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 …

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 …

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.

Baird Retires; GOP Lands Solid Recruit  —  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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

‘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.

The Deficit Commission Bill Is Here, And It's Insane  —  In their press release, they state:  —  Importantly, the task force would ensure a bipartisan outcome.  Broad bipartisan agreement would be required to move anything forward.  Fourteen of the 18 Task Force members would have to agree to report the recommendations.

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.

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’ …

Lawmaker drops push to give Tiger Woods Congressional Gold Medal  —  A California lawmaker is abandoning his effort to honor golf star Tiger Woods with the Congressional Gold Medal.  —  In a statement given to The Hill's ITK, Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) said, “In light of the recent developments …

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 awarded millions from stimulus for PR campaign  —  A contract worth nearly $6 million in stimulus funds was awarded by the Obama adminstration to two firms run by Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's pollster in 2008.  —  Federal records show that a contract worth $5.97 million …

Landrieu, Lincoln: No ‘compromise’ made on health bill  —  Two centrist Democrats at the center of the Senate's tense healthcare reform negotiations insisted that there has been no compromise deal on the legislation despite Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) pronouncements.  —  “There's no specific compromise.