The six Republican ideas already in the health-care reform bill  —  At this point, I don't think it's well understood how many of the GOP's central health-care policy ideas have already been included as compromises in the health-care bill.  But one good way is to look at the GOP's …

Sarah Palin Needs Help  —  There's something which, if you've ever been in the business of trying to sell consulting services, you've probably grown accustomed to.  It's what I call the “consulting paradox”.  Namely, it's the idea that the people who are most in need of help are often the least aware of it.

America Is Not Yet Lost  —  We've always known that America's reign as the world's greatest nation would eventually end.  But most of us imagined that our downfall, when it came, would be something grand and tragic.  —  What we're getting instead is less a tragedy than a deadly farce.

2/8: Obama Approval Rating Below 50% ... Disapproval Among Majority of Independents  —  Fewer registered voters nationwide — 44% — currently approve of President Barack Obama's job performance than disapprove — 47%.  When Marist last asked about the president's approval rating in December …

Obama Challenges Terrorism Critics  —  WASHINGTON — The White House pushed back Sunday against Republican criticism of its approach to terrorism, calling it “not anchored in reality” as a national security debate that was largely muted in recent years roared back to center stage with an angry intensity.

A US Soldier Waterboards His Own Child  —  The British Daily Mail - a populist right-wing paper - reports: … Horrifying.  No doubt Marc Thiessen will object that since she wasn't strapped to an actual board and only dunked three or four times, rather than 183, and her father wasn't in the CIA …

CNN contributor Erick Erickson: “Ugly feminists return to their kitchens” after Tebow Super Bowl ad  —  From Erick Erickson's Twitter feed:  —  EXPAND ALL EXPAND 1ST LEVEL COLLAPSE ALL

In a Message to Democrats, Wall St. Sends Cash to G.O.P.  —  WASHINGTON — If the Democratic Party has a stronghold on Wall Street, it is JPMorgan Chase.  —  Its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, is a friend of President Obama's from Chicago, a frequent White House guest and a big Democratic donor.

Tebow ad falls short of the hype  —  Sponsored by Focus on the Family, the antiabortion message takes an understated approach, though some criticize Tim Tebow's ‘tackle’ of his mother, Pam.  —  “I call him my miracle baby,” Pam Tebow says in the ad.  “He almost didn't make it into this world.”

75% Are Angry At Government's Current Policies  —  Voters are madder than ever at the current policies of the federal government.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 75% of likely voters now say they are at least somewhat angry at the government's current policies …

Paterson to talk to Times  —  Governor David Paterson will sit down for an interview with The New York Times tomorrow, a person familiar with the plan tells me, as his state chatters about an as-yet unpublished retrospective of his difficult year in office.  —  Paterson's style of running …

The Dream of Zero  —  In many ways, Barack Obama has taken a more cold-eyed approach to foreign affairs than George W. Bush.  He's emphasized realism over human rights, negotiation over regime change, the national interest over the promotion of democracy.  —  But there's been one great exception …

Potential Court Picks Divide Democrats  —  WASHINGTON—Democrats gearing up for a possible Supreme Court vacancy are divided over whether President Barack Obama should appoint a prominent liberal voice while their party still commands a large Senate majority, or go with someone less likely to stoke Republican opposition.

There's something new under the sun  —  I've been racking my brain all morning, but I really can't come up with another example of a president gambling major legislation on a televised, hyped showdown with the leadership of the minority party.  Congressional Democrats have been begging Obama …

Garden State Equality fires new broadside at Dems  —  Smarting over the state Senate's refusal to pass marriage equality and disillusioned at the moment with the Democratic Party majority, Garden State Equality's 85-member Board of Directors unanimously decided against giving financial contributions …