The Juiciest Revelations In “Game Change”  —  “Game Change,” the long-awaited and very gossipy chronicle of the 2008 campaign by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, is chock full of revelations that are bound to stir the folks who live within ten miles of the Beltway — and perhaps even reverberate beyond Washington.

Saint Elizabeth and the Ego Monster  —  A candidate whose aides were prepared to block him from becoming president.  A wife whose virtuous image was a mirage.  A mistress with a video camera.  In an excerpt from the new book Game Change—their sweeping account of the 2008 campaign …

Teddy's anger  —  One of the enduring mysteries of the 2008 campaign was what got Ted Kennedy so mad at Bill Clinton.  The former president's entreaties, at some point, backfired, and the explanation has never quite emerged.  —  I've finally gotten my hands on a copy of Game Change, in which Heliemann and Halperin report:

Brown HQ Report #1  —  Also see my update to this post, Brown HQ Report #2  —  This is a quick update on my day so far at Scott Brown headquarters.  I'll give a more complete report later.  —  Things are totally crazy here.  The phones are ringing off the hooks.  The phone bank (second photo below) is full.

A Fox Chief at the Pinnacle of Media and Politics  —  In fall 2008, Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News, went to his boss, Rupert Murdoch, with two complaints: he had heard that Mr. Murdoch was considering endorsing Barack Obama for president in The New York Post, and he had read a book excerpt …

Right-Wing Radio Host Incensed That ‘Butt Sniffer’ Michael Steele Canceled Appearance On Her Show  —  There was significant media speculation yesterday when embattled Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele abruptly canceled a noon interview with ABC News.

Fool Me Over and Over and Over Again  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Our elite media has been repeatedly suckered into trumpeting glaringly unsupported assertions about the number of Guantanamo detainees that have “returned” to the battlefield.  This was quite a week for it.

Officials Hid Truth About Immigrant Deaths in Jail  —  Silence has long shrouded the men and women who die in the nation's immigration jails.  For years, they went uncounted and unnamed in the public record.  Even in 2008, when The New York Times obtained and published a federal government list …

A letter to the White House  —  Umar Abdulmutallab has been provided a lawyer and clammed up in connection with this efforts to take down Northwest Flight 253 as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day.  Yesterday Abdulmutallab was arraigned in federal court in Detroit.

Analysis: Obama's buck-stopping goes only so far  —  Buzz up!  —  WASHINGTON - He says “the buck stops with me,” but nearly a year into office, President Barack Obama is still blaming a lot of the nation's troubles — the economy, terrorism, health care — on George W. Bush.

Healthcare bill excise tax likely to survive, labor leader says  —  A union-opposed tax on high-cost health insurance will probably remain part of healthcare reform, a prominent labor leader said Friday.  —  Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) …

Obama in '02: ‘The Republican Party itself has to drive out Trent Lott’  —  In light of President Obama's decision to forgive Harry Reid's remarks about Obama's skin color and lack of a “Negro dialect,” check out what Obama said about Trent Lott in 2002: … —From the December 12, 2002 issue of the Chicago Defender.