How the White House cut its deal and lost its base  —  If you look at the numbers alone, the tax cut deal looks to have robbed Republicans blind.  The GOP got around $95 billion in tax cuts for wealthy Americans and $30 billion in estate tax cuts.  Democrats got $120 billion in payroll-tax cuts …

Cancer claims Elizabeth Edwards  —  Elizabeth Edwards, author of ‘Saving Graces’ , greets and autographs copies of her book for the community in 2006.  —  Elizabeth Anania Edwards, who became a national figure in her fight against cancer and as a partner in her husband John's political career, died today.

DeMint To Oppose “the Deal”  —  Senator JimDeMint just announced on my program that he will oppose the deal as well as a vote for cloture on the deal.  He is reluctant to criticize GOP Senate leadership, but believes the deal at a minimum has to be paid for, and that we need “a permanent economy” …

Tax Package Will Aid Nearly All, Especially Highest Earners  —  The deal to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for two years includes a bevy of additional credits and deductions that will reduce the burden on nearly all households.  —  But the tax benefits will flow most heavily to the highest earners …

Julian Assange's Great Luck  —  Why his arrest and jailing in the United Kingdom is good news for him.  —  A U.K. magistrates' court denied Julian Assange bail and jailed him this morning over charges filed in Sweden that he had violated sex laws in that country last summer.

Seminal Moment  —  Let's be honest with each other here: Presidential press conferences are usually news voids into which a lot of ink and chatter are dumped.  —  But Obama's press conference this afternoon will be seen as a turning point if not in his Presidency then in how we understand and perceive him and his approach to politics.

Scientists see fatal flaws in the NASA study of arsenic-based life.  —  On Thursday, Dec. 2, Rosie Redfield sat down to read a new paper called, “A Bacterium That Can Grow by Using Arsenic Instead of Phosphorus.”  Despite its innocuous title, the paper had great ambitions.

Murmurs of Primary Challenge to Obama  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama's compromise with Republicans on extending tax cuts for the wealthy, which his self-described progressive critics see as a profound betrayal, is bound to intensify a debate that has been bubbling up on liberal blogs …

Obama administers a stern scolding to lefty critics  —  I noted this morning that Obama's strategy going forward will be to position himself as Washington's lone resident adult in a town full of squabbling children on right and left, and at his presser just now, Obama offered a surprisingly stern …

Harry Reid tries to add online poker to tax bill  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to use the tax cut package President Barack Obama brokered with Republicans to legalize online poker, POLITICO has learned — a move that could further complicate the deal Obama announced Monday.

U.S. Drops Demand on Israel in Setback to Mideast Talks  —  WASHINGTON—The Obama administration abandoned its effort to convince Israel to renew a freeze on building settlements in the West Bank, temporarily derailing hopes for a fresh round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

TSA Response to “TSA Breast Milk Screening” Video  —  Nearly a year ago, a passenger going through airport screening on two separate occasions requested that her breast milk be visually inspected and not screened by the X-ray machine.  She filed a complaint with TSA regarding her screening experience.

WikiLeaks: Texas Company Helped Pimp Little Boys To Stoned Afghan Cops  —  ​Another international conflict, another horrific taxpayer-funded sex scandal for DynCorp, the private security contractor tasked with training the Afghan police.  —  While the company is officially based in the DC area …

Olbermann, Assange, and the Holocaust Denier  —  When you want to believe, you'll believe anything.  —  It now seems that the smears in the Julian Assange rape case are bidirectional, from the exceptionally flimsy charges accusing the WikiLeaks boss of being a sexual predator to the increasingly loud …

Klobuchar Formidable  —  Amy Klobuchar is overwhelmingly popular and would cruise to reelection at this point pretty much no matter who her Republican opponent was.  —  Klobuchar's approval rating is 59% with only 29% of voters disapproving of her.  She is universally well liked by the Democratic base …