Sarah Palin takes us for a ride.  —  When it was announced, in the spring, that Sarah Palin would be making a reality show about Alaska, the state she grew up in and then, last year, blew off, by resigning the governorship, I'm sure I winced and groaned and rolled my eyes, before hanging my head …

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 …

Olbermann Apologizes to Viewers, But Not to MSNBC  —  6:15 p.m. |  Update In an aggressive statement questioning the legitimacy of his two-day suspension from MSNBC, Keith Olbermann addressed his viewers Monday night, saying that they were responsible for his scheduled return to the air on Tuesday …

Even with tax cuts, GOP appears willing to shoot the hostage  —  Adam Serwer is a staff writer at The American Prospect, where he writes his own blog.  —  The debate on ABC's This Week between former Reagan Office of Management and Budget director David Stockman and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence …

Johnny Dollar takes Rachel Maddow to school  —  It's becoming clearer by the hour that the hallowed halls of MSNBC are in utter chaos.  Johnny Dollar provides further proof via the simple method of repeating their own words back to them:  —  You tell 'em, Keith!  Much more at Johnny Dollar's Place.

Black Caucus mum on Tea Party Republican who wants to join  —  Rep.-elect Allen West (Fla.) said last week, “I'm gonna find out when they meet, and I will be a member.”  —  The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is staying silent about a Tea Party Republican's bid to join the group.

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 …

Grief counseling after the wipeout  —  A staffer for a congressional Democrat who came up short on Tuesday reports that a team of about five people stopped by their offices this morning to talk about payroll, benefits, writing a résumé, and so forth, with staffers who are now job hunting.

Interview with Hamish and Andy  —  University of Melbourne  —  QUESTION: Madam Secretary, thank you so much for joining us.  —  SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you for having me.  —  QUESTION: It's very exciting.  And we start with a gift.  —  SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, excellent.

5th Circuit Rules That High School Cheerleader Is Required To Cheer For Her Alleged Rapist  —  Fifth Circuit Judge Priscilla Owen and former President George W. Bush  —  The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, one of the most right-wing courts in the country …

Obama's speech, his teleprompter, the reaction  —  He thrilled them by calling for India to have a permanent seat on an expanded U.N. Security Council.  He reassured them by demanding that Pakistan bring those responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks to justice.  He flattered them by recalling India's

Is Rand Paul Already Selling Out?  —  On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal ran this piece on senators-elect Rand Paul and Roy Blunt.  The piece is organized to contrast Blunt, who's been around for a long time, with first-timer Paul.  One is presented as being comfortable with compromises …

Challenger Wiggins pulls closer to Justice Sanders  —  Incumbent Justice Richard Sanders watched his lead over challenger Charlie Wiggins shrink in Monday's vote-counts for a contested seat on the state Supreme Court.  —  Meanwhile, in an e-mail headlined “Don't Let Wiggins Steal This Election …

Wife of terrorism convict pleads guilty; will have to leave U.S.  —  Alexandria, Virginia (CNN) — The Ugandan wife of an American-born man who pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists entered her own guilty plea on Monday.  —  Proscovia Kampire Nzabanita …

Darrell Issa plans hundreds of hearings  —  California Rep. Darrell Issa is already eyeing a massive expansion of oversight for next year, including hundreds of hearings; creating new subcommittees; and launching fresh investigations into the bank bailout, the stimulus and, potentially, health care reform.

Obama acknowledges decline of US dominance  —  MUMBAI: Implicitly acknowledging the decline of American dominance, Barack Obama on Sunday said the US was no longer in a position to “meet the rest of the world economically on our terms”.  —  Speaking at a town hall meeting in Mumbai, he said …

Netanyahu faces embarrassment in U.S. over new Jerusalem building plan  —  Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee published details of program that will allow 930 new housing units to be built beyond the Green Line.  —  New embarrassment threatened to cast a cloud …

Repeal of Policy on Gay Service Faces Struggle  —  WASHINGTON — Prospects for Congress to authorize repeal of the “don't ask, don't tell” policy face new uncertainties as time runs out for the Senate to act and strong objections remain among Republicans and the most senior ranks of the military.

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 …

ACORN razzes President Obama in New Delhi during India visit  —  Had President Barack Obama stopped to survey the crowd of Indian leftists protesting in the heart of New Delhi on Monday, he might have seen a familiar name on some placards: ACORN.  —  The group, a pioneering organizing force …

How to spend $140,000,000 on American politics  —  Meg Whitman's losing campaign to become governor of California cost her $140,000,000.  Ouch.  Matt Yglesias takes a moment to offer rich people with political ambitions some good advice: Start lower.  “Self-finance a campaign for Mayor or State Treasurer or something.

What if states ditch Medicaid?  —  The Medicaid expansion was meant to be one of the hallmark accomplishments of health-care reform.  The Affordable Care Act will expand the program rapidly by subsidizing insurance for all Americans up to 133 percent of the poverty line, which will add an estimated 16 million new Medicaid enrollees.

Steele: 'They don't want me in this job'  —  Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Monday that many party members still “don't want me in this job.”  —  Coming off a cycle in which the Republicans took control of the House with a whopping net gain of 60 seats …

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 …