The Hijacked Commission  —  Count me among those who always believed that President Obama made a big mistake when he created the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform — a supposedly bipartisan panel charged with coming up with solutions to the nation's long-run fiscal problems.

Pelosi: Economy Key In Democrats' Election Losses … The 2010 midterm elections dealt the Democrats a blow, especially in the House of Representatives, where they lost the majority.  Renee Montagne sits down with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to talk about Pelosi's next steps — and those of her party.

Why I'm Running for RNC Chairman  —  FROM: Saul Anuzis, MI-NCM  —  RE: Announcement for RNC Chairman  —  DATE: November 12, 2010  —  Congratulations on your success, nationwide and state-by-state.

Supreme Court lets 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy remain in place  —  The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Friday to pause enforcement of the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian service members while that policy faces a legal challenge.  —  The high court sided against the Log Cabin Republicans …

Murkowski confident as write-in tally grows  —  WRITE-INS: Miller camp steps up challenges, threatens new lawsuit.  —  scockerham@adn.com  —  The Division of Elections has reviewed write-in ballots for almost half the precincts in Alaska and is counting nearly 98 percent of them for Lisa Murkowski.

Cindy McCain does video opposing DADT, accuses ‘our government’ of sending signal that bullying is okay - her hubbie is the lead defender of DADT  —  John McCain is leading the filibuster against the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” “repeal” legislation in the Senate (it's not an actual repeal, but we'll leave that for another time).

Top Palin aide is on Soros' payroll  —  Glenn Beck spent the past week denouncing the liberal billionaire and philanthropist George Soros as a “puppet master” who is orchestrating a coup “to bring America to her knees.”  —  Given Soros' alleged role plotting to destroy the United States …

In An ‘Unusual’ Meeting, Cantor Tells Netanyahu The GOP Majority ‘Will Serve As A Check’ On Obama's Israel Policy  —  Earlier this week, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sharply criticized the Israeli government after it announced plans to build more than 1,000 Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.

School Makes Boy Take American Flag Off Bike  —  DENAIR -  —  13-year-old Cody Alicea rides with an American flag on the back of his bike.  He says he does this to be patriotic and to honor veterans, like his own grandfather, Robert.  He's had the flag on his bike for two months but Monday, was told to take it down.

Daily Beast, Newsweek to Wed!  —  Some weddings take longer to plan than others.  The union of The Daily Beast and Newsweek magazine finally took place with a coffee-mug toast between all parties Tuesday evening, in a conference room atop Beast headquarters, the IAC building on Manhattan's West 18th Street.

Conservative Leaders Threaten Critics Of Sen. Jim DeMint  —  ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:  —  Prominent conservative leaders are putting critics of Sen. Jim DeMint on notice: Stop blaming the South Carolina Republican for the GOP's failure to take back the majority in the Senate — or else.

Bobby Jindal hammers Barack Obama in new book  —  NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal uses a new book to portray President Obama as disconnected from the Gulf oil spill, charging that he was more focused on the political aftermath than the actual impact of the crisis.

National Greatness Agenda  —  Elections come and go, but the United States is still careening toward bankruptcy.  By 2020, the U.S. will be spending $1 trillion a year just to pay the interest on the national debt.  Sometime between now and then the catastrophe will come.  —  It will come with amazing swiftness.

Your Child Left Behind  —  For years, poor performance by students in America relative to those in other countries has been explained away as a consequence of our nationwide diversity.  But what if you looked more closely, breaking down our results by state and searching not for an average, but for excellence?

Unexplored Revenues  —  The flipside of the Simpson-Bowles document's unsound aggregate cap on revenue is that they were very uncreative in their exploration of revenue options.  For example, what about a tax on greenhouse gas emissions?  The mere fact that the conservative movement …

IF IT'S SUNDAY.... Mark Halperin called the guest list for Sunday's “Meet the Press” an “all-star lineup.”  That's not quite the description I'd use.  —  We'll first see an interview with Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod.  That makes sense.  —  Then viewers will see an “exclusive!” interview with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Sarah Palin E-mail Hacker Sentenced to 1 Year in Custody  —  David Kernell, the former Tennessee student convicted of hacking into Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account, was sentenced on Friday to one year in custody.  —  Kernell, 22, was convicted earlier this year of misdemeanor computer intrusion …

Chris Christie, the Justin Bieber of Political Media  —  This might be an obvious point about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, but I haven't seen anyone make it yet.  The man's political operation is extraordinary.  The legend of Christie as blunt-talking master of truth and invective …

Rick Perry to lead Republican Governors Association  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry will be tapped as the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association when the organization meets next week in San Diego, GOP sources tell POLITICO.  —  Perry recently released a book taking aim …

TPM Turns 10  —  Today we're kicking off our celebration of TPM's 10th anniversary.  You can read the first TPM post here.  (If you look closely you'll see it's dated November 13th 2000.  So yes, don't tell anyone, but tomorrow is actually the day.  But we're kicking off the celebration today.

Reid asked Bennet to lead DSCC  —  A senior Senate Democratic source told POLITICO this afternoon that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has asked Colorado Freshman Michael Bennet to head the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.  —  Bennet, who won an uphill battle for election to his appointed seat …

Rush: Clyburn could be ‘driving Miss Nancy’  —  Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Thursday suggested that Rep. Jim Clyburn — the highest-ranking African American in Congress — serve as chauffeur to Nancy Pelosi in the event he fails to win the race for House minority whip.

DNA Tests Undermine Evidence in Texas Execution  —  New results show Claude Jones was put to death on flawed evidence.  —  Claude Jones always claimed that he wasn't the man who walked into an East Texas liquor store in 1989 and shot the owner.  He professed his innocence right up until …