A New Leader for the Democrats  —  Nancy Pelosi has been an extremely effective speaker of the House for four years, shepherding hundreds of important bills toward passage and withstanding solid Republican opposition.  Her work in passing health care reform and strong ethics oversight achieved …

President Obama isolated ahead of 2012  —  President Barack Obama has performed his act of contrition.  Now comes the hard part, according to Democrats around the country: reckoning with the simple fact that he's isolated himself from virtually every group that matters in American politics.

I Am a Blogger No Longer  —  This is my final blog post for The Atlantic.  Five years ago, as a way to boost the competitive metabolism of The Hotline, Chuck Todd hired me away from ABC News to create “Hotline On Call.”  I was to be the first political reporter working for a mainstream news …

Sanders wants halt to Comcast-NBC deal after Olbermann suspension  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he would look to block a merger between NBC and Comcast, citing the decision last week by MSNBC to suspend liberal anchor Keith Olbermann.  —  Sanders said Comcast's attempt to acquire NBC …

Today's Power Play: GOP Sweetens its Offer to Manchin  —  ((Get politically powered up each day with exclusive analysis and content with Fox News' AEHQ iPhone app))  —  Early Intel — GOP Sweetens its Offer to Manchin  —  Republicans are making some big promises to try …

Doing It Again  —  Eight years ago Ben Bernanke, already a governor at the Federal Reserve although not yet chairman, spoke at a conference honoring Milton Friedman.  He closed his talk by addressing Friedman's famous claim that the Fed was responsible for the Great Depression …

Key Republican: Palin cost us the Senate  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) cost the GOP control of the Senate, a powerful House Republican said.  —  Rep. Spencer Bachus (Ala.) said that Tea Party-backed candidates Palin endorsed underperformed against their Democratic rivals, costing the GOP key pickup opportunities.

George Bush: Tea party a ‘good thing’  —  Former President George W. Bush says the tea party movement is a sign that “democracy works in America.”  —  In an interview with Fox News's Sean Hannity set to air Monday night, Bush heralds the grass-roots conservative movement as a “good thing” for the American political system.

California: The Lindsay Lohan of States  —  Sacramento is headed for trouble again, and it shouldn't expect a bailout.  —  Listen up, California.  The other 48 states—your cousin New York excluded—are sick of your bratty arrogance.  You're the Lindsay Lohan of states …

Gov. George Pataki ‘Looking at’ Run for President; Peekskill ‘Twice the Size of Wasilla’  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports:  —  Sarah Palin isn't the only former governor/former mayor who's mulling a run for president in 2012.  —  On ABC's “Top Line” today, former Gov. George Pataki …

The Other Texas Republican on Book Tour  —  Former President George W. Bush is not the only Texas Republican on book tour.  —  Gov. Rick Perry, who succeeded Mr. Bush a decade ago and was re-elected last week to become the longest-serving governor in the country, is out pitching a book of his own.

If you thought the bank bailout was bad, wait until the mortgage defaults hit home  —  THE BIG PICTURE: Ireland is effectively insolvent - the next crisis will be mass home mortgage default, writes MORGAN KELLY … WHEN I wrote in The Irish Times last May showing how the bank guarantee …

ELECTORAL DISSONANCE  —  Barack Obama had the mot juste last Wednesday for what had just befallen him and his party: a “shellacking.”  The President's choice of word was one syllable (and one “g") longer than his predecessor's summary after a parallel midterm debacle.

Criminal barbering?  Raids at Orange County shops lead to arrests, raise questions  —  Customers watch a movie and collegiate football game at Strictly Skillz Barbershop in Pine Hills, on Saturday, October 9, 2010.  In the African-American community, beauty and barbershops are a cornerstone …

Bad News for Liberals May Be Good News for a Liberal Magazine  —  Other than perhaps the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, there were few places as despondent on election night as the Manhattan offices of The Nation, the 146-year-old journal of fiery leftist opinion.

Jim Webb: Why Reagan Dems Still Matter  —  Jim Webb went to the White House last September.  The Virginia senator was meeting with the president to discuss Guantanamo detainees.  The conversation soon shifted to healthcare.  “I told him this was going to be a disaster,” Webb recalls.