Reid's about-face stuns Dems, W.H.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid led colleagues and the White House to believe he supported a bipartisan jobs bill — only to scuttle the plan as soon as it was released Thursday over concerns it could be used to batter Democratic incumbents, according to Senate sources.

‘Warning: Tea Party In Danger’: Leader Slams Palin As 'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing'  —  A prominent Tea Party leader from Texas is warning that the movement “is becoming nothing more than a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party,” and slamming Sarah Palin as representing “a growing insider's attack to the heart of the Tea Party.”

A deal on nominations that even a Republican could love  —  The administration scored a big victory last night, or at least it thinks it did.  After President Obama finally threatened to make recess appointments if Senate Republicans didn't let some of its nominees through the confirmation process …

Why the MSM loves Palin  —  Fox News has been making a serious charge about mainstream political reporters: They hate Sarah Palin.  —  This is not just wrong, it's absurd.  The reality is exactly the opposite: We love Palin.  —  And if Palin does not exactly love us …

Obama will help select location of Khalid Sheik Mohammed terrorism trial  —  President Obama is planning to insert himself into the debate about where to try the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, three administration officials said Thursday, signaling a recognition …

Patrick Kennedy to retire  —  Rhode Island Democratic Rep. Patrick Kennedy, the son of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, will announce on Friday that he is retiring, according to Democratic insiders.  —  Kennedy, 42, was first elected to the House in 1994.  His departure will leave Congress without …

75% back letting gays serve openly  —  Three-quarters of Americans say that they support openly gay people serving in the U.S. military, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, a finding that could lend momentum to the Obama administration's effort to dismantle the policy known as “don't ask, don't tell.”

Republicans and Medicare  —  “Don't cut Medicare.  The reform bills passed by the House and Senate cut Medicare by approximately $500 billion.  This is wrong.”  So declared Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, in a recent op-ed article written with John Goodman, the president of the National Center for Policy Analysis.

Where the U.S. went wrong on the Christmas Day bomber  —  It seems to me unlikely that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab will be known to future generations of lawyers for generating any groundbreaking legal principle or issue.  But when it comes to illuminating our public discourse about the …

3 House retirements spur debate on whether Republicans are losing momentum  —  A trio of House Republican retirement announcements over the past 10 days have sparked a debate between the leaders of the two major parties over whether the GOP is losing momentum in its quest to score major gains at the ballot box this fall.

What's Next, Mr. President?  —  By 2008, Americans were disgusted with their government.  They were sick of partisan gridlock and general incompetence.  Along came Barack Obama offering to usher in a new era.  It was time, he said, to put away childish things.  —  There were actually two elements to the Obama campaign.

Shocking True Tales of Media Bias  —  I don't begrudge anyone their living, so if people get attractive job offers to go work at Pete Peterson's new Fiscal Times more power to them.  But as we move into a world where more-and-more journalism will be financed on a non-profit basis …

Dick Durbin Throws Weight Behind Effort To Reform Filibuster  —  Okay, this could be significant: Senator Dick Durbin is now throwing his weight behind a new effort to reform the filibuster, a move that could give it a boost, given Durbin's clout as a senior member of the Dem leadership.

Is Medina a birther?  —  After ducking questions yesterday about whether the Bush administration aided in the Sept. 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, then saying she has never believed the government was involved, Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina gave a series of interviews late in the day.

Wi-Fi Turns Rowdy Bus Into Rolling Study Hall  —  VAIL, Ariz. — Students endure hundreds of hours on yellow buses each year getting to and from school in this desert exurb of Tucson, and stir-crazy teenagers break the monotony by teasing, texting, flirting, shouting, climbing (over seats) and sometimes punching (seats or seatmates).

Anti-incumbent heat: 2006, 1994 deja vu  —  In the event you haven't noticed, there is a serious anti-incumbent fervor afoot, as midterm congressional elections approach.  —  It's as strong as it has been in 16 years, the Pew Research Center reports today.