President Obama Brings Bill Clinton In To Talk Tax Plan...And Then Leaves To Go To A Christmas Party!  —  “I've never seen anything like that,” said MSNBC's Cenk Uygur after cutting back following a press conference on the tax plan.  It had begun with a surprise appearance by President Obama …

In Tapes, Nixon Rails About Jews and Blacks  —  YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Richard M. Nixon made disparaging remarks about Jews, blacks, Italian-Americans and Irish-Americans in a series of extended conversations with top aides and his personal secretary, recorded in the Oval Office 16 months before he resigned as president.

Palin-Hating Columbia Professor, Huffington Post Blogger, Busted for Incest  —  Let's begin with a flashback, shall we?  In July 2009, when Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska, Columbia University professor David Epstein wrote at his Huffington Post blog: … Got that?

Appointment Fight Divides Judges  —  Here is one for the “only in New Jersey” file: A state Supreme Court justice refuses to participate in any rulings because he objects to another jurist's serving temporarily on the court.  —  The dispute, aired in opinions released on Friday …

Bernie Sanders: In 2007, “the top 1 percent of all income earners in the United States made 23.5 percent of all income,” which is “more than the entire bottom 50 percent.”  —  Bernie Sanders, in viral speech, says top 1 percent earn more than 23 percent of U.S. income

Invaders from Mars  —  “Voting doesn't change anything — the politicians always win.”  'Twas not always so, but I'm hearing variations on that theme a lot these days, and not just in the UK.  —  Why do we feel so politically powerless?  Why is the world so obviously going to hell in a handbasket?

Navy Sets World Record With Incredible, Sci-Fi Weapon  —  U.S. Navy engineers at the Office of Naval Research prepared and test-fired a slug from their rail gun in a 2008 test firing.  On Friday, December 9, the ONR will attempt to break its own record.  —  A theoretical dream for decades …

With Filibuster, C-SPAN Has A Hit On Its Hands  —  Mr. Sanders has gone to C-SPAN.  —  Senator Bernard Sanders, independent of Vermont, started speaking against the Obama administration's tax cut deal on Friday morning, in full view of C-SPAN2's cameras, and by lunchtime his old-fashioned filibuster …

Madoff's Eldest Son Found Dead in Suicide  —  Mark Madoff, the older of Bernard L. Madoff's two sons, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on Saturday, the second anniversary of the day his father was arrested for running a gigantic Ponzi scheme that shattered thousands of lives around the world.

Judge rules against Miller in Senate suit  —  APPEAL?  U.S. Senate candidate can still take case to Alaska Supreme Court.  —  scockerham@adn.com  —  A Superior Court judge has ruled on all counts against Joe Miller's challenge of Alaska's election for U.S. Senate.

Poll: Obama's losing support; Romney would beat him now  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's approval ratings have sunk to the lowest level of his presidency, so low that he'd lose the White House to Republican Mitt Romney if the election were held today, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll.

Man In the Middle?  —  I think President Obama will benefit politically from the tax compromise, both because the economy will improve—somewhat, anyway—and because some voters will perceive him as more of a centrist.  But I agree with Peggy Noonan that Obama didn't help himself with those who actually watched his press conference: