Why I'm speaking at Tea Party convention  —  Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement.  I look forward to meeting many Americans who share a commitment to limited government, common sense and personal responsibility.

White House Gets Reuters To Pull Budget Story  —  Obama administration aides appealed to the Reuters White House reporting team to kill a story by another reporter of the news service that suggested the president's new budget blueprint included “backdoor” tax hikes.

Intelligence officials warn new attacks are ‘certain’  —  The nation's top intelligence officials warned Congress on Tuesday that terrorists are “certain” to attempt another attack on the U.S. within the coming months.  —  CIA Director Leon Panetta said the foremost risk …

Giannoulias declares victory in Democratic Senate race  —  Says Kirk's days in Washington are over  —  State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias beat back a strong challenge from former City Inspector General David Hoffman for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate from Illinois — the former seat of President Obama.

Reid: Senate can't pass reconciliation first, decision hopefully by next week  —  Emerging from a meeting Tuesday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hopes Democrats can decide by next week on a way to move the health care bill forward.

Top Defense Officials Seek to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'  —  WASHINGTON — The nation's top two Defense officials called for an end on Tuesday to the 16-year-old “don't ask, don't tell” law, a major step toward allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the United States military for the first time in its history.

The 2010 Comprehensive Daily Kos/Research 2000 Poll of Self-Identified Republicans  —  As I've mentioned before, I'm putting the finishing touches on my new book, American Taliban, which catalogues the ways in which modern-day conservatives share the same agenda as radical Jihadists in the Islamic world.

No Help in Sight, More Homeowners Walk Away  —  In 2006, Benjamin Koellmann bought a condominium in Miami Beach.  By his calculation, it will be about the year 2025 before he can sell his modest home for what he paid.  Or maybe 2040.  —  “People like me are beginning to feel like suckers,” Mr. Koellmann said.

Conservative Blogger Faces Criticism Over Protege … text sizeAAA  —  The conservative online news entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart is, for the moment, doing little to dispel stereotypes about bloggers.  During a recent visit to his home on the west side of Los Angeles, Breitbart, 41, is working from his own basement.

The Futile Struggle Against Free Content  —  David Goldman writes about falling music sales: … Music industry executives can tell themselves that as long as they want.  But under conditions of perfect competition, the price of a song ought to be equal to the marginal cost of distributing a new copy of a song.

Former Sen. Coats to Challenge Sen. Bayh  —  INDIANAPOLIS - Informed and reliable sources are telling Howey Politics Indiana that former U.S. Sen. Dan Coats will announce Wednesday he will challenge U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh.  —  The source, former aide Curt Smith of the Indiana Family Institute …

Exclusive: The Jenny Sanford Interview  —  S.C. First Lady Tells Barbara Walters: ‘I Thought He Loved Me in His Own Way, Which Is Not a Warm, Bubbly Way’  —  South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford recalls how she made the “leap of faith” to marry husband Gov. Mark Sanford even though …

Rahm Apologizes for Privately Calling Liberal Activists “Retarded”  — Paulson: I Was Afraid McCain Would Change Mind and Go Against TARP  — Brennan: All Transferred Detainees Who Returned to Terrorism Were Released by Bush, No Recidivism for Those Released by Obama

Obama rips GOP as ‘opportunists,’ touts loan plan  —  Buzz up!  —  NASHUA, N.H. - President Barack Obama branded Republicans on Tuesday as electoral opportunists more concerned about their own interests than the people's, taking a political risk by escalating criticism of the very lawmakers he's urging to work with him.

Dodd Calls Obama Plan Too Grand  —  WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee warned on Tuesday that the Obama administration's new proposals to rein in Wall Street firms ran the risk of derailing months of delicate negotiations over overhauling financial regulations.

AIG plans to pay $100 million in another round of bonuses  —  American International Group plans Wednesday to pay another round of employee bonuses, worth about $100 million, said several people familiar with the matter, a year after similar payments at the bailed-out insurance giant infuriated many Americans and inflamed Washington.

Limbaugh ‘thanks God every day’ for Obama's political problems  —  Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said that he “thank[s] God every day” for the political difficulties facing President Barack Obama.  —  Limbaugh told Fox News in an interview to air on “Fox and Friends” …

Obama takes another dig at Las Vegas  —  President Barack Obama on Tuesday took another dig at Las Vegas at his New Hampshire town hall Tuesday after similar remarks got him into hot water last year.  —  Obama said that people should now “blow a bunch of cash in Vegas” during a tough recession.

What's a Degree Really Worth?  —  A college education may not be worth as much as you think.  —  For years, higher education was touted as a safe path to professional and financial success.  Easy money, in the form of student loans, flowed to help parents and students finance degrees …

Shoe bomber was read Miranda rights  —  Republicans may have a hard time keeping up their talking point about how reading Miranda rights to the Christmas Day bomber represented a dangerous new direction under President Barack Obama.  —  It turns out that that back in December 2001 …