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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Strong Campaign Finance Reform: Good Policy, Good Politics  —  Common Cause, Change Congress and the Public Campaign Action Fund  —  Research Categories … Executive Summary  —  February 8, 2010.  Washington, DC.  Ratings for everyone in Washington are low and voters are deeply pessimistic …

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 …

Can Democrats dissuade Dan Coats from running?  —  In the six days since former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats (R) made clear he was preparing to challenge Sen. Evan Bayh (D) in the fall, national Democrats have unleashed an all-out assault aimed at making Coats reconsider his candidacy.

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.