Mean Street: The Sham of a Mockery of an Obama Jobs Summit  —  What is it about Thursday's White House “jobs summit” that rubs me the wrong way?  —  All presidents engage in these sorts of elaborate PR stunts.  Why not just dismiss it as another meaningless piece of Washington political theater?

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.

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.

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.

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

Black Caucus Seeks to Ease Radio's Woes  —  WASHINGTON — The radio business has nothing to do with the plan to overhaul the nation's system for regulating banks and other financial institutions.  —  Except, it turns out, in Congress.  —  One of most intriguing mysteries here in recent weeks …

Mall of America officials backtrack on banning non-English speaking reporters from Palin's book event.  —  On Dec. 7, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will be at the Mall of America to sign copies of her new book.  In advance of her visit, mall officials sent out a message to reporters: If you don't speak English, stay away.

Job proposals from Democrats could add $300 billion in new federal spending  —  The cost of a new jobs bill Democrats hope to move early next year runs to nearly $300 billion when major proposals under serious consideration are added up.  —  Lawmakers are calling for extending aid to the unemployed …

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 …

A Wartime President  —  Obama's commitment in Afghanistan means losing old friends and winning uncomfortable new ones.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  When it comes to President Barack Obama's long-awaited decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, there are three main points to consider …

Washington Times cuts in staff, coverage cue new era  —  The Washington Times, which gained a strong foothold in a politically obsessed city as a conservative alternative to much of the mainstream media, is about to become a drastically smaller newspaper.  —  Nearly three decades …

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 …

It's Just a Texas-Governor Thing  —  “Now I think you're on to a better subject,” declared Gov. Rick Perry aboard a private plane as the topic turned to Texas.  With relish, the longest-serving governor in the state's history recounted its uninhabitable past.

Q & A: Mike Huckabee  —  Mike Huckabee wants pastors to be more graphic about Christmas.  The former Southern Baptist pastor says that the church has sanitized the holiday and should tell it like it happened.  The former governor of Arkansas recently finished his 64-city book tour for his book …

A look at the more than 60 amendments filed so far  —  After the jump are more than 60 amendments that were filed Wednesday and printed in the Congressional Record.  The list, prepared by a lobbyist and circulating downtown, also includes a brief summary of each proposal.  —  The list includes political amendments.

Climategate: Phil Jones accused of making error of judgment by colleague  —  Phil Jones, the professor at the centre of a row over climate change data has been accused of making an error of judgment by his US colleague.  —  Prof Jones, director of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit …

THE DEAL-BREAKING THRESHOLD.... Matt Yglesias calls them “Public Option Pragmatists” — progressive health care reform advocates who want a public option, and have supported and defended a public option, but who don't want it to be a deal-breaker for the larger effort.

Albany Delivers Staggering, Bitter Defeat  —  State Senate rejects marriage equality 38-24, with no support from Republicans  —  Since May, Senator Thomas K. Duane, a Chelsea Democrat and the chamber's only out gay member, has said he had the votes to pass the marriage equality bill he sponsors.

Amanda Knox Revisited  —  In just a few days, a verdict is expected in the trial of Amanda Knox, the 22-year-old Seattle exchange student on trial in Italy for the throat-slashing murder of her British roommate two years ago.  Her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, is also being tried.

All men watch porn, scientists find  —  Scientists at the University of Montreal launched a search for men who had never looked at pornography - but couldn't find any.  —  Researchers were conducting a study comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography with regular users.

Placating Publishers by Limiting Links: A Google 5-Click FAQ  —  Google's been taking it on the chin from traditional publishers (i.e., News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch) a lot lately.  So it should come as no surprise that the search giant has come up with a new way for media sites to throw …

Utahns growing tired of Bennett  —  Poll shows most want a change — but rivals trail far behind senator  —  Two of every three Utahns want to see Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, ousted in his re-election bid next year.  —  However, all of the challengers seeking to unseat him currently trail far behind …