Obama's health reform gamble raises questions of judgment  —  On health-care reform, the strategy of President Obama and Democratic congressional leaders is psychologically understandable — as well as delusional.  —  It is easy to imagine the internal dialogue: “Well, they voted for me, overwhelmingly.

Jeb Bush On Sarah Palin: If She Only Had A Brain...  (VIDEO)  —  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has some advice for Sarah Palin: You'd be a great, if you only had a brain.  —  In a recent interview with Newsmax, Bush was asked whether he thought Palin was a viable candidate for president.

Top Palin aide resigns  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's senior adviser and spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton has resigned, POLITICO has learned.  —  Stapleton has been a Palin confidant since December 2006 and one of the governor's most trusted aides since she was vaulted onto …

OBAMA & DEMS IN ‘05: 51 VOTE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION’ IS ‘ARROGANT’ POWER GRAB AGAINST THE FOUNDERS’ INTENT  —  Biden: “I pray God when the Democrats take back control we don't make the kind of naked power grab you are doing.”

Exclusive: W.H. privately plots 2012 campaign run  —  President Barack Obama's top advisers are quietly laying the groundwork for the 2012 reelection campaign, which is likely to be run out of Chicago and managed by White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina, according to Democrats familiar with the discussions.

Miss Beverly Hills tries to one-up Carrie Prejean, says it's divine law that gays be put to death.  —  Last year, Miss California Carrie Prejean endeared herself to the right wing when she answered a question about same-sex marriage by saying that she believes marriage “should be between a man and a woman.”

The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Salon  —  Vanity Fair colleague Michael Wolff, though not a licensed clinician or chiropodist, renders what seems to me an inarguable diagnosis of the current conservative condition, i.e., they've gone loco:  —  Having whipped themselves into dishrag fatigue …

TEA Party folds when economy revives  —  The “TEA Party,” that anti-tax, anti big-government movement of people intent on turning out incumbents this year, will “disappear” as the economy improves.  —  So says Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican governor of California whom some in his own party view as a RINO.

Congressional Performance  —  71% Give Congress Poor Rating  —  Voter unhappiness with Congress has reached the highest level ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports as 71% now say the legislature is doing a poor job.  —  That's up ten points from the previous high of 61% reached a month ago.

US diplomats add a moat to their expenses at $1bn London embassy  —  The United States has unveiled plans for its new $1 billion high-security embassy in London — the most expensive it has ever built.  —  The proposals were met with relief from both the present embassy's Mayfair neighbours …

Breaking: Could “The Party” Be Over?  —  Update 2:28: Newsroom rumors are running fierce right now.  But it's tough to nail any sort of confirmation on where the column stands.  Will keep pounding.  —  Update 1:45: Have made several calls to the very top crust of Post newsroom management.

One Of Obama's Great Achievements May Be Unraveling  —  Was it only two weeks ago that Joe Biden explained that Iraq was on track to become “one of the great achievements” of the Obama Administration?  Now Thomas Ricks, author of “Fiasco” and “The Gamble”, warns us of the fragile stability …

Poll: Americans place blame for partisanship  —  Washington (CNN) — Two-thirds of Americans think that the Republicans in Congress are not doing enough to cooperate with President Obama, according to a new national poll.  —  But a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, released Wednesday …

Son of Hamas founder spied for Israel for more than a decade  —  The son of one of Hamas's founding members was a spy in the service of Israel for more than a decade, helping prevent dozens of Islamist suicide bombers from finding their targets, it emerged today.

My Gift to the Obama Presidency  —  Though the White House won't want to admit it, Bush lawyers were protecting the executive's power to fight a vigorous war on terror.  —  Barack Obama may not realize it, but I may have just helped save his presidency.  How?

Serious threat to the web in Italy  —  In late 2006, students at a school in Turin, Italy filmed and then uploaded a video to Google Video that showed them bullying an autistic schoolmate.  The video was totally reprehensible and we took it down within hours of being notified by the Italian police.

Exclusive: Ex-Bush adviser Dan Senor weighing run against Gillibrand as Republican  —  Dan Senor, the husband of CNN's Campbell Brown and a former Bush administration foreign policy adviser, is eyeing a run as a Republican against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, The Knickerbocker has learned.

Pledge of Allegiance dispute results in Md. teacher having to apologize  —  The mother of a 13-year-old Montgomery County middle school student is demanding an apology from a teacher who had school police escort the youngster from a classroom for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Fox News/David Brooks tag team  —  Jon Chait points out an important dynamic here: … To make a related point, this is one of those legislative problems that ending the filibuster won't fix.  Neither party is really able to vote for the other party's major initiatives.

Every Central Falls teacher fired, labor outraged … CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. — The full force of organized labor showed up in Central Falls Tuesday, with several hundred union members rallying in support of the city's teachers and bringing plenty of harsh words for the education officials …

Is Sarah Palin the 2012 Version of Jesse Jackson in 1988?  —  Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, is a former White House correspondent with two decades of experience covering Washington government and politics.  Click here for Mr. Brown's full bio.

Yelp Hit With Class Action Lawsuit For Running An “Extortion Scheme”  —  Two law firms, Beck & Lee from Miami and The Weston Firm in San Diego, have filed a class action lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court alleging unfair business practices by local business review and rating website operator Yelp.

Harry Reid Launches New “Vote For Me Or The Wife Gets It” Campaign  —  Just hours after revealing that unemployed men in Nevada “tend to be abusive” toward their wives and facing the prospect of joblessness himself with an election this fall, Harry Reid has launched a bold new …

Health Care No Stranger To Reconciliation Process … text sizeAAA  —  To reconcile or not to reconcile — when it comes to a health overhaul bill, that seems to be the biggest argument of the moment.  —  At issue is a process called budget reconciliation.