Clueless  —  I'm with Simon Johnson here: how is it possible, at this late date, for Obama to be this clueless?  —  The lead story on Bloomberg right now contains excerpts from an interview with Business Week which tells us: … Oh.  My.  God.  —  First of all, to my knowledge …

PRESS ROOM LAUGHTER DIES DOWN  —  The White House press room was a jovial place to be in the early days of President Barack Obama's presidency.  But times have changed.  —  Back in May, POLITICO analyzed the press briefings and found that the instances of laughter — as indicated by " …

Congressman Charlie Wilson dies at 76  —  Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, a hard-partying Democrat who played a key role in the United States' covert war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, has died.  He was 76.  —  Wilson was taken to Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin …

Snowstorm: East Coast Blizzard Tied to Climate Change  —  As the blizzard-bound residents of the mid-Atlantic region get ready to dig themselves out of the third major storm of the season, they may stop to wonder two things: Why haven't we bothered to invest in a snow blower, and what happened to climate change?

JOHN EDWARDS ASKS MISTRESS RIELLE HUNTER TO MARRY HIM!  —  John Edwards has proposed to his mistress Rielle Hunter, and is buying a luxury $3.5 million beachfront home where they can live happily ever after with their love child, The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively.

Anti-Tea Party Web Site Part of Scheme to Funnel Funds  —  A new Web site targeting the tea parties is a part of a complex network of money flowing from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor unions and trickling slowly into political slush funds for Democratic activists.

What Obama could learn from Bush  —  Last night, Craig Becker's nomination to the National Labor Relations Board was approved, with 52 senators voting in favor of Becker and 33 voting against him.  —  Wait, sorry, I got that wrong.  It was rejected with 52 senators voting in favor of Becker and 33 voting against.

Rep. Watson to retire  —  Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) is set to announce her retirement, according to Democratic sources.  —  Watson's central Los Angeles district isn't expected to be competitive in the general election, as it carries a distinct Democratic advantage as a majority-minority district.

A First Look at Palin's Primary Math  —  If Sarah Palin runs for the Republican nomination in 2012 — and I've been on record for some time as predicting that she will — what are likely to be her best and worst states?  And how do these strengths and weaknesses square with the Republican primary calendar?

In poll, Republicans gaining political ground on Obama  —  Republicans have significantly narrowed the gap with Democrats on who is trusted to deal with the country's problems and have sharply reduced several of President Obama's main political advantages, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Pastor Wiley Drake prayed for the death of John Murtha  —  The sickness that permeates the extreme religious right never stops surprising me.  We've seen Wiley Drake's shtick before, but it's still as repulsive as ever.  What type of religion do these freaks practice anyway?

Think big with a gig: Our experimental fiber network  —  Imagine sitting in a rural health clinic, streaming three-dimensional medical imaging over the web and discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York.  Or downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes.

Human microchips seen by some in Virginia House as device of antichrist  —  The House of Delegates is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a bill that would protect Virginians from attempts by employers or insurance companies to implant microchips in their bodies against their will.

Palin's bigger blunder  —  Last weekend, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate gave the keynote speech at the first National Tea Party Conference.  It was a speech carried by many news channels and one that is still receiving a lot of attention.

Conservative Activists Rebel Against Fox News: Saudi Ownership Is ‘Really Dangerous For America’  —  Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal owns a 7 percent stake in News Corp — the parent company of Fox News — making him the largest shareholder outside the family of News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch.

Black Helicopters Over Nashville  —  Never mind Sarah Palin and the tricornered hats.  The tea-party movement is dominated by conspiracist kooks.  —  The tea-party movement has no leader.  But it does have a face: William Temple of Brunswick, Ga. For months, the amiable middle-aged activist …

gingrichbamboozlefail  —  Classic moment last night on The Daily Show when Newt Gingrich explained that it was okay to mirandize “shoe bomber” Richard Reid and not Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab because Reid, unlike Abdulmutallab, is a US citizen.  —  Only, of course, Reid is a British citizen.