The Health Care Whip Count  —  Dems are aiming to pass health care legislation, once and for all, by Easter recess.  But for all their optimistic talk, one thing remains clear: They don't have the votes just yet.  Then again, they don't have a bill yet, either.

Do You Miss Him Yet?  —  I know you're not supposed to, but I just love to say I told you so.  —  What I told you back on Sept. 28, 2008, was that within a year of the day he left office George W. Bush would come to be regarded with affection and a little nostalgia.

Massa as conservative media hero  —  He's spent only 431 days in Congress, has never seen any of his bills pass out of subcommittee and was best known for voting against major pieces of legislation because they weren't liberal enough for him — at least until he was accused of sexually harassing a male staffer.

Crist vs. Rubio: Who's ‘Perpetrating a Fraud’ in Florida?  —  This is a rush transcript from “On the Record,” March 8, 2010.  This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.  —  GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: There seems to be blood on the floor in Florida.

Poll shows Obama, Dems losing ground  —  A majority of Americans say the United States is less respected in the world than it was two years ago and think President Obama and other Democrats fall short of Republicans on the issue of national security, a new poll finds.

Introducing Mediagazer  —  Mediagazer presents the day's must-read media news on a single page.  —  The media business is in tumult: from the production side to the distribution side, new technologies are upending the industry.  What do news organizations need to do to survive?  Will books become extinct?

The Source of Obama's Trouble  —  The Obama administration and Democrats in general are in trouble because they are not urgently and effectively addressing the issue that most Americans want them to: the frightening economic insecurity that has put a chokehold on millions of American families.

Glenn Beck, think before you preach  —  UPDATE: Right Scoop grabbed the video:  —  Something very disturbing happened today on FOX.  Glenn Beck, who has, for the most part, steered clear of jihad, sharia and Islamic supremacism, put his toe in the water, and for the first time since I started fighting the long war, I got nervous.

Consider the Possibility that Congress Isn't Very Smart.  —  Matt Bai has a piece in this weekend's New York Times Magazine riffing off of Larry Lessig's important work in correcting both the perception and practice of Congress being horrifyingly warped by the money that flows into campaign coffers.

Undecided committee chairmen add to pressure on healthcare reform vote  —  A handful of House committee chairmen are either undecided about or plan to reject the healthcare reform bill that is expected to be voted on as early as next week.  —  The prospect of several panel chairmen voting …

High standards at The Washington Post  —  By publishing a book that clearly and unapologetically defends the Bush torture regime, Marc Thiessen catapulted himself from obscure, low-level Bush speechwriter into regular Washington Post columnist, joining fellow torture defenders Charles Krauthammer and Bill Kristol.

Romney: Obama's Healthcare Plan ‘Makes No Sense at All’  —  Former Massachusetts governor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney tells Newsmax that America needs to change course or face the “unthinkable consequences” of its decline.  —  He also asserts that President Obama's policies …

Dems Hold Slight Advantage in 2010 Election Preferences  —  Republicans are significantly more enthusiastic than Democrats about voting  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Democrats lead Republicans by a slight 47% to 44% margin when registered voters are asked which party's congressional candidate …

House liberals force vote on pullout from Afghanistan  —  Liberals in the House, who have spent much of the past year complaining that other congressional Democrats and the White House are insufficiently progressive, will get a chance this week to vent about one of their biggest concerns: the war in Afghanistan.

Troopers raid popular bars for unlicensed beers  —  Dozens of gallons seized after ‘citizen complaint’  —  IT WAS ELIOT NESS and the Untouchables, as played by the Keystone Kops.  —  More than a dozen armed State Police officers conducted simultaneous raids last week on three popular …

Culled out  —  Obama administration will accept no more public input for federal fishery strategy  —  The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.

Solar Industry Learns Lessons in Spanish Sun  —  PUERTOLLANO, Spain — Two years ago, this gritty mining city hosted a brief 21st-century gold rush.  Long famous for coal, Puertollano discovered another energy source it had overlooked: the relentless, scorching sun.

Health Reform Passes the Cost Test  —  The Obama plan will cut costs—$600 billion over the next decade.  Why walk away from it?  —  Many people are worried that the health-care reform proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats will fail to bend the “cost curve.”

The Emotion of Reform  —  We all have our emotional hot and cold spots.  If you asked me about the New York Mets, you'd see a glow in my eyes.  If you asked me about banking reform, words might come out of my mouth, but you'd notice me nodding off midsentence.

Health care reform CPR  —  Can Speaker Pelosi bring health care reform back from the dead?  Did it ever really die? … In addition to my last health care post, Nate Silver summarizes well the forces pushing in both directions.  John Podhoretz also has a good strategic overview.

Sean Penn Suggests Prison Time for Journalists Who Call Hugo Chavez a Dictator  —  At the end of a discussion of Haiti on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, actor Sean Penn went on a rant in defense of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, suggesting prison time for American journalists: “every day …