Gore cancels personal appearance in Copenhagen  —  Former Vice President Al Gore on Thursday abruptly canceled a Dec. 16 personal appearance that was to be staged during the United Nation's Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, which begins next week.  —  As described in The Washington Times' Inside …

Bernanke Channels Willie Sutton In Assault On Social Security: 'That's Where The Money Is'  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Ben Bernanke has overseen the greatest expansion of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet in its history, pouring trillions of dollars into Wall Street firms at roughly zero interest rates.

New W.H. pool rotation sparks debate  —  The media industry, as we all know, is changing.  —  And in this transition, there will inevitably be some friction as online news organizations, which may or may not be bound by the same professed standards of objectivity, begin taking on the responsibilities …

House votes to make current estate tax permanent  —  The House approved Thursday a measure making the current estate tax rate permanent, overcoming the objections of an unusual coalition of liberal and conservative critics.  —  The bill passed, 225 to 200, with 26 Democrats joining …

Congress Will Subpoena Michaele and Taraq Salahi  —  Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) announced he is directing the staff of the House Homeland Security Committee to prepare subpoenas for Michaele and Tareq Salahi after the couple did not appear at Thursday's committee hearing on last week's White House security breach.

U.S. Seen as Less Important, China as More Powerful  —  Isolationist Sentiment Surges to Four-Decade High  —  The general public and members of the Council on Foreign Relations are apprehensive and uncertain about America's place in the world.  Growing numbers in both groups …

ABC offers morning show to Stephanopoulos, sources say  —  ABC has offered George Stephanopoulos the coveted job of co-hosting “Good Morning America,” and intensive negotiations are under way, sources familiar with the situation said Thursday.  —  While the network's chief Washington correspondent …

Election 2010: Arkansas Senate Race  —  Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln has found herself right in the middle of the national debate over health care, and that's a tough spot as she prepares to face Arkansas voters in 2010.  —  As she did in September, Lincoln trails four possible Republican challengers …

Researcher: NASA hiding climate data  —  The fight over global warming science is about to cross the Atlantic with a U.S. researcher poised to sue NASA, demanding release of the same kind of climate data that has landed a leading British center in hot water over charges it skewed its data.

Senate Passes Women's Health Amendment  —  WASHINGTON - Breaking a three-day stalemate, the Senate approved an amendment to its health care legislation that would require insurance companies to provide free mammograms and other preventive services for women.

On Being a Bad Mother  —  Unlike Sanford, though, I wasn't clinging to my governor's mansion.  Unlike some Republican heads of the Christian right, I wasn't aiming to both confess my affair and appeal to Jesus' mercy in order to somehow remain, weirdly, a head of the Christian right.

Bill Ayers dumps Obama  —  To hear the right-wing crowd, you would think Bill Ayers and President Barack Obama were joined at the hip.  —  Who could forget Sarah Palin's charge that Obama was “palin' around with terrorists”?  —  Well, goodbye to all that.

Liberals warn Obama that base may skip midterm elections  —  Prominent liberal activists are warning Democratic leaders that they face a problem with the party's base heading into an election year.  —  The latest issue to roil relations between President Barack Obama and the liberal wing …

Nelson will filibuster a bill without stronger anti-abortion language  —  Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said Thursday that the need for stronger anti-abortion language in the Senate health care bill is “non-negotiable,” and he would filibuster the legislation without it.

Why the plutocrats will return  —  Is the US government powerless to prevent the return of the plutocrats?  Or does it actually, secretly, need the plutocrats to return?  Here's Tim Geithner, today: … Translation: we need to return to our bubble-era levels of income.

N.J. gay marriage proposal will be considered by Senate next week  —  TRENTON — The New Jersey gay marriage proposal will be considered Monday by a Senate committee and could be posted for a full senate vote later in the week, state Sen. Ray Lesniak said today.

Justice Dept.'s second in command is stepping aside  —  Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden, the Justice Department's second in command, is stepping aside to return to private law practice in Washington after less than a year of service, according to two sources familiar with the move.

Hostettler to challenge Bayh  —  Former Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.) announced Thursday that he will challenge Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh in 2010.  —  In a YouTube video, Hostettler repeatedly ties Bayh to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, blaming the pair for what he calls a failed economic stimulus package.

So Much Gasbaggery, So Little Time  —  Why Obama is obsessed with summits.  —  Barack Obama convened his first official summit before he was even elected president.  In October 2008, then-candidate Obama gathered a gaggle of business and political heavyweights—Paul Volcker, Eric Schmidt …

At The Dallas News, a New “Bold Strategy”: Section Editors Reporting to Sales Managers  —  After the jump, you will find a memo Dallas Morning News editor Bob Mong and senior vice president of sales Cyndy Carr sent to everyone at A.H. Belo Corp. Wednesday afternoon outlining what they call a “business/news integration.”

Most in U.S. want public health option: poll  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans would like to see a “public option” in health insurance reform but doubt anything Congress does will lower costs or improve care in the short term, according to a poll released on Thursday.

Where Did Health Care Reform Go?  —  Pretty much everyone agrees that the health care legislation now making its way through both houses of Congress would do some things well.  It would cover almost all of the roughly 33 million legal residents of this country who now lack health insurance.

Iranian Crackdown Goes Global  —  NEW YORK — His first impulse was to dismiss the ominous email as a prank, says a young Iranian-American named Koosha.  It warned the 29-year-old engineering student that his relatives in Tehran would be harmed if he didn't stop criticizing Iran on Facebook.

Comcast Gets NBC From G.E. in Deal  —  After nearly nine months of negotiations, Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, announced an agreement on Thursday to acquire NBC Universal from the General Electric Company.  —  The deal valued NBC Universal at about $30 billion.

E-mail row ‘to impact on summit’  —  E-mails hacked from a climate research institute suggest climate change does not have a human cause, according to Saudi Arabia's lead climate negotiator.  —  Mohammad Al-Sabban told BBC News that the issue will have a “huge impact” on next week's UN climate summit …