ACORN ‘gotcha’ man arrested in attempt to tamper with Mary Landrieu's office phones … Alleging a plot to tamper with phones in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans, the FBI arrested four people Monday, including James O'Keefe …

Democrats Put Stop on Health Overhaul  —  WASHINGTON — With no clear path forward on major health care legislation, Democratic leaders in Congress effectively slammed the brakes on President Obama's top domestic priority on Tuesday, saying that they no longer felt pressure to move quickly …

'I'm Ellie Light,' California man says: Obama letter writer talks … WASHINGTON — Ellie Light, the ubiquitous letter writer whose name appeared in newspapers nationwide praising President Barack Obama, appears to really be a male health care worker from California.

Budget Freeze-eology 101: Hatchets vs. Scalpels  —  So I'm on my way to do a TV interview last night on a set of middle-class initiatives we announced yesterday, when I learn that what they really want to talk about is our proposed freeze on non-security discretionary spending.

Book Report: ‘The Politician’ By Andrew Young  —  If Washington Wire readers are interested in reading Andrew Young's forthcoming tell-all on his decade behind the scenes with John Edwards, the story heats up on page 154 when Young begins to recount how the 2008 presidential hopeful …

Fox leads for trust  —  Americans do not trust the major tv news operations in the country- except for Fox News.  —  Our newest survey looking at perceptions of ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News finds Fox as the only one that more people say they trust than distrust.

Teleprompter Shot of the Day — By: Rich Lowry  —  Here's Obama dropping in for a chat with his middle-class task force.  And people made fun of Reagan because of his notecards!

After Three Months, Only 35 Subscriptions for Newsday's Web Site  —  In late October, Newsday, the Long Island daily that the Dolans bought for $650 million, put its web site, newsday.com, behind a pay wall.  The paper was one of the first non-business newspapers to take the plunge by putting up a pay wall …

Poll: Public fed up with Washington  —  70% say government isn't working well; Obama approval back at 50%  —  WASHINGTON - As President Barack Obama prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address Wednesday night, he will be speaking to an American public that's fed up with Congress …

BREAKING: Mike Pence Will Not Run for Senate  —  Sources are confirming for me this morning that Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN) will not run for the United States Senate.  —  In fact, later today the Congressman will send out a letter to supporters outlining his reasons.  In it he will write:

CNN hopes King ends evening slide  —  When CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton made his annual appearance before Washington bureau staffers this month, he got an earful over the network's decision to shave an hour off “The Situation Room” with Wolf Blitzer in favor of rising star Rick Sanchez and “Rick's List,” his new two-hour show.

Book: John Paul II used belt to whip himself  —  Buzz up!  —  VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II whipped himself with a belt, even on vacation, and slept on the floor as acts of penitence and to bring him closer to Christian perfection, according to a new book by the Polish prelate spearheading his sainthood case.

Double Standard For Bernanke: Only 50 Votes Needed In Senate  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  When it comes to progressive priorities in the Senate, there's one standard: 60 votes are needed.  But for Ben Bernanke, there's a second standard: 50 will be just fine, thank you.

Is the president panicking?  —  His spending freeze invokes memories of Clinton's shift right in '94.  It's worse because it could doom the recovery  —  President Obama today offered a set of proposals for helping America's troubled middle class.  All are sensible and worthwhile.

Name confusion gets kid's author banned from Texas curriculum  —  Traci Shurley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram  —  What do the authors of the children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and a 2008 book called Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation have in common?