Axelrod: Left ‘insane’ to sink bill  —  Trying to stave off a sudden fusillade from the left, White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Thursday that Howard Dean's criticisms of health-care reform are “predicated on a bunch of erroneous conclusions” and that for progressives to torpedo the legislation …

Nelson a ‘no’ on health reform bill pending further changes  —  Centrist Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) won't advance healthcare reform efforts unless further changes are made, the senator said Thursday afternoon.  —  Nelson said that modifications to the bill, including provisions …

Sarah Palin's McCain Cover Up  —  For the first time ever, Sarah Palin used her head to make a searing political comment — a frontal attack on Sen. John McCain.  —  The failed Vice Presidential nominee took time off from shilling her book to vacation with her son Trig …

Health care and Iraq  —  Steve Benen is right: for the most part the debate among progressives about whether the final product on health reform is worth supporting has been edifying.  Serious people are making serious arguments, in a way that puts conservatives, who have offered nothing but smears and lies, very much to shame.

Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones  —  $26 Software Is Used to Breach Key Weapons in Iraq; Iranian Backing Suspected  —  WASHINGTON — Militants in Iraq have used $26 off-the-shelf software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. Predator drones, potentially providing them with information they need …

Missing Ted Kennedy  —  For those of us who like Barack Obama on some level think single-payer health care would be best but impractical, then hoped for a system with a public option, but who are still enthusiastic about health reform that doesn't include it, I think we've really reached …

Chat transcript: Reconciliation, cost controls and Lieberman, oh my!  —  Reconciliation: Howard Dean and others on the left are saying that a better health-care bill can still pass through reconciliation.  What is your take on this?  —  Ezra Klein: I think there's no chance of it.

Monica's back - says Clinton lied  —  In the years since their bitter battle, both former President Bill Clinton and independent counsel Ken Starr have predicted they'd be vindicated in the history books.  —  Now the first definitive history of the Clinton scandal is about to arrive …

Sorry, Senator Kerry  —  Let us contemplate the badness of Joe Lieberman.  —  Who would have thought that this holiday season we'd be obsessed with the senator from Connecticut?  Really, I was hoping it would be more about shopping for mittens on the Internet.

Life As Part Of Sully's Brain, Ctd  —  News Busters has a field day with my last post.  Lachlan Markay pretends that my doing research for Andrew is the same as Lynn Vincent writing Sarah Palin's book.  I wish I'd the talent to ghostblog for Andrew.  As I've written numerous times …

From the horse's mouth  —  I FEAR that I am exhausting readers' patience with my continued writing about the Federal Reserve's decision to ignore, more or less, the fact that the unemployment rate in America is at 10% and is unlikely to return to normal levels for at least a half decade.

Election 2010: Missouri Senate  —  Missouri Senate: Carnahan 46% Blunt 44%  —  Democrat Robin Carnahan and Republican Roy Blunt remain locked in a tight race to become the next U.S. senator from Missouri.  —  The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds that Carnahan attracts 46% …

Freeze!  Green police!  —  The folks at Greenpeace think it's a crime what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has done to the country's climate change policy.  —  So on Thursday, they deemed themselves the climate police and sent four squad cars to declare the chamber's H Street headquarters a “global warming crime scene.”

Walpin-gate may snag Mrs. Obama  —  Skullduggery alleged in White House dismissal of inspector general  —  No inspector general can unearth corruption without access to his office, computer or staff.  An “administrative leave” putting an IG in that position has the same effect, for all intents and purposes, as an immediate firing.

Lord Monckton reports on Pachauri's eye opening Copenhagen presentation  —  From The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley in Copenhagen  —  In the Grand Ceremonial Hall of the University of Copenhagen, a splendid Nordic classical space overlooking the Church of our Lady in the heart of the old city …

What if Mother Mary Had Obamacare?  —  Washington is up to its old political shell game again, this time in an unprecedented way.  —  While Americans are focused upon the Christmas season and the mainstream media on health care and President Barack Obama's two trips to Europe …

Plouffe Counters Obama's Healthcare Critics  —  David Plouffe, the former campaign manager of Obama for America, has one of the lowest drama-to-power ratios in American politics.  As the Senate wrangling over health care hits solipsistic theatrics, even by Lieberman standards, the President's confidante remains decidedly calm.

Blizzard Dumps Snow on Copenhagen as Leaders Battle Warming  —  Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — World leaders flying into Copenhagen today to discuss a solution to global warming will first face freezing weather as a blizzard dumped 10 centimeters (4 inches) of snow on the Danish capital overnight.