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.

Copenhagen's political science  —  With the publication of damaging e-mails from a climate research center in Britain, the radical environmental movement appears to face a tipping point.  The revelation of appalling actions by so-called climate change experts allows the American public …

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 …

Obama to GOP: ‘Stop trying to frighten the American people’  —  President Barack Obama told House Republican leaders to “stop trying to frighten the American people” even as he and Democrats said they see a possibility for bipartisan cooperation on job creation legislation.

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 …

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 …

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.

Did Obama Snub the King?  — Home - Cheat sheet - Buzz board - Big Fat Story - Blogs & stories - Videos - Galleries - Crossword  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Finally some Europeans are angry with Obama—the very ones who are awarding him his peace prize.  Katarina Andersson on the president's rebuff …

Wigley denies: “I did not choke on the deceit”  —  Sheesh, I try to do Climategate scientist Tom Wigley a favor by suggesting he was principled enough to have choked on the deceit he was witnessing, and this is how he repays me: … In fact, he refuses to accept the accolade of being the kind …

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.

Industry gears up to oppose Medicare buy-in  —  Politico reports that hospitals are readying to fight Medicare buy-in tooth-and-nail: … This scares hospitals a lot more than the House's public option.  Medicare pays less for services than private insurers do, or than the public plan would.

QUITE RIGHT BY MICHAEL J. BONAFIELD  —  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 …

Steele gets heated over ‘you people’  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele got into a heated exchange Wednesday morning with the cast of MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”  —  It started with CNBC commentator Donny Deutsch, who pointedly asked Steele about the GOP's criticism …

Jon Stewart Calls Out Gretchen Carlson For “Dumbing Herself Down” (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Jon Stewart went after “Fox & Friends” host Gretchen Carlson last night.  Saying she plays the “troubled mom, just trying to make sense of this modern country,” Stewart explained Carlson seems …

Exclusive: George gets ‘GMA’  —  ABC News will announce George Stephanopoulos as an anchor of “Good Morning America,” to start as soon as Monday, industry sources tell POLITICO.  The announcement is planned for Thursday.  —  Stephanopoulos, 48, joins Robin Roberts at the anchor desk of the lucrative morning show.

Target Lincoln: Potential Challenger Takes Steps Towards Primary Against Arkansas Senator  —  Is Blanche Lincoln going to face a primary from her left over health care?  —  In a step in that direction, Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, who's widely rumored to be mulling a challenge to Lincoln …

‘Eight Days of Hanukkah’  —  MORE: Watch the “Eight Days of Hanukkah” video.  —  Ten years ago, I visited Orrin Hatch, the senior senator from Utah and a prominent member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on Capitol Hill.  I was writing for The New York Times Magazine and Hatch was thinking of running for president.

Exclusive: AG Eric Holder in NYC for Terror Trial Summit  —  Grand Jury Has Already Begun Hearing Testimony on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed  —  U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder arrived in New York City today to meet with federal prosecutors, the New York City police commissioner and other key officials …

Alberto Gonzales: What I've Learned  —  The former attorney general opens up on the value of torture, his Senate hearings, Karl Rove's role in the U.S. attorney firings, and more wrong guesses from the Bush administration  —  I guess I would use my son's word: cool.  It was cool to work in the White House.

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 …