Reid Says Deal Resolves the Impasse on the Public Option  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, said Tuesday night that he and a group of 10 Democratic senators had reached “a broad agreement” to resolve a dispute over a proposed government-run health insurance plan …

Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval  —  Each result is based on a three-day rolling average  —  Gallup tracks daily the percentage of Americans who approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president.  —  Editorial note: Gallup did not conduct interviews Dec. 8 …

Sotomayor Draws Retort From a Fellow Justice  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court released its first four decisions in argued cases this term on Tuesday.  They were all minor, but one was notable for being Justice Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court debut and for prompting a testy concurrence from Justice Clarence Thomas.

HOUSE GOP IS PRO-CHRISTMAS.... It was just six weeks ago that House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) decided he was fed up with empty, meaningless congressional resolutions.  These largely symbolic measures are taken up all the time — it's been routine fare for years …

Obama FAIL  —  We just sent this email out: … Click here to sign the petition.

Bush closes the gap  —  Public Policy Polling:  —  Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama's declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they'd rather have his predecessor.  Given the horrendous approval ratings …

Al Gore talks about global warming, those e-mails, and his new book.  —  If Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth raised awareness about global warming by frightening people, he hopes his latest book, Our Choice, will help people find solutions to the problem.

CNN Poll: Does Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Hours before Barack Obama is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a new national poll indicates that fewer Americans than ever think the president deserves the award.  But according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey …

Baird Retires  —  Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) announced his retirement tonight, becoming the third Dem in a vulnerable seat to announce his departure in the last few weeks.  “The time has now come to pursue other options, other ways of serving.  Hence, I am announcing today that I do not intend …

My conversation with Michele Bachmann: 'I'm a lovable little fuzz ball!'  —  Michele Bachmann: “I don't fear the left, and maybe that's part of the loathing that they feel toward me.”  —  I had never met Michele Bachmann, and when I mentioned to liberal friends that I was going to interview her …

Wash. Post publishes falsehood-laden Palin op-ed that is contradicted by scientists, temperature data, and ... the Post itself  —  The Washington Post's has published an op-ed by Sarah Palin in which she claims that the apparently stolen Climate Research Unite emails “reveal that leading climate ‘experts’ …

The True Story of Orrin Hatch's Hanukkah Song  —  Here's the complete story about how Orrin Hatch and I collaborated on this Hanukkah song:  —  Ten years ago, I visited Hatch, the senior senator from Utah and a prominent member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on Capitol Hill.

Panel votes 6-1 against Sanford impeachment  —  An impeachment resolution against Gov. Mark Sanford has been essentially killed, as a majority of the 7-member committee formed to weigh evidence against the governor voted against it today.  —  The vote, which came shortly after 3:30 p.m., was 6-1 against the resolution.

Election 2010: Ohio Governor  —  In 2010 Ohio Governor Match-up, Strickland Trails Kasich  —  Unemployment in Ohio has jumped to 10.5%, the state is wrestling with an $851 million budget shortfall, and Governor Ted Strickland has proposed delaying a tax cut approved in 2005.

Did Christianity Cause the Crash?  —  LIKE THE AMBITIONS of many immigrants who attend services there, Casa del Padre's success can be measured by upgrades in real estate.  The mostly Latino church, in Charlottesville, Virginia, has moved from the pastor's basement, where it was founded in 2001 …

Mark Penn's two firms got $6 million from stimulus for PR campaign  —  Nearly $6 million in stimulus money was paid to two firms run by Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's pollster in 2008.  —  Federal records show that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller …

‘Wake up, gentlemen’, world's top bankers warned by former Fed chairman Volcker  —  One of the most senior figures in the financial world surprised a conference of high-level bankers yesterday when he criticised them for failing to grasp the magnitude of the financial crisis and belittled their suggested reforms.

Idiocy  —  I get spam: … Really?  All we have to do is send the DNC $5 and we get ponies?  The same DNC that is enabling corporatist Democrats to water down and destroy any hope for health care reform?  That DNC?  —  This is so freakin' obnoxious I can hardly stand it.

NYT Gift Guide Includes A Separate Section For “People Of Color.”  White NYT Readers, You May Skip To The Next Page!  —  We don't like to throw around words like “racist” in the same sentence as the NYT's name, but there's no other word we can think of to describe this page …

Fox's North off air during treatment  —  Oliver L. North, host of FOX News Channel's documentary series “War Stories,” is temporarily off the air while he undergoes treatment for prostate cancer, POLITICO has learned.  —  North's prognosis is excellent, according to sources.

Evan Bayh's political crossroads  —  Photo by Nikki Kahn of the Washington Post  —  Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh's vote this week in favor of an amendment to the health care bill that would have strengthened restrictions on how federal funds could be spent for abortions is the latest sign …