Rep. Paul Ryan on what real health reform should look like  —  Today, the House Budget Committee is to mark up a “reconciliation” vehicle, initiating the greatest expansion in government and entitlement spending in a generation through a partisan process to push “health-care reform” across the finish line.

Hello, America, My Name Is Rielle Hunter  —  We've heard from former senator John Edwards, we've heard from his soon-to-be-ex-wife, Saint Elizabeth, and we've heard (bleh) from Andrew Young, the former Edwards aide and faux father.  But through it all—the affair and the cancer-stricken spouse …

Millions Spent to Sway Democrats on Health Care  —  WASHINGTON — The yearlong legislative fight over health care is drawing to a frenzied close as a multimillion-dollar wave of advertising that rivals the ferocity of a presidential campaign takes aim at about 40 House Democrats whose votes …

Gitmo's Indefensible Lawyers  —  Legal counsel to some of the detainees went far beyond vigorous representation of their clients.  Doesn't the public have a right to know?  —  On the evening of Jan. 26, 2006, military guards at Guantanamo Bay made an alarming discovery during a routine cell check.

What will the Supreme Court be like without its liberal leader?  —  Supreme Court Justices are remembered for their opinions, but they are revealed by their questions.  For many years, Sandra Day O'Connor chose to open the questioning in most cases, and thus show the lawyers—and her colleagues …

Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — Under the cover of a benign government information-gathering program, a Defense Department official set up a network of private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to help track and kill suspected militants …

Democrats, Forever Changed  —  Hungry Beast Giving Beast Women in the World  —  Blogs and Stories  —  By pressing ahead on health care, President Obama is ending a decades-long internal debate within his party—and the Democratic Party will never be the same.

Israel envoy: U.S. ties at their worst in 35 years  —  Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, has told the country's diplomats there that U.S.-Israeli relations face their worst crisis in 35 years, despite attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office to project a sense of “business as usual.”

Taking On China  —  Tensions are rising over Chinese economic policy, and rightly so: China's policy of keeping its currency, the renminbi, undervalued has become a significant drag on global economic recovery.  Something must be done.  —  To give you a sense of the problem …

The Beck Factor at Fox: Staffers say comments taint their work  —  In just over a year, Glenn Beck's blinding burst of stardom has often seemed to overshadow the rest of Fox News.  —  And that may not be a good thing for the top-rated cable news channel, as many of its staffers are acutely aware.

Obama's happiness deficit  —  Here's a theory about why President Obama is having a tough political time right now: He doesn't seem all that happy being president.  —  I know, it's the world's hardest job, and between war and the world economy collapsing, he didn't have the first year he might have wished for.

New Health Care Whip Count: 191 Yes, 203 No  —  You can see the last whip count here.  Changes since Friday:  —  • House leaders have a firm target date for a vote, and have begun to whip the bill.  But for the first time today, James Clyburn admitted that he doesn't have the votes at the moment …