Democrats Wary as Two Senators Decide to Retire  —  WASHINGTON — The sudden decision by two senior Democratic senators to retire shook the party's leaders on Wednesday and signaled that President Obama is facing a perilous political environment that could hold major implications for this year's midterm elections and his own agenda.

White House: We will NOT discuss broken C-Span promise  —  On Tuesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs declined to answer questions about the president's campaign commitment to hold health-care negotiations on C-Span.  Gibbs said he had not seen a letter from C-Span's Brian Lamb …

Conservatives Finish 2009 as No. 1 Ideological Group  —  Uptick owing largely to more independents calling themselves conservative  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The increased conservatism that Gallup first identified among Americans last June persisted throughout the year, so that the final year-end …

National security adviser: Airline bomber report to ‘shock’  —  WASHINGTON — White House national security adviser James Jones says Americans will feel “a certain shock” when they read an account being released Thursday of the missed clues that could have prevented the alleged Christmas Day bomber from ever boarding the plane.

Sarah Palin will headline first-ever Tea Party Convention  —  Sarah Palin's appearance is a coup for a movement now getting grudging respect from mainstream commentators.  But will the feisty Tea Party movement coalesce with the GOP's old guard?  —  Atlanta

Obama Urges Excise Tax on High-Cost Insurance  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama told House Democratic leaders at a meeting on Wednesday that they should include a tax on high-priced insurance policies favored by the Senate in the final version of far-reaching health care legislation, aides said.

U.S. learned intelligence on airline attack suspect while he was en route  —  U.S. border enforcement officials discovered alleged extremist links in a database while the suspect was headed to Detroit on Christmas Day, new disclosures show.  —  Reporting from Washington …

Geithner's New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure  —  Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, then led by Timothy Geithner, told American International Group Inc. to withhold details from the public about the bailed-out insurer's payments to banks during the depths …

White House budget director ditched pregnant girlfriend for ABC News gal  —  President Obama's budget guru has a secret love child — with the woman he jilted for his hot new fiance, The Post has learned.  —  White House budget director Peter Orszag's ex, shipping heiress Claire Milonas …

Todd Harris, GOP Strategist, DECIMATED By Chris Matthews (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  What have the Republicans done for America lately?  Or in the past couple decades?  —  That's what Chris Matthews pressed Republican strategist Todd Harris about during Hardball on Wednesday.

Health bill at issue in Mass. special  —  With the Massachusetts Senate special election less than two weeks away, Scott Brown is framing himself as the GOP's last hope to stop Democratic health care legislation, an approach that could provide both parties with an early glimpse at the political resonance of the issue.

Dick Morris sees two parties.  I see four.  —  I can't remember a more breathtaking 48 hours in politics since Barack Obama's election in November 2008.  Byron Dorgan is out; Chris Dodd is out; Bill Ritter is out.  Who would have thought that just one year into Obama's promising presidency …

Giuliani: Obama needs ‘major correction’ on terror response  —  (CNN) - Echoing other high profile conservatives in the wake of the attempted Christmas Day terrorism attack, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told CNN Wednesday President Obama waited far too long to react to the botched bombing …

Exclusive: Koppel may return to ABC  —  ABC News is negotiating with “Nightline” founder Ted Koppel, a 42-year veteran of the network, for a potential return to anchor “This Week” three Sundays a month, broadcast industry sources said.  —  ABC News executives said no offers have been made.

Democrat Wears Scorn as Medal in Abortion Fight  —  MENOMINEE, Mich. — Representative Bart Stupak often endures things others find unbearable.  He crisscrosses a Congressional district so vast that some constituents live eight hours apart and so cold that the beer at his beloved football games sometimes freezes.

Study predicts $1.5 trillion increase in GDP if undocumented immigrant are legalized.  —  A new study by University of California at Los Angeles professor Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda suggests that comprehensive immigration reform, which includes an earned path to legalization for undocumented immigrants …

What Does the Detroit Bomber Know?  —  The president's job is not detecting bombs at the airport but neutralizing terrorists before they get there.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  There was much to celebrate in the providential combination of an incompetent terrorist and surpassingly brave passengers …

Welcome to the Fight: We Are All Spartacus Now  —  Andrew Breitbart has already welcomed you all to Big Journalism.  Now I'd like to add my voice to his.  —  As you can see from our logo, Big Journalism will be a throwback in spirit to the freewheeling moxie of the glory days of American newspapers …