An Open Letter to Republican Freshmen Members of Congress  —  Welcome to all Republican Freshmen and congratulations!  —  Congratulations to all of you for your contribution to this historic election, and for the contributions I am certain you will make to our country in the next two years.

House Dems Avert Leadership Battle  —  WASHINGTON — House Democrats averted a messy leadership struggle Friday night, clearing the way for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to remain in a top position and preventing a battle between other representatives as the party becomes the minority.

One and done: To be a great president, Obama should not seek reelection in 2012  —  President Obama must decide now how he wants to govern in the two years leading up to the 2012 presidential election.  —  In recent days, he has offered differing visions of how he might approach the country's problems.

Murkowski: DeMint will have to make first move for ‘making up’  —  If Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is interested in apologizing to Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), he'll have to make the first move, Murkowski said Friday.  —  The Alaska senator, who appears poised to win reelection as a write …

American Narcissus  —  The vanity of Barack Obama  —  Why has Barack Obama failed so spectacularly?  Is he too dogmatically liberal or too pragmatic?  Is he a socialist, or an anticolonialist, or a philosopher-president?  Or is it possible that Obama's failures stem from something simpler: vanity.

Obama's iPad: iReggie  —  Washington (CNN) - Apparently President Obama doesn't need an iPad; he's got an aide for that: iReggie.  —  At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' retreat in Yokohama, Japan, on Saturday, a print pool reporter was within earshot of a brief exchange between …

Growing backlash against TSA body scanners, pat-downs  —  (CNN) — A growing pilot and passenger revolt over full-body scans and what many consider intrusive pat-downs couldn't have come at a worse time for the nation's air travel system.  —  Thanksgiving, the busiest travel time of the year, is less than two weeks away.

WHEN THE 'WATER'S EDGE' STANDARD DISAPPEARS.... If our political system made more sense, this would be an astounding scandal that would dominate the discourse. … This just isn't normal.  Laura Rozen called the meeting itself “unusual, if not unheard of.”  But it's what Cantor said that's astounding.

HONEST CRITIQUE: JON STEWART CLASHES WITH RACHEL MADDOW  —  In a primetime interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Thursday evening, comedian (and stomach flu patient) Jon Stewart gave a candid assessment of the 24-hour cable news “arms race” and how they've missed the point of his “Rally to Restore Sanity.”

Expert: past 10 days have been worst of President Obama's ‘political life’  —  WASHINGTON - President Obama is coming home from his overseas trip pretty much empty-handed.  —  After watching his party take a beating in the midterm elections, Obama wasn't able to secure even a symbolic victory …

GOP wants Obama veto of earmarks  —  The top two House Republican leaders are calling on President Barack Obama to veto any spending bill containing earmarks, raising the stakes in a battle to claim purity on project-specific spending by Congress.  —  The joint statement …

Obama's Gifts to the GOP  —  Republicans own the political center for now.  Not because they deserve it.  —  Democrats are down, and sniping at each other.  That's the way it goes when parties lose.  What's interesting is the mood this week among Republicans on the ground.  It's not triumphal.

For Catholics, Interest in Exorcism Is Revived  —  The rite of exorcism, rendered gory by Hollywood and ridiculed by many modern believers, has largely fallen out of favor in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.  —  There are only a handful of priests in the country trained as exorcists …

Missing from 2012 presidential field: Military service  —  The resumes of the Republicans most frequently mentioned as potential presidential candidates are studded with impressive accomplishments and experience at the highest levels of government.  —  Yet nearly all of them are missing …

Get Ready for the Great MERS Whitewash Bill  —  When Congress comes back into session next week, it may consider measures intended to bolster the legal status of a controversial bank owned electronic mortgage registration system that contains three out of every five mortgages in the country.

Robert Gates orders leak probe  —  Defense Secretary Robert Gates is opening an investigation to determine who in the Defense Department leaked information to The Washington Post that showed a majority of the military would not object if the “don't ask, don't tell” policy were lifted.

At 52%, Palin's Unfavorable Score Hits a New High  —  Americans remain split in their reactions to Tea Party movement  —  PRINCETON, NJ — More than half of Americans, 52%, now view Sarah Palin unfavorably, the highest percentage holding a negative opinion of the former Alaska governor …