in wake of her first state dinner  —  On the night of the Obamas' first state dinner, White House social secretary Desirée Rogers glided past the rope line of press and photographers at 6:53 p.m. …

Boxer: Hackers should face criminal probe over ‘Climategate’  —  Leaked e-mails allegedly undermining climate change science should be treated as a criminal matter, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Wednesday afternoon.  —  Boxer, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee …

New York State Senate Votes Down Gay Marriage Bill  —  ALBANY — The State Senate defeated a bill on Wednesday that would legalize same-sex marriage, after an emotional debate that touched on civil rights, family and history.  The vote means that the bill, pushed by Gov. David A. Paterson …

GOP Senator Pens Obstruction Manual For Health Care  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Sen. Judd Gregg, (R-NH) has penned the equivalent of an obstruction manual — a how-to for holding up health care reform — and has distributed the document to his Republican colleagues.

Tiger comments on current events  —  I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.  I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves.  I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect.  I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family.

The Day After: A Hollow Withdrawal Pledge Comes Into Focus  —  Barack Obama's aides can pat themselves on the back today; they have succeeded in spinning the president's new troop surge as a simultaneous plan for leaving Afghanistan.  And I can see honest logic there: By delivering a hard punch …

Franken fallout has GOP fuming  —  Republican senators feel burned by Al Franken — and not by his old jokes.  —  The Republicans are steamed at Franken because partisans on the left are using a measure he sponsored to paint them as rapist sympathizers — and because Franken isn't doing much to stop them.

If you give away the public option, what do you get?  —  Most of the energy in the Senate right now is being directed into a mad rush for compromise proposals on the public option.  This reflects the sense that the right compromise on the public option is a compromised public option.

Senator Moves to Hold Up Bernanke Confirmation  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont said on Wednesday that he would try to block the Senate from confirming Ben S. Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.  —  The move is unlikely to derail Mr. Bernanke's reappointment …

Anderson Cooper's Ratings Plummet  —  Anderson Cooper is fading in the ratings.  —  The respected CNN anchor has seen his numbers slip significantly through the past year.  His 10 p.m. show, “Anderson Cooper 360,” has declined 62% in total viewers and 70% in adults 25-54 from November 2008, according to Nielsen figures.

Decline of the West  —  Ten years ago, in the final pages of a collection of his selected writings, Cornel West gave readers a look at the work he had in progress, or at least in mind, for the years ahead.  One would be “a major treatment of African-American literature and modern Greek literature.”

‘Family Ties’ mom: ‘I am a lesbian’  —  Meredith Baxter says she has been dating women for the past seven years  —  For seven years, actress Meredith Baxter has been hiding a secret.  —  Now Baxter, who played the devoted hippie mom constantly butting heads with her conservative kids on “Family Ties,” is making a public admission.

Tycoon, Contractor, Soldier, Spy  —  Erik Prince, recently outed as a participant in a C.I.A. assassination program, has gained notoriety as head of the military-contracting juggernaut Blackwater, a company dogged by a grand-jury investigation, bribery accusations, and the voluntary-manslaughter trial …

Rrrowl!  Beware Cougar's Young Niece, the Cheetah  —  The cheetah is most often a just-one-of-the-guys girl.  That's her cover.  In nature, a cheetah will lurk in the high grass and use her spots as camouflage.  —  I called up an accomplished and self-described cougar named Angela …

Unbelievable update: The crappiest NYTimes column on Obamacare just got crappier  —  Today, I did something that Pulitzer Prize-winning NYTimes columnist Nick Kristof apparently didn't do: I talked to a spokesman at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon.

HuckPAC Resignation  —  As I mentioned this morning, I resigned my position as Arkansas coordinator for HuckPAC today where I served in a volunteer capacity.  My departure was with a heavy heart but was done after serious prayer and consideration.  Some have asked about the timing.

AmTrust Financial Files for Bankruptcy in Cleveland  —  Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — AmTrust Financial Corp., owner of the Cleveland-based AmTrust Bank that expanded rapidly into Florida and Arizona, filed for bankruptcy, blaming investments in home loans that lost value in the recession.