Haley Barbour's Affection for the White Supremacist Citizens' Council  —  Andrew Ferguson's profile of Haley Barbour reveals that the guy is dangerously ignorant about the history of race in his state: … Fortunately, it's actually possible to look at the archives of the Citizens Council newspaper published right in Mississippi.

GOP senators concede arms treaty will secure enough votes to pass  —  Republican senators say privately they expect the Senate to ratify the New START treaty this week, which would hand President Obama his third major victory of the lame-duck session.  —  GOP senators — including those who plan …

Obama FCC Caves on Net Neutrality — Tuesday Betrayal Assured  —  What's Your Reaction:  —  Late Monday, a majority of the FCC has indicated that they're going to vote with Chairman Julius Genachowski for a toothless Net Neutrality rule.  —  According to all reports, the rule …

Gov. Chris Christie commutes sentence of man convicted of having guns in N.J. illegally  —  TRENTON — Brian Aitken, who was convicted of illegally possessing two handguns that he had legally purchased in Colorado, will be spending Christmas out of prison.  —  Gov. Chris Christie commuted …

Poll: Obama rebounding  —  President Barack Obama may be staging a comeback in the eyes of the American people, a new poll suggests.  —  In a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Monday, 48 percent of Americans say they approve of how Obama is handling his job, while 48 percent disapprove.

Chris Christie's Pepsi problem  —  In 1975, Pepsi unleashed “the Pepsi Challenge,” a blind taste test where subjects threw back an ounce of each beverage and reported back on their favorite.  Their favorite was Pepsi.  —  You already know what happened next: Coca-Cola developed a more Pepsi-like product called “New Coke.”

Nina Totenberg: ‘I Was At - Forgive the Expression - a Christmas Party...’  —  “I was at - forgive the expression - a Christmas party,” NPR reporter Nina Totenberg interjected on Inside Washington in the weekend's oddest cautionary separation from a common description for a common event …

The Culture War Ain't What It Used to Be.  —  Jonathan Bernstein makes an excellent point about the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell: … With the possible exception of John McCain, pretty much every conservative knew they were going to lose this argument eventually.

My Token Moment of Outreach to the Religious Right  —  Ross Douthat: … I don't spend a lot of time agreeing with the Christian right about things, but the whining about the secularization of Christmas is a point I sympathize with.  If Christmas were more properly religious …

Conservatives growing uncomfortable with GOP blockade of 9/11 health bill  —  With Senate Democrats upping the pressure for passage of the bill giving health benefits to sickened 9/11 responders, it's going to get increasingly hard for GOP Senators to maintain their opposition.

Janet Napolitano: We're Working “24/7, 364″ To Keep The American People Safe  —  Ya gotta wonder which day America's anti-terror forces are kicking their feet up with a book and maybe a nap, instead of, you know, “keeping the American people safe?”  —  On ABC's World News tonight …

The Effect of Falling Home Prices on Small Business Borrowing  —  Small businesses continue to report problems obtaining the financing they need.  Because small business owners may rely heavily on the value of their homes to finance their businesses (through mortgages or home equity lines) …

Omnibus Libertarian Reply Post  —  I'm not sure how much interest you all have in following my running debates with the libertarian world, so I'm trying to wrap a couple of these threads up here in one place.  —  A while ago, Will Wilkinson argued that the fact that people like Peter Orszag …

Republicans Start Teaching Members How to Obey the Constitution  —  Earlier today, some Hill staffers attended the first of four staggered meetings on how to write a new clause into legislation that explains why, exactly, the legislation is constitutional.  This was a big Tea Party demand …

McConnell plans to make Dems sweat  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has a warning for Democrats seething over his shrewd political tactics: Get used to it.  —  “There's much for them to be angst-ridden about,” McConnell said with a chuckle.  “If they think it's bad now, wait 'til next year.”