Bush: “I probably won't even vote for McCain”  —  George W. Bush's bombastic return to the world stage has reminded me of my favourite Bush anecdote, which for various reasons we couldn't publish at the time.  Some of the witnesses still dine out on it.  —  The venue was the Oval Office.

Miller sues to force exact spelling rule for write-in votes  —  JUNEAU — GOP nominee Joe Miller is asking a federal judge to keep the state from using discretion in counting write-in ballots in Alaska's hotly contested Senate race.  —  The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, comes …

More federal workers' pay tops $150,000  —  The number of federal workers earning $150,000 or more a year has soared tenfold in the past five years and doubled since President Obama took office, a USA TODAY analysis finds.  —  The fast-growing pay of federal employees has captured the attention …

Carlson sent fake ‘Olbermann’ emails to Philly columnist  —  Tucker Carlson boasted in July that his site, the Daily Caller, had bought the domain name for liberal MSNBC host Keith Olbermann.  Carlson, a conservative journalist and pundit, even said he would start using the email address keith@keitholbermann.com as a gag.

Republicans Maneuver to Oust Their Leader  —  WASHINGTON — Turning their attention to the 2012 presidential election, Republican leaders are digging in for a battle over control of the Republican National Committee, judging that its role in fund-raising, get-out-the-vote operations and other tasks …

Jet contrails from some angles look like missile trails  —  Note to the media - since this was almost certainly Flight AWE808 from Hawaii to Phoenix, why not have a camera crew somewhere in the vicinity (does not need to be exact, or a chopper), at around 5-5:30 today, and if the weather is right you'll see the same trail again.

Democrats want leadership elections delayed  —  (CNN) - Two House Democrats are circulating a letter asking Democratic leaders to push their party's leadership elections for the next Congress until December.  —  Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D- Ohio) and Peter Defazio (D-Oregon) say in the letter that the …

Interior inspector general: White House skewed drilling-ban report  —  The White House rewrote crucial sections of an Interior Department report to suggest an independent group of scientists and engineers supported a six-month ban on offshore oil drilling, the Interior inspector general says in a new report.

Bryan Fischer: A hot dog on two legs - time for open season on Yellowstone grizzlies  —  One human being is worth more than an infinite number of grizzly bears.  Another way to put it is that there is no number of live grizzlies worth one dead human being.  If it's a choice between grizzlies and humans, the grizzlies have to go.

Room at the top?  Not for young Dems  —  A younger generation of Democrats is chafing at being asked to stand aside and let a triumvirate of elders keep their leadership positions in the wake of a catastrophic midterm election result.  —  Barring an unexpected shake-up …

First Salvo In Social Security Fight: OweNo, A $20 Million Campaign Launched With Bayh, Conrad As Allies  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — In what may be the first major move of the forthcoming Social Security debate, the Peterson Foundation launched on Tuesday a $20 million TV ad campaign …

Why Rush to Cut Nukes?  —  THE sweeping Democratic midterm losses last week raise serious questions for President Obama and a lame-duck Congress.  Voters want government brought closer to the vision the framers outlined in the Constitution, and the first test could be the fate of the flawed …

Watchdog wants probe of Google's ‘unusually close’ ties to Obama  —  As House Republicans plan an ambitious oversight agenda for the next session of Congress, a watchdog group is calling for a probe into a company that it says is far too cozy with the Obama administration: Google.

Obama officials moving away from 2011 Afghan date  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has decided to begin publicly walking away from what it once touted as key deadlines in the war in Afghanistan in an effort to de-emphasize President Barack Obama's pledge that he'd begin withdrawing U.S. forces …

Beck disappears Soros' support for pro-Western, anti-Communist political movements in order to further conspiracy theory  —  As examples, Beck cited Soros' purported roles in the Rose Revolution (Georgia), the Orange Revolution (Ukraine) and the Velvet Revolution (Czechoslovakia), as well as “coups” in Croatia and Yugoslavia.

Transcript: Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and Sec. of Defense Robert Gates Speak to Cynthia McFadden  —  From the Politics of Washington to the Causalities of War, the Powerful Duo Sit Down for a Joint Interview … Interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

In Message to G-20 Leaders, Obama Aims to Calm Tensions  —  SEOUL, South Korea — President Obama, marking the start of a summit meeting that has already tested the limits of international cooperation, implored other world leaders on Wednesday to shift global economic demand away …

Dayton, Emmer preparing for the long count  —  Both sides are establishing war rooms and plans for fundraising for what could be a nasty recount battle.  —  On the surface, all is quite civil and orderly in Minnesota's lingering race for governor: DFLer Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer hustled …

Obama's Reelect  —  On our final round of 18 polls conducted before last week's election we asked folks in every state included whether they would prefer Barack Obama or a generic Republican in 2012, and we asked folks who identified themselves as regular Republican primary voters …

Extending Tax Cuts, but With a Catch  —  Top Democrats Link Keeping Bush-Era Breaks to an Overhaul of Tax Code; Republican Aides Say They Are Open to the Idea  —  WASHINGTON—Two top Senate Democrats floated the idea Tuesday of extending the Bush-era income-tax rates for a limited time only …

Jobs forecast can help Obama — if he can sell it to the nation  —  An exasperated Robert Gibbs said last summer: “Let's just be honest, the economy lost more jobs than it had in the last three recessions combined.  It's hard to message that.”  —  The verdict voters returned last week …

The Myth of Record-High Gold  —  2:14 p.m. |  Updated with more detail  —  “Gold sets record high amid economic fears,” The Associated Press recently wrote.  “Gold surges to record high,” CNN said.  Gold closed Monday “at a record $1,402.80 per troy ounce,” the front page of The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

2010's Surprise Developments  —  Whenever I'm asked what the biggest surprise was for me in this election, I confess that there were several, but not many occurred on election night.  —  I was stunned by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski's GOP primary loss, something I did not see coming.

Obama lauds Indonesia as a model of religious tolerance  —  Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) — Indonesia and the United States share principles of unity and tolerance and both can benefit from strengthened ties that will bolster trade and combat terrorism, President Obama said in a highly anticipated speech Wednesday.

House Republicans Name Program That Already Expired As First Spending Item They Would Cut  —  ThinkProgress has been documenting the struggles that House Republicans have been having as they attempt to claim the mantle of fiscal responsibility without laying out any real spending cuts to which anyone might object.