An option still on table?  —  Senate Republicans caused a major stir Thursday when they told reporters that the parliamentarian had informed them that the Senate bill needed to be signed into law before lawmakers took up a sidecar bill to fix it.  —  And Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad …

If Democrats ignore health-care polls, midterms will be costly  —  In “The March of Folly,” Barbara Tuchman asked, “Why do holders of high office so often act contrary to the way reason points and enlightened self-interest suggests?”  Her assessment of self-deception …

Why don't honest journalists take on Roger Ailes and Fox News?  —  One question has tugged at my professional conscience throughout the year-long congressional debate over health-care reform, and it has nothing to do with the public option, portability or medical malpractice.

Tea parties stir evangelicals' fears  —  The rise of a new conservative grass roots fueled by a secular revulsion at government spending is stirring fears among leaders of the old conservative grass roots, the evangelical Christian right.  —  A reeling economy and the massive bank bailout …

Op-Ed Columnist: What Obama Stands For  —  Who is Barack Obama?  —  If you ask a conservative Republican, you are likely to hear that Obama is a skilled politician who campaigned as a centrist but is governing as a big-government liberal.  He plays by ruthless, Chicago politics rules.

Obama Social Secretary Ran Into Sharp Elbows  —  WASHINGTON — Long before the State Dinner party crashers and the tension with her White House colleagues and the strain in her relationship with the first lady, Desirée Rogers began to understand she was in trouble when David Axelrod summoned …

The Democrats' scam becomes more transparent  —  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about what seemed to be a glaring (and quite typical) scam perpetrated by Congressional Democrats: all year long, they insisted that the White House and a majority of Democratic Senators vigorously supported a public option …

Beck vs Social Justice  —  I'm surprised there hasn't been more attention paid lately to Glenn Beck's attacks on the idea of social justice: … If this is meant seriously—and Beck's sounded the theme in three consecutive shows so I think it is—this seems to me like when McCarthy decided to go after the Army.

Top Obama Priorities Collide as Student Loan Legislation May Be Attached to Health Care  —  WASHINGTON — Democratic Congressional leaders struck a tentative agreement on Thursday that breathes new life into President Obama's proposed overhaul of federal student loan programs.

Birther Non-Denial Denials from Republican Senate Candidates  —  Et tu, Rob Portman?  Ye of sensibility and rectitude?  Ye of maturity and political resolve?  Despite inquires from the Cincinnati Enquirer and Plain Dealer, Portman's campaign won't directly answer the question of whether …

Yeas & Nays reporter booted from Sean Penn event  —  A Yeas & Nays reporter was publicly berated and threatened to be escorted out by police on Thursday night when the reporter asked actor Sean Penn a controversial question about his humanitarian work in Haiti.

Kevin Garn: I Nude Hot-Tubbed with Minor  —  Republican State House Majority Leader Kevin Garn Admits Paying Woman, Who was 15 at the Time, $150,000 to Keep Silent  —  (AP) Utah's House majority leader said late Thursday he paid a woman $150,000 to keep silent about going nude “hot-tubbing” …

Inhofe Wants Spending Freeze, Opposes Earmark Ban  —  All 178 House Republicans agreed Wednesday to implement a yearlong ban on all congressional earmarks in spending bills.  —  “Federal spending is out of control and the American people know it.  Earmarks have become emblematic of everything …

Van Hollen memo lays out time line and messaging  —  The office of Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who is the assistant to Speaker Pelosi, sent a memo to Democratic staffers today telling them to clear members' schedule for next weekend, saying a vote could come as early as Friday or Saturday …

Texas Conservatives Win Vote on Textbook Standards  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday voted to approve a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the role …

SEIU Warns Dems: If You Don't Back Reform, We Won't Back You  —  Hardball time.  —  In what seems intended as a shot across the bow of House Dems wavering on health reform, top officials with the labor powerhouse SEIU have bluntly told a Democratic member that they will pull their support for him …

New round of foreclosures threatens housing market  —  The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize.