GOP ad casting call: ‘hicky’ W.Va. look  —  A Republican ad that shows a couple of regular-looking guys commiserating in a diner about West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D) turns out to have been shot with actors, from a script, in Philadelphia.  —  But not just any actors …

Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite  —  Research support for this article was provided by the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.  —  In Lou Dobbs's heyday at CNN, when he commanded more than 800,000 viewers and a reported $6 million a year for “his fearless reporting and commentary,” …

Bank foreclosure cover seen in bill at Obama's desk  —  (Reuters) - A bill that homeowners advocates warn will make it more difficult to challenge improper foreclosure attempts by big mortgage processors is awaiting President Barack Obama's signature after it quietly zoomed through the Senate last week.

Waivers Address Talk of Dropping Health Coverage  —  As Obama administration officials put into place the first major wave of changes under the health care legislation, they have tried to defuse stiffening resistance — from companies like McDonald's and some insurers …

POLL: Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not drain swamp, key voters believe  —  Most voters think Congress's ethics have gotten worse in the past two years, according to a new poll in key battleground districts.  —  The finding suggests that people likely to have a big say in who controls the House …

New York Asks to Bar Use of Food Stamps to Buy Sodas  —  Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg sought federal permission on Wednesday to bar New York City's 1.7 million recipients of food stamps from using them to buy soda or other sugared drinks.  —  The request, made to the United States Department of Agriculture …

Naked Cowboy, Times Square staple, to run for President in 2012 as Tea Party candidate  —  Yee-huh?  —  The Naked Cowboy — Time Square's tighty-whitey wearing, guitar-toting tourist magnet — announced he's running for President in 2012... as a member of the Tea Party.

The Man Who Never Was  —  Desperate to keep his Senate seat, John McCain repudiated his record, his principles, and even his maverick reputation, entrenching himself as the anti-Obama.  Which raises the issue of whether the leader so many Americans admired—and so many journalists covered—ever truly existed.

REPUBLICANS STILL JUST DON'T LIKE THE UNEMPLOYED.... That Republican officials seem to actively dislike unemployed Americans isn't exactly new.  We're talking about a party that's waged war against jobless benefits and tried to kill jobs bills during a recession — which should tell the public quite a bit about the GOP's priorities.

The Westboro Baptist Church politely shows the court how to be obnoxious.  —  Quick constitutional pop quiz: What do you hate?  (And by you, I mean you.)  —  If you answered: homosexuals, Jews, Catholics, the military, the pope, and more or less everyone except Fred Phelps …

Dem candidate fires back after racy photos surface  —  Democratic Virginia House candidate Krystal Ball (yes, that's her real name) went on the offensive Wednesday after racy photos of her surfaced online this week.  —  The photos, which were taken at a costume party, show Ball wearing …

Once Again- Greta Takes Down Gloria Allred: “You Know What Gloria... If You Can't Protect the Client You Shouldn't Do the Job” (Video)  —  Similar Situation - Similar Results  —  Greta Van Susteren and Gloria Allred went back at it tonight on FOX News.  Greta schooled the Brown supporter and democratic hack.

Vargas Llosa Is Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature  —  The Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, whose deeply political work vividly examines the perils of power and corruption in Latin America, won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday.  —  Announcing the award in Stockholm …

Media Matters: Criminal front group.  —  Who funds Media Matters?  Well, we know the loathsome George Soros was Media Matters' sugar daddy.  But it won't release its donor list, which it's not required to.  But it likes to play games with donor lists filed by others who are required to reveal names, like candidates.

At this point during the 2008 presidential cycle, candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney were already jockeying for position and building their campaign teams, each attempting to sign the most talented operatives before the other guy did.  —  That is less the case in the current cycle …

Poll: Sarah Palin Favorable Rating Just 22 Percent  —  CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.  —  Sarah Palin is viewed unfavorably by nearly 50 percent of Americans, a new CBS News poll finds …

Study: Expiration of Bush tax cuts will hit poorest hardest  —  Low-income workers stand to lose the most if lawmakers fail to reach a consensus on the Bush-era tax cuts, according to a new report from the Tax Foundation.  —  The report states that on Jan. 1 the doubling of the child tax credit …

Crist pledges to ‘crash that Tea Party in Washington’  —  Gov. Charlie Crist (I) and Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) were on the attack during a debate in Florida's three-way Senate race Wednesday night, with most of their fire aimed at Republican Marco Rubio, who holds a double-digit lead in recent polls.

George Allen preps for 2012 Senate bid  —  Former Virginia Sen. George Allen is taking increasingly aggressive steps to lay the groundwork for a 2012 Senate comeback bid.  —  POLITICO has learned that Allen, the Republican who was ousted from his seat in 2006 by now-Democratic Sen. Jim Webb …

U.S. companies buy back stock in droves as they hold record levels of cash  —  For months, companies have been sitting on the sidelines with record piles of cash, too nervous to spend.  Now they're starting to deploy some of that money - not to hire workers or build factories, but to prop up their share prices.

Hide Him!  —  So much for “getting out there more” — which Democratic leaders allegedly implored the president to do.  In fact, Obama is avoiding big campaign events and swing-state districts for fear of burying those in his party who still have a fighting chance.

The Clementi Suicide, Privacy, and How We Are Failing Generation Google  —  What's Your Reaction:  —  The tragic suicide of Tyler Clementi has been raising awareness of the profound issue of privacy and young people.  Two students, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, have been criminally charged …