Obama: 'I Don't Think About Sarah Palin'  —  “Obviously Sarah Palin has a strong base of support in the Republican Party and I respect those skills,” Obama said.  “But I spend most of my time right now on how I can be the best possible president.  And my attitude has always been …

PROMISES, PROMISES: GOP leader reaps $200 million  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans' ban on earmarks - money included in a bill by a lawmaker to benefit a home-state project or interest - was short-lived.  —  Only three days after GOP senators and senators-elect renounced earmarks …

Woman: TSA Agents Singled Me Out For My Breasts  —  Travelers Plan To Boycott TSA's Latest Security Measure Aiming To Clog Security Lines  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — The head of the Transportation Security Administration said the agency will look further into allegations that two male TSA workers picked …

NATIONAL OPT-OUT DAY!  —  It's the day ordinary citizens stand up for their rights, stand up for liberty, and protest the federal government's desire to virtually strip us naked or submit to an “enhanced pat down” that touches people's breasts and genitals in an aggressive manner.

Fines and “Resolving this Mess”  —  Yves does a thorough smackdown on the departing Michael Barr's description of all the things the government is going to get to the bottom of the foreclosure fraud problem, noting that the foreclosure task force simply isn't investigating the problem …

Pat-Down Dispute Shows Mistrust of Government  —  The latest controversy to envelop the Obama administration is only partly about the specific rules governing body scanners and pat-downs.  It has to do, too, with the federal agency Congress created to deal with airline security and the tension …

GOP lawmakers under pressure to decline government health plan  —  Congressional Republicans who assailed the Democrats' healthcare law in the run-up to the midterm elections are facing pressure to decline government-provided coverage when they take office.  —  GOP Reps.-elect Bobby Schilling …

Bobby Jindal: Make Congress part-time  —  Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal wants members of Congress to stay home more often.  —  “We used to pay farmers not to grow crops, let's pay congressmen to stay out of Washington, D.C.,” Jindal said in an interview with Human Events.

Former Obama Advisor, Aide To NJ Dem, Arrested On Child Sex Charges  —  Robert Decheine, chief of staff to Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ), was arrested in Gaithersburg, Md. last Friday on charges of soliciting sex from a minor.  Decheine, who had been with the Democrat's office since 2003 …

South Koreans and U.S. to Stage a Joint Exercise  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama and South Korea's president agreed Tuesday night to hold joint military exercises as a first response to North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean military installation, as both countries struggled …

HarperCollins settles Gawker suit over leaked Palin excerpts  —  HarperCollins settled a lawsuit Tuesday night with Gawker Media over the site's publication of leaked images from Sarah Palin's new book, “America by Heart.”  —  Gawker posted the Palin excerpts on Friday and even mocked …

Fed lowers economic expectations for 2011  —  Unemployment is set to remain higher for longer than previously thought, according to new projections from the Federal Reserve that would mean more than 10 million Americans remain jobless through the 2012 elections - even as a separate report …

Why is the Obama administration linking Israel and New START?  —  While the White House continues to negotiate with Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) in an attempt to convince him to allow a vote on the New START treaty this year, it is also undertaking a massive effort behind the scenes to rally foreign governments …

President Palin?  Gov. Christie Rolls His Eyes … Faced with the prospect of a President Sarah Palin, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — the Republican party's darling from another coast — shook his head and rolled his eyes.  “I don't know, but it's an amazing world,” he said to “Late Night” …

The Real Story Behind Those “Record” Corporate Profits  —  Corporate profits hit a new record in the U.S. in the third quarter of this year.  At least, that was the headline after the data were released Tuesday.  It was kind of a meaningless distinction: In a growing economy …

Closing statements  —  This has been a really good debate, I think—a lot racier and spikier than many of our offerings, but none the worse for that.  It almost puts me in mind of PMQs.  Now the guest interventions from John Samples and Andrew Sullivan are in, as are the closing statements …

China, Russia quit dollar  —  Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on a visit to St. Petersburg on Tuesday.ALEXEY DRUZHININ / AFP  —  St. Petersburg, Russia - China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies …

Washington Post Continues Media Whitewash Of Radical GOP Rep.-Elect Allen West  —  Over the weekend, NBC's Meet the Press featured Rep.-elect Allen West (R-FL) without mentioning the offensive Islamophobia that West made central to his congressional campaign, nor the long history …