Report: Shelby Blocks All Obama Nominations In The Senate Over AL Earmarks  —  Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) has put an extraordinary “blanket hold” on at least 70 nominations President Obama has sent to the Senate, according to multiple reports this evening.  The hold means no nominations …

‘Tea Party’ Fireworks: Speaker Rips McCain, Obama, ‘Cult of Multiculturalism’  —  Ex-Rep. Tom Tancredo Suggests ‘Civics, Literacy Test’ Would Have Foiled Obama's Election; High-Priced National ‘Tea Party’ Convention Stirs Debate Among Factions  —  The opening-night speaker …

Palin e-mails reveal a powerful ‘first dude’  —  Nearly 3,000 pages of e-mails that the first gentleman, Todd Palin, exchanged with state officials draw a picture of his influence on policy in the Sarah Palin administration.  Other e-mails are still being withheld by the state of Alaska.

Why are liberals so condescending?  —  Every political community includes some members who insist that their side has all the answers and that their adversaries are idiots.  But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct …

Patrick Kennedy: Scott Brown's candidacy ‘a joke’  —  Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) election has been shown to be “a joke,” the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said Thursday.  —  Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) castigated Brown for having pushed to be sworn in ahead of schedule …

Palin to Post: I'm not ripping Rush  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is criticizing a report on a Washington Post blog claiming that she is going after conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh.  —  On Thursday the Washington Post blog “The Plum Line” posted an item under the headline …

Fiscal Scare Tactics  —  These days it's hard to pick up a newspaper or turn on a news program without encountering stern warnings about the federal budget deficit.  The deficit threatens economic recovery, we're told; it puts American economic stability at risk; it will undermine our influence in the world.

Cornyn: No thanks to Obama Q & amp; A  —  Senate Republicans don't have much of an appetite to give President Barack Obama their version of question-and-answer time - not after seeing how Obama handled House Republicans last week.  —  “We're always happy to hear from the president …

Harold Ford Superstar  —  U.S. Senate wannabe's tour rider anticipates swarms of adoring fans  —  Like Jay-Z and Lady Gaga, Harold Ford, Jr. has a tour rider.  The former Tennessee congressman, who is now trying to carpetbag his way to a Senate seat in New York, banks about $20,000 …

Obama Suggests Possibility That Health Reform May Not Happen  —  Maybe I'm misreading this.  But if you look at the transcript of Obama's remarks at a fundraiser last night, it seems like the President was at least raising the possibility that health reform may not happen.

Queens girl Alexa Gonzalez hauled out of school in handcuffs after getting caught doodling on desk  —  A 12-year-old Queens girl was hauled out of school in handcuffs for an artless offense - doodling her name on her desk in erasable marker, the Daily News has learned.

Ollie North On What Happens If Gays Are Allowed To Serve Openly In Military: ‘NAMBLA Members’ Are Next  —  Last night, Oliver North, the retired U.S. Marine Corps officer-turned-Fox News contributor, appeared on Hannity's America to condemn the administration's decision to overturn “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

Clarification — and Mea Culpa — on James O'Keefe and ‘Race and Conservatism’  —  On Wednesday, I wrote a post reacting to Max Blumenthal's story “James O'Keefe's Race Problem” and was too quick with a description of the August 30, 2006 Robert Taft Club event on “race and conservatism.”

GOP Chairman Steele: ‘after taxes, a million dollars is not a lot of money’  —  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and potential Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. agreed Thursday that Americans want action now on health care reform, but disagreed about how to achieve it.

Obama attends CIA Khost memorial  —  As Washington scurried to prepare for a couple feet of snow, Barack Obama made a morning visit to the CIA to attend a memorial for the seven CIA officers killed by a Jordanian double agent in Khost Afghanistan late last year, Salon's Mike Madden reported for the White House press pool:

Lobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans  —  WASHINGTON — Four months ago, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to private lenders.

More on Thursday's White House meeting  —  After President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders met at the White House yesterday, House Speaker Pelosi and House Majority Leader Hoyer played down reform, saying that most of the discussion revolved around jobs.

Focus on the Family buys pre-game ad time for Super Bowl  —  There's a new Super Bowl surprise from Focus on the Family: a second ad.  —  The evangelical group that bought ad time in the CBS game telecast will announce today that it has bought time in the pregame show to air a second ad four times.