Ben Nelson: Dems may have to abandon comprehensive health bill, go step-by-step  —  Democrats may have to abandon their effort for comprehensive healthcare legislation in favor of a piecemeal approach, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said Friday.  —  Nelson, a centrist Democrat whose vote is critical …

White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers to step down  —  WASHINGTON—White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers told me Friday she will step down next month, after presiding over 330 events in the White House in 14 months.  —  Rogers is departing after achieving a major goal …

Bipartisanship is dead  —  At yesterday's health care discussion, Louise Slaughter told a moving story.  —  An elderly woman needed dentures but couldn't afford them.  Her sister had dentures.  When she passed, the surviving sister “inherited” the dentures and used them as her own.

Jim Bunning Repeatedly Blocks Unemployment Benefits Extension, Tells Dem ‘Tough S**t’  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Jim Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky, is single-handedly blocking Senate action needed to prevent an estimated 1.2 million American workers from prematurely losing their unemployment benefits next month.

Dems call for Rangel's gavel  —  After months of holding ranks, Democrats are finally turning on House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) in the wake of an ethics committee finding that he violated House rules by accepting a Caribbean junket.  —  Early Friday, Rep. Paul Hodes …

Paterson Drops Out of Governor Race  —  Gov. David A. Paterson announced on Friday afternoon that he was ending his election campaign and would not run in November.  —  Gov. David A. Paterson attended a town hall event held by State Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright at a community center in Harlem on Thursday.

Professor Obama schools lawmakers on health-care reform  —  Republicans had been hesitant to accept President Obama's invitation to participate in Thursday's White House health-care summit.  Their hesitance turned out to be justified.  —  An equal number of Democratic and Republican lawmakers …

Bush endorses Cheney role  —  For the first time, former President George W. Bush has said publicly that he approves of former Vice President Dick Cheney's high-profile role in defending the past administration's national security policies.  —  “I'm glad Cheney is out there,” …

Judd Gregg: 'If you've got 51 votes, you win'  —  “The point is this,” Sen. Judd Gregg says in this 2005 defense of the Republicans' use of the budget reconciliation process.  “If you've got 51 votes, you win.”  —  The idea “that it is outside the rules to proceed within the rules,” Gregg laughs, “is a very unique view on the rules.”

Thoughts on the Health Care Summit  —  So, the health care summit.  What do we think?  —  Well, like the rest of the press, I think it was a phenomenal waste of time, if you thought we were maybe going to make some kind of policy progress.  What did we learn from the summit?

Pawlenty: Let ER's turn away patients to cut costs  —  I missed this the other night but Phoenix Woman over at FDL didn't.  Isn't this special?  Governor Gutshot to Impoverished ER Patients: Get the Hell out!: … From The Hill — Pawlenty: Let ER's turn away patients to cut costs:

Coffee Party activists say their civic brew's a tastier choice than Tea Party's  —  Furious at the tempest over the Tea Party — the scattershot citizen uprising against big government and wild spending — Annabel Park did what any American does when she feels her voice has been drowned out …

Health Care Summit Squabbles  —  Summary  —  We tuned in to watch the president's health care summit at Blair House today — all six-plus hours of it.  And we weren't surprised to hear some factual missteps in the discussion:  — Sen. Lamar Alexander said premiums will go up for …