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.

If Marc Thiessen Doesn't Want to be Compared to the Spanish Inquisition, He Should Stop Advocating Torture Techniques Used in the Spanish Inquisition  —  Marc Thiessen, who loves torture, is sad that people think he loves torture: … I'm fairly certain that I've only compared Bush …

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with The New York Times tomorrow, a person familiar with the plan tells me, as his state chatters about an as-yet unpublished retrospective of his difficult year in office.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 …

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

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.”

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.