Obama Readies a Fallback Proposal  —  Scaled-Down Plan Would Expand Insurance to About Half as Many People as Pending Bill Envisions  —  President Barack Obama will use a bipartisan summit Thursday to push for sweeping health-care legislation, but if that fails to generate enough support …

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.

Questions of Influence in Abuse Case of Paterson Aide  —  Last fall, a woman went to court in the Bronx to testify that she had been violently assaulted by a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, and to seek a protective order against the man.  —  In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice …

Weiner: The Republican Party Is a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of the Insurance Industry  —  Anthony Weiner just made a fiery speech in the middle of the House debate on repealing the insurance industry's anti-trust exemption [Update: Measure passed, 406-19)].  Angered by a motion to recommit …

“Nuclear Option” stupidity comes full circle  —  Want to see a neat trick?  —  As we've documented extensively over the past year, conservatives have waged an ongoing campaign to re-brand the process of reconciliation as the “nuclear option.”  Feel free to read any of the hundred or so examples …

SeaWorld Orlando trainer killed in whale attack  —  An experienced female trainer at Sea World Orlando, Dawn Brancheau, was fatally injured by one of the whales.  —  A SeaWorld employee died this afternoon during an incident at SeaWorld's Shamu Stadium, an Orange County Sheriff's Office official confirmed.

Don't get Rep. Anthony Weiner angry  —  You wouldn't like him when he's angry.  —  Watch this through to at least the third minute, by which time a Republican has pulled a parliamentary maneuver to stop Weiner and give him a chance to take back his words, and Weiner substitutes his words for, uh, other words.

G.M. to Close Hummer After Sale Collapses  —  DETROIT — General Motors said Wednesday that it would shut down Hummer, the brand of big sport-utility vehicles that became synonymous with the term “gas guzzler,” after a deal to sell it to a Chinese manufacturer fell apart.

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.

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 …

Did Blackwater Rescue Alan Grayson in Niger?  —  Before joining Congress, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) was the scourge of military contractors, filing dozens of whistleblower lawsuits against companies who defrauded the government in connection with their work in Iraq.

The Ron Paul Delusion  —  Why the Texas congressman does not represent the future of conservatism  —  What are we to make of the Republican Party's future now that libertarian Rep. Ron Paul won the presidential straw poll at the well-attended Conservative Political Action Conference last week?

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.

Looking at the swing voters  —  Our national poll last week found that 37% of voters were definitely planning to go Republican this year and 34% were definitely planning to support Democrats- that leaves 29% of the electorate up for grabs- who are those swing voters?

On spending, conservatives are quite conflicted  —  The government spends too much!  Except when it comes to schools and infrastructure and Social Security and ...  Conservatives agree that the government spends too much.  But ask them what to cut ...  At last week's Conservative Political …

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.

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.”

Crist sounding more and more ... independent  —  Either Charlie Crist realizes he can't escape the stimulus, or he's leaning toward an independent run for Senate.  —  Crist is saying some curious things for a man in the midst of a conservative primary challenge.  —  Here's a few, just from the last couple days:

“I'm Live-Tweeting My Abortion”  —  “I'm doing this to de-mystify abortion,” she says.  “I'm doing this so other women know, 'Hey, it's not nearly as terrifying as I had myself worked up thinking it was.' It's just not that bad.”  —  These are the words of Angie Jackson, a blogger and mother of a 4-year-old son.

Can This Possibly Be True?  New Obama Missile Defense Logo Includes A Crescent  —  The Obama administration's determined effort to reduce America's missile defense capabilities initially seemed to be just standard Leftist fare — of a piece with the Democratic base's visceral hostility …

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 …

Travel Promotion Act to Tax People Who Travel  —  Next week, the Travel Promotion Act will likely come up for a vote in the Senate.  The idea is to promote tourism in America.  By creating a federal agency charged with promoting tourism in America, obviously.

House Democratic leaders to push members for dues  —  Lawmakers with direct ties to Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) operations say more members than usual are clinging to every dollar instead of paying their dues.  —  “First of all, you're never where you need to be with dues,” a Democratic source said.

McCain's ‘birther’ attack  —  priceless, where was this mccain in 2008?  —  Posted By: priceless, where was this mccain in 2008?  America...yet another lie and spin...from a moderate ‘fence sitter’!  I do not believe that Bilderberg Bush-0bama is a legal citizen and qualified to be President either and I …

CA Senate moved to Clear Advantage from Safe  —  Republicans have to sort out a competitive primary in California, but Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D) poll numbers are less than intimidating.  The contest is worth watching because of the building GOP wave.  Move from Currently Safe to Clear Advantage for Incumbent Party.

Reid Spars With CEOs, Walks Out Of Meeting  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Corporate America descended on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning hoping to ride the small business gravy train that's been gaining steam.  Instead, they caught an earful from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) …

Tories and Republicans  —  I spent some time in London last week, talking to British political observers about their upcoming election, which is “scheduled” (to the extent that U.K. elections ever are) for the first week in May.  It's a subject I'll hopefully return to at greater length …

Obama zeros in on law professor for 9th Circuit post  —  UC Berkeley's Goodwin Liu will be nominated to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, The Times has learned.  Though he will face opposition from conservatives, he has admirers in that camp as well.  —  Reporting from Washington …

What's the Matter With Democrats?  —  The party embraced globalization while its union allies were cut down.  —  It's no secret that the tea party faithful regard the Obama administration as a Constitution-shredding tyranny.  But in a profile of the movement published last week …