Obama Now Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes?  —  Obama names brother of undecided House Dem to Appeals Court.  —  Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes.

Levin to Succeed Rangel as Ways and Means Chairman  —  Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) will take the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee and Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) will step aside, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told the Democratic Caucus on Thursday morning, sources in attendance said.

Swamp Things: Eerie Memories of '06 Haunt Democrats in '10  —  The swamp, it turns out, is still wet.  And it's muddy enough to create a muddle.  —  What if 2010 isn't 1994 or 1982, but 2006?  —  Congress lurches forward on health care haunted by old memories: If you're not thinking about Tom DeLay …

Exclusive: RNC document mocks donors, plays on ‘fear’  —  The Republican National Committee plans to raise money this election cycle through an aggressive campaign capitalizing on “fear” of President Barack Obama and a promise to “save the country from trending toward socialism.”

Sources: Lawmaker At Gay Club Before DUI Arrest  —  SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― Sources tell CBS13 a state senator from Southern California was arrested for allegedly driving drunk after leaving Faces, a gay nightclub in midtown Sacramento, early Wednesday morning.

Senator Proposes Deal on Handling of Detainees  —  WASHINGTON — Senator Lindsey Graham wants to make a deal on detainees with President Obama.  If the White House agrees to the bargain, it would be a defining moment for the administration — and could transform how the government deals with terrorism suspects.

Woman charged with killing husband is lobbyist  —  A 45-year-old woman, charged with ending a domestic dispute by killing her 26-year-old husband of five days, is a registered lobbyist for a group fighting domestic violence.  —  Arelisha Bridges was ordered held without bond in the Fulton County Jail.

Life Is Unfair, Death Even More So (Updated)  —  Comes the terrible, saddening news that Al Weisel, who blogged under the name Jon Swift (an homage to the author of A Modest Proposal and the tip-off that Swiftian irony was his gambit, though newcomers to his site often missed the joke*) …

Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets  —  Critics of the teaching of evolution in the nation's classrooms are gaining ground in some states by linking the issue to global warming, arguing that dissenting views on both scientific subjects should be taught in public schools.

Ultimate Bush Insider Lifts Veil on Presidency  —  WASHINGTON — Karl Rove, the chief political adviser to President George W. Bush and architect of his two successful campaigns for the White House, says in a new memoir that Mr. Bush probably would not have invaded Iraq had he known there were no unconventional weapons there.

Eliot Spitzer's Mission Impossible  —  Spitzer has the resources to tackle any challenge — except maybe another campaign  —  Eliot Spitzer was his usual agitated self.  It was a brisk Tuesday evening, and the former governor of New York was bundled in the back of a black sedan …

The fable of Emanuel the Great  —  In the space of 10 days, thanks in no small part to my own newspaper, the president of the United States has been portrayed as a weakling and a chronic screw-up who is wrecking his administration despite everything that his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, can do to make things right.

Fringe Benefits — By: Mark Steyn  —  Gee, prosecuting Geert Wilders for “Islamophobia” in a politically rigged show trial seems to be working out just swell for the Dutch establishment.  Local election watch from EuroNews: … From Time: … From the Financial Times: … From the Guardian:

Why I took a stand  —  ‘If the Senate cannot find $10 billion to pay for a measure we all support, we will never pay for anything.’  —  I have been serving the citizens of Kentucky for nearly 24 years in Washington.  During that time I have been a member of both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.

Left rallies against Lincoln  —  Organized labor and liberals have committed more than $5 million to Sen. Blanche Lincoln's primary election opponent, Bill Halter, signaling that the Arkansas Democratic Senate primary is shaping up, for the left, as a hill to die on.

Stupak: 12 Dems ready to oppose health care bill  —  WASHINGTON - A congressman who has played a key role in the long-running health care debate says he and 11 other Democrats will vote against the overhaul unless a provision subsidizing abortion is removed.