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 " …

Brilliant: ‘Vagina Monologues’ Creator Tells Palin to Look at ‘Earthquakes and Tsunamis’ for Global Warming Proof  —  No matter what former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin does, she's not going to win any friends in the mainstream modern feminism activist movement in the United States.  But that might not be a bad thing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

SEVEN  —  Left seat Pilot Thomas Sonne; Right seat: Major Bill Tice.  —  Kandahar, Afghanistan  —  10 February 2010  —  American forces are stationed at bases far and wide around Afghanistan.  Some bases are like towns, such as Camp Bastion, Kandahar Airfield, and Bagram Airfield.

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.

New Wind Farms in the U.S. Have Not Led to Jobs  —  Millions Have Been Invested in Wind Farms, but That Hasn't Brought Jobs  —  Despite all the talk of green jobs, the overwhelming majority of stimulus money spent on wind power has gone to foreign companies, according to a new report …

Exposed: Naked Body Scanner Images Of Film Star Printed, Circulated By Airport Staff  —  Authorities' claim that virtual strip search pictures immediately destroyed proven fraudulent - use of devices needs to be halted now  —  Claims on behalf of authorities that naked body scanner images …

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.

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.

Reuters photographer says reborn after freed by U.S.  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military freed a Reuters photographer in Iraq on Wednesday, almost a year and a half after snatching him from his home in the middle of the night and holding him without charge.

White House: Kit Bond's Call For Brennan's Resignation Is “Pathetic”  —  As you may have heard, Senator Kit Bond is calling for Obama counter-terror chief John Brennan to step down, largely because Brennan has taken the lead in pushing back against GOP efforts to paint Obama as weak on terror.

Pam Geller tries to tell Ron Reagan Jr. she knows better what his father would think of Palin  —  If you ever needed evidence that right-wingers have no boundaries — in terms logic, ethics, or basic decency — that they will not trample all over in the defense of conservative “values” …

CLIMATE BILL BURIED UNDER SNOW?.... A tri-partisan energy bill being crafted by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) is still pending in the Senate.  The odds have been against it, and this week, it looks as if success is getting further away.

Ten GOP Health Ideas for Obama  —  We don't need to study lawsuit reform for one minute longer.  —  'If you have a better idea, show it to me.  " That was President Barack Obama's challenge two weeks ago to House Republicans regarding health-care reform.  He has since called for a bipartisan forum …