Let's Not Make a Deal  —  Back in 2001, former President George W. Bush pulled a fast one.  He wanted to enact an irresponsible tax cut, largely for the benefit of the wealthiest Americans.  But there were Senate rules in place designed to prevent that kind of irresponsibility.

Sarah Palin Passes On RNC  —  ABC News' John Berman and Mary Bruce report:  —  Sarah Palin isn't running...for one job at least.  She doesn't appear to be a candidate to Chair the Republican National Committee.  —  The activist group Tea Party Nation, planned on sending a letter to Palin pleading for her to run.

Kennedy Still Highest-Rated Modern President, Nixon Lowest  —  Jimmy Carter's retrospective approval rating and rank drop from 2006  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Of the nine U.S. presidents who have served in the past 50 years, John F. Kennedy continues to earn the highest retrospective job approval rating from Americans, now 85%.

Spending cuts?  From these guys?  Republicans Poised to Make “Prince of Pork” Appropriations Chair  —  ABC News' Jonathan Karl reports:  —  This week House Republicans will choose committee chairman for the incoming Congress, the leaders who, in large measure, will define the new Republican majority.

Rulings set on Wal-Mart, warming (final UPDATE, 11:58 a.m.)  —  The Supreme Court stepped into two major controversies on Monday, agreeing to sort out when a class-action lawsuit may be filed when employees are seeking back pay for alleged workplace discrimination, and to clarify whether companies claimed …

Gov. Gary Johnson: I Smoked Marijuana from 2005 to 2008  —  The former New Mexico governor and likely 2012 Republican presidential candidate talks to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.  —  Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor and a likely 2012 Republican presidential candidate …

Kathy Griffin Gets Booed By U.S. Troops After Calling Bristol Palin Fat  —  Comedian and self-proclaimed “D-lister” Kathy Griffin hosted VH1 Divas Salute the Troops which was taped for an audience of servicemen at the Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, California, and aired last night.

List of facilities ‘vital to US security’ leaked  —  Ningbo port in south-eastern China, one of the facilities on the US list  —  A long list of key facilities around the world that the US describes as vital to its national security has been released by Wikileaks.

IF TWO WEEKS ISN'T ENOUGH, MAKE IT THREE.... Based on the current schedule, the Senate Democratic leadership intends to wrap the lame-duck session on Dec. 17 — a week from Friday.  Given this extremely tight calendar, and Republican delaying tactics, a whole lot of observers on both sides …

Right wing declares war on the poor: Kate O'Beirne calls parents of school lunch recipients child abusers  —  I'm speechless.  This little rant by Kate O'Beirne at a Republican strategy session is so evil, so incredibly cold-hearted, and so predictably right-wing that it makes me want to shove …

What happened to the ‘warmest year on record’: The truth is global warming has halted  —  A year ago tomorrow, just before the opening of the UN Copenhagen world climate summit, the British Meteorological Office issued a confident prediction.  The mean world temperature for 2010, it announced …

Chart of the day: U.S. taxes  —  Stephen Culp has another striking chart today:  —  This chart should be ingrained in the mind of anybody who cares about fiscal policy.  The main things to note:  — Federal taxes are the lowest in 60 years, which gives you a pretty good idea …

Elizabeth Edwards seriously ill  —  CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has spread, and her health has deteriorated, multiple sources told WRAL News Monday.  —  Edwards, 61, the wife of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, was briefly hospitalized recently …

Julian Assange, Information Anarchist  —  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange hopes to hobble the U.S. government.  —  Whatever else WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has accomplished, he's ended the era of innocent optimism about the Web.  As wiki innovator Larry Sanger put it in a message to WikiLeaks …

Short goodnight expected for the DREAM Act during lame duck  —  The DREAM Act — a priority of Democrats in both Congress and the White House — faces a difficult future in the lame duck.  —  Even as Democrats in both chambers prepare to consider the measure this week …

Mike Huckabee wants some respect  —  Dial down the deafening Sarah Palin buzz for just a moment: The most consequential decision in the 2012 Republican presidential sweepstakes could be whether Mike Huckabee decides to run again - and associates say the former Arkansas governor may well take the plunge.

Inhofe: ‘Why Do They Always Pick On The Christians?’  —  Last week, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) announced that he would refuse to participate in Tulsa's “Holiday Parade of Lights” because the city had renamed the parade, replacing “Christmas” with “Holiday.”  After taking part in the parade every year …