An Affordable Truth  —  Maybe I'm naïve, but I'm feeling optimistic about the climate talks starting in Copenhagen on Monday.  President Obama now plans to address the conference on its last day, which suggests that the White House expects real progress.

NPR reporter pressured over Fox role  —  Executives at National Public Radio recently asked the network's top political correspondent, Mara Liasson, to reconsider her regular appearances on Fox News because of what they perceived as the network's political bias, two sources familiar with the effort said.

Tea Party Tops GOP on Three-Way Generic Ballot  —  Running under the Tea Party brand may be better in congressional races than being a Republican.  —  In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote.

U.S. Forecasts Smaller Loss From Bailout of Banks  —  WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department expects to recover all but $42 billion of the $370 billion it has lent to ailing companies since the financial crisis began last year, with the portion lent to banks actually showing a slight profit, according to a new Treasury report.

The not-a-public-option compromise, and beyond  —  There's a lot left to be decided in health-care reform, or at least there should be.  The subsidies could use some help, and the Medicare Commission should be strengthened.  The House and Senate need to figure out their revenue measures …

In Polls, Much Opposition to Health Care Plan Is From Left  —  Don't know why I didn't catch this earlier, but it strikes me as fairly important.  —  Ipsos/McClatchy put out a health care poll two weeks ago.  The topline results were nothing special: 34 percent favored …

Girlfriends and Double Standards  —  Before Max Baucus there was Paul Wolfowitz.  Will the ethical uproar be the same?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Here's a poser: Suppose a public official is accused of recommending his girlfriend for a promotion, though he was the one who first flagged …

No Firm Plans for a U.S. Exit in Afghanistan  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration sent a forceful public message Sunday that American military forces could remain in Afghanistan for a long time, seeking to blunt criticism that President Obama had sent the wrong signal in his war-strategy speech …

Palin's Father: She Left Hawaii Because Asians Made Her Uncomfortable  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Did Sarah Palin leave Hawaii because there were too many Asians?  In the New Yorker review of “Going Rogue,” Sam Tanenhaus writes that Palin's father suggested as much to the reporters who wrote “Sarah From Alaska.”

Race and politics in Alabama  —  Artur Davis's quest to become the first black Governor of Alabama has brought out — because of the state, because of the way state politics work — a different racial dynamic than even the presidential contest.  And the latest episode is a column by Joe Reed …

U.S. sees homegrown Muslim extremism as rising threat  —  This may have been the most dangerous year since 9/11, anti-terrorism experts say.  —  Reporting from Washington - The Obama administration, grappling with a spate of recent Islamic terrorism cases on U.S. soil …

Obama meeting with Gore  —  President Obama will meet with Al Gore in the Oval Office this afternoon, the White House announced.  —  The two will likely discuss climate change and the president's upcoming trip to the international climate change conference in Copenhagen.

Supreme Court to take up corruption law  —  ‘Honest services’ called too vague; prosecutors call provision vital  —  The Supreme Court this week will consider whether to apply the brakes to what critics have called a vague and limitless law that has proved essential to federal prosecutors …

SUBURBAN AND STATE  —  Dardenne ponders Vitter vulnerability  —  Secretary of State Jay Dardenne said he is considering conducting a poll to measure Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter's vulnerability among Louisiana GOP voters.  —  “I've had a lot of people suggest that I do that.

Pearl Harbor mini-submarine mystery solved?  —  Researchers think they have found the remains of a Japanese mini-submarine that probably fired on U.S. battleships on Dec. 7, 1941.  —  Japanese warplanes hit, from left, the USS West Virginia, USS Tennessee and USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.