Rep. John Murtha dies at 77  —  Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), 77, a Vietnam veteran who staunchly supported military spending and became a master of pork-barrel politics, died today at Virginia Hospital Center following gallbladder surgery last month.  —  Elected to Congress in 1974 …

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.

Times Paterson ‘Exposé’ Will Be ‘PG-13, Not XXX’  —  For days now, buzz has been building that the New York Times was prepping an explosive exposé that would lead to Governor Paterson's swift resignation.  The blog hysteria peaked over the weekend, when Business Insider reported …

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 …

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

Meghan McCain Takes On The Tea Partiers  —  Meghan McCain on The View expressed proper disgust with the kind or rhetoric that came out of Nashville this past weekend.  —  McCain: Congressman Tancredo went on TV and he was the first opening speaker and he said, 'People who could not even spell …

Google to Make Gmail ‘Social’  —  Google Inc. is taking a swipe at Facebook Inc. with a new feature that makes it easier and faster for users of Gmail to view media and status updates shared by their friends.  —  Google could announce the new Gmail feature as soon as this week, said people familiar with the matter.

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 …

America is Not Ungovernable  —  Recently, some analysts have suggested that the lack of major policy breakthroughs in the last year is due to the fact that America has become ungovernable.  Ezra Klein argued that it was time to reform the filibuster because the government cannot function with it intact anymore.

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 …