Giuliani vs. Palin in 2012?  —  (CNN) - Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he's more likely to run for president if former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin runs.  —  In an interview on CNN's “Piers Morgan Tonight,” Giuliani, who dropped out of the 2008 Republican presidential primary …

A rival SOTU response  —  The Tea Party Express emails supporters that Rep. Michelle Bachmann — passed over for a leadership spot, much less the response to the State of the Union — will deliver her own response:  —  Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has confirmed with us that she will broadcast …

I'm declaring February a Palin-free month.  Join me!  —  Though it is embarrassing to admit this in public, I can no longer hide the truth.  I have a Sarah Palin problem.  —  I have written about her in 42 columns since Sen. John McCain picked her as his presidential running mate in 2008.

DeMint joins CPAC boycott  —  South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint will skip this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, making him the most prominent conservative figure yet to express objections to what critics see as a pro-gay, libertarian tilt to the 38-year old event.

Rep. Broun: Mixed Seating At SOTU Is “A Trap” To “Silence Republicans” When “Barack Obama Spews Out All His Venom”  —  1 hour and 16 minutes ago — Matt Finkelstein  —  The tragic shootings in Tucson prompted calls for civility from politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Sen. Mark Udall's …

Oakland 2nd Graders Reportedly Engage In Sex Acts, Teacher Suspended  —  OAKLAND (CBS 5) — A teacher at Oakland's Markham Elementary School has been suspended indefinitely after school officials said a pair of second-graders performed sex acts on each other in class - with the teacher present.

Newt Gingrich tells Georgia Republicans he'll be a candidate in '12  —  In the last 24 hours, former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich has touched base with several prominent Republicans in his former home state, telling them that he intends to make a run for president in 2012 using Georgia as his base …

Free Market Health Care  —  Rep Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) sings the praises of the healthcare status quo and explains the problems with a government takeover of the health care system: … Hensarling is 53 years old, so his mother is, of course, eligible for Medicare.

Column: The Republican war on the CBO  —  It's the age of civility in American politics, but there's one institution that's been civil all along: the Congressional Budget Office (sorry, but sometimes civility is boring).  The nonpartisan agency, which calculates the official cost of legislation for Congress …

White House reboots on economic advice  —  Signaling a shift to a new phase of the administration's response to the nation's economic woes, President Barack Obama will sign an executive order Friday establishing a new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness that will be lead by General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt.

McChrystal denies claims of secret military crusade against Islam  —  WASHINGTON — Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal says he is not part of a religious order waging war on Islam despite recent assertions by acclaimed journalist Seymour Hersh.  —  Speaking in Qatar earlier this week …

Sen. Murkowski questions approach to health repeal  —  Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Thursday cast doubt on the manner in which Republicans have attempted to repeal the healthcare law.  —  Murkowski (Alaska) said that she would vote to repeal the law if a vote was held in the Senate …

165 House Republicans endorse defunding USAID  —  As the budget battle inside the Republican Party heats up, a large group of conservative House Republicans called Thursday for a drastic defunding of the U.S. Agency for International Development and a host of other programs.

A Path Is Sought for States to Escape Their Debt Burdens  —  Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.

The Phantom 15 Million  —  Taming unemployment starts with solving the mystery of the jobs that were supposed to have been created in the past 10 years but weren't.  —  Anxious: Job seekers in Denver.  —  America's jobs crisis began a decade ago.  Long before the housing bubble burst …

Roberts, Alito face tough choice on whether to attend State of the Union  —  Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito face a difficult choice on whether to attend President Obama's State of the Union address next week.  —  Alito and Roberts, who were both nominated …

‘Steampunk Palin’ Comic More Insane Than You Imagined  —  Picture in your mind the most insane possible story that could be contained in a book named Steampunk Palin.  Go ahead, take ten seconds or so to imagine it perfectly in your mind's eye.  Use this cover image for help.  —  Got it?  Good.

Brother of Harry Potter star jailed for attacking her  —  The brother of a Harry Potter star has been jailed for six months for a “prolonged and nasty” attack in which she was beaten and branded a “slag” for dating a non-Muslim.  —  Afshan Azad, 21, who played Padma Patil …

Brad Friedman, Partner of Convicted Bomber, Is Very Concerned About Glenn Beck's Rhetoric  —  As I explained last night, Glenn Beck never told his supporters to shoot anyone in the head: … Now comes Brad Friedman doing his typical “am I lying or am I stupid?” game:

Santorum's Non-Gaffe  —  I disagree with Rick Santorum on almost everything, including abortion.  But this recent kerfuffle about the former Pennsylvania Senator's remarks about black people, including the President, and abortion is a classic example of political correctness run amok.

You Think Houses Are a Slow Sell?  Try a Yacht  —  What is tougher than having one sleek mega-yacht for sale in a glutted market?  The answer, for the moment at least, is having two mega-yachts on the market.  —  In boom times, yacht enthusiasts would order a new dream boat and keep …

The Giffords seat  —  Gabrielle Giffords' 2010 challenger finds himself in an extremely delicate position, as a forwarded report from Arizona Capitol Reports indicates.  —  He just canceled his expected announcement of another campaign:  —  “Everything's been cancelled.  Everything's on hold.

(2 of 2)  —  “Just me, personally, I think the window is closing,” he said.  —  Thune agreed, saying “the clock is ticking.”  —  “I do know that candidates are getting out there, and people are starting to gravitate certain directions,” Thune said.  —  Thune said he has done much analysis and gathered many data points.