Reid winning inside game but floundering in NV — Allies plan to spotlight critics' NAACP ratings - Steele flip-flopped from Lott view - GOP plans to turn up heat — Reid feels burned by the authors  —  BIRTHDAYS: Mark Halperin ... Vaughn Ververs (hat tip: Webteam)

Palin derided by top McCain aide, book  —  Sarah Palin was an unprepared, uninformed vice presidential candidate who repeatedly made false statements in public, according to a top McCain campaign aide.  —  In a “60 Minutes” segment based on John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's new book …

The 60th Senate Vote  —  The special election in Massachusetts and the Democratic agenda.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  When Ted Kennedy died last August, Democrats said they'd honor him by finally passing the national health care he had long campaigned for.

Same-sex marriage set for big day in federal court  —  LOS ANGELES — After a run of setbacks at the state level, gay rights advocates will take the campaign for same-sex marriage into a federal courtroom on Monday, starting down a treacherous avenue that ends at a U.S. Supreme Court dominated by conservatives.

The Notorious Blago  —  The former Illinois governor has a new dog (Skittles), a new source of income (Elvis impersonations) and — despite an old worry (prison) — a confounding optimism.  You have to read this.  —  From the February 2010 “People Who Matter” issue — on sale this week

The mini ice age starts here  —  The bitter winter afflicting much of the Northern Hemisphere is only the start of a global trend towards cooler weather that is likely to last for 20 or 30 years, say some of the world's most eminent climate scientists.  —  Their predictions …

We miss you, Bubba  —  President Clinton doesn't seem so bad  —  Suddenly, I find myself nostalgic for Bill Clinton.  It comes as a shock.  Back in 1996, I denounced his “breathtaking view of the ability and obligation of government to plan the economy” and his “profoundly anti-individualist ideas.”

Learning From Europe  —  As health care reform nears the finish line, there is much wailing and rending of garments among conservatives.  And I'm not just talking about the tea partiers.  Even calmer conservatives have been issuing dire warnings that Obamacare will turn America into a European-style social democracy.

No one punished under congressional ethics rules  —  WASHINGTON — Nearly three years after Congress approved sweeping ethics rules to “drain the swamp,” as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, no member of Congress has been punished for wrongdoing.  —  In that time, allegations …

Gov. Hoeven to announce for Senate  —  North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven is expected to kick-off his candidacy for U.S. Senate Monday evening at a GOP district convention in Bismarck, according to a state Republican familiar with his plans.  —  Hoeven's announcement will come just six days …

In China, fear of a real estate bubble  —  BEIJING — With property prices soaring in key cities, many investors and bankers worry that China has the next great real estate bubble waiting to be popped.  —  The Chinese government is worried, too.  On Sunday, the nation's cabinet, citing …

Let's Take Bureaucracy Out of Intelligence  —  Groupthink products like National Intelligence Estimates make us vulnerable.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Although the U.S. intelligence community (IC) has been stung by failures relating to the Christmas terrorist attack, these failures are symptomatic of far larger problems.

Food-nanny Mike declares war on salt in NYers diets  —  Mayor Bloomberg, the mayor who declared war on tobacco, sugary drinks and trans fats, has identified a new public enemy — now he wants to protect New Yorkers from salt.  —  Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley launches a campaign today …

Book: Obama, Biden clashed in '08  —Before formally deciding to enter the 2008 presidential race, Obama met secretly with former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Vice-President Al Gore, the latter of whom the authors report had privately consulted with Obama adviser David Axelrod on a potential 2004 presidential run of his own.