Massa flirts with the right, but Beck isn't tickled  —  Just seven minutes into Glenn Beck's hour-long interview of Eric Massa on Tuesday evening, things had already gone very wrong.  —  Conservatives had hopes that the now-former Democratic congressman from Upstate New York …

Roberts: Scene at State of Union ‘very troubling’  —  TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday the scene at President Obama's State of the Union address was “very troubling” and the annual speech has “degenerated to a political pep rally.”

Pennsylvania Woman Tied to Plot on Cartoonist  —  WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania woman who called herself JihadJane was tied Tuesday to an alleged assassination plot against a Swedish cartoonist who depicted the prophet Muhammad atop the body of a dog.  —  In an indictment unsealed Tuesday …

Dumb Like a Fox  —  Fox News isn't part of the GOP; it has simply (and shamelessly) mastered the confines of cable  —  Last December 10 was a big news day.  U.S. Senate negotiators announced they had agreed to a compromise on health care reform, final preparations were being made for a global conference …

Why Obama Can't Move the Health-Care Numbers  —  For every voter who strongly favors the plan, two are strongly opposed.  —  One of the more amazing aspects of the health-care debate is how steady public opinion has remained.  Despite repeated and intense sales efforts by the president …

Readers react to photo of two men kissing  —  Powerful photographs can have lasting impact, and a Post photo of two men kissing is an image that many readers can neither forget nor accept.  —  The photo, which ran on the newspaper's front page and online last week, captured Jeremy Ames …

Parliamentary Hurdle Could Thwart Latest Health Care Overhaul Strategy  —  WASHINGTON — The White House and Democratic Congressional leaders said Tuesday that they were bracing for a key procedural ruling that could complicate their effort to approve major health care legislation …

Markos Moulitsas To Kucinich: You'll Be Primaried If You Kill Reform  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas warned on Tuesday night that if Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) plays a role in killing health care reform, a Democratic primary challenger would almost certainly await him in the next election.

Obama Defies Pessimists as Rising Economy Converges With Stocks  —  The political consensus may be that President Barack Obama's handling of the economy has been weak.  The judgment of money in all its forms has been overwhelmingly positive, and that may be the more lasting appraisal.

Dems: No thanks to new ‘Gang of 14’  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wants to revive the bipartisan Gang of 14 — this time for health care reform, not judicial nominees.  —  But most of his moderate Democratic colleagues aren't rushing to R.S.V.P.  —  Graham said Tuesday that a coalition …

Bank of America to End Overdraft Fees on Debit Purchases  —  In a move that could bring an end to the $40 cup of coffee, Bank of America said on Tuesday that it was doing away with overdraft fees on purchases made with debit cards, a decision that could cost the bank tens of millions a year …

What happened to Obama's middle path on health reform?  —  Whatever the legislative fate of health reform — now in the hands of a few besieged House Democrats — the reformers have failed in their argument.  Their proposal has divided Democrats while uniting Republicans …

Anti-Whitman Web site turns to public for dirt  —  (CNN) — Democrats opposed to Meg Whitman's gubernatorial campaign are hoping to get an assist from the public in their latest bid to push voters away from the Republican candidate.  —  Level The Playing Field 2010, a group run …

Ralph Reed Expected to Pass on Georgia House Race  —  Former Christian Coalition architect Ralph Reed, who is known to be considering a possible bid in Georgia's open 7th district, announced Tuesday that he'd make his future plans known on Wednesday.  But multiple Georgia GOP insiders …

Health care overhaul's biggest threat?  A delay in the vote  —  WASHINGTON — Thousands of liberal public-option backers and conservative tea partiers launched last-chance campaigns Tuesday in the nation's capital to persuade Congress to pass — or reject — sweeping health care legislation.

Stupak: There's No Deal, And I Won't Agree to a Promise to Fix the Bill in the Future  —  Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak said yesterday at a townhall in his home state, “I'm more optimistic than I was a week ago” that a deal could be reached to pass a health care bill that bans public funding of abortion.

Saddam Hussein weighed nuclear ‘package’ deal in 1990, documents show  —  As troops massed on his border near the start of the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein weighed the purchase of a $150 million nuclear “package” deal that included not only weapons designs but also production plants …

US apology for Gaddafi comments  —  The US State Department has apologised for comments made about Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's call for jihad, or holy war, against Switzerland.  —  Department spokesman PJ Crowley, who made the dismissive comments, said they did not reflect US policy and were not intended to offend.