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 …

A Political Life Filled With Cruel Reversals  —  Elizabeth Edwards, who as the wife of former Senator John Edwards gave America an intimate look at a candidate's marriage by sharing his quest for the 2008 presidential nomination as she struggled with incurable cancer and, secretly …

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 …

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.

Obama's Deal to Extend High-Earner Tax Cuts Unpopular in Poll  —  Americans don't approve of keeping the breaks for upper-income taxpayers that are part of the deal President Barack Obama brokered with congressional Republicans, a Bloomberg National Poll shows.

House Democrats Rip Obama's Tax Cut Deal  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION? … WASHINGTON — House Democrats gathered in the Capitol Tuesday evening to debate the tax-cut deal President Barack Obama struck with Republicans, but as it turned out, they were already in agreement to an extent rarely seen on the left side of the lower chamber.

U.S. Drops Bid to Sway Israel on Settlements  —  WASHINGTON — After three weeks of fruitless haggling with the Israeli government, the Obama administration has given up its effort to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze construction of Jewish settlements for 90 days, a senior administration official said Tuesday.

In Which Thomas Friedman Insults the Chinese By Pretending That He Can Think Like Them  —  Let's go to the tape: … Where to begin?  —  First off, fight over “how and where an airport security officer can touch” Americans is one that goes to the very core of privacy concerns that have been part …

New McCain, New DREAM.  —  John McCain has co-sponsored several previous versions of the DREAM Act, including the far more liberal 2003 version that didn't have an age cap.  The much narrower legislation under consideration this year, which would offer a path to citizenship for immigrants …

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.

President Obama's Sister Souljah week  —  President Obama's liberal critics are furious, vocal and useful to a White House trying to solve the riddle of reelection.  —  White House officials who last year viewed the “professional left” as an annoying bunch of ungrateful idealists living …

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 …

First, Admit You Have a Problem  —  Democrats are stuck on messages that ignore the larger problems they face.  —  Many Democrats seem to take solace in the idea that stubbornly high unemployment and the terrible economy are to blame for their midterm election losses.

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.

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.