The West Wing, Season II  —  Almost overnight, Barack Obama overhauled his White House and rewrote much of the script.  Now all he needs is a happy ending.  —  David Axelrod awoke at three in the morning and checked his BlackBerry.  It was January 12, a few hours before Barack Obama …

Secret papers reveal slow death of Middle East peace process  —  • Massive new leak lifts lid on negotiations  —  • PLO offered up key settlements in East Jerusalem  —  • Concessions made on refugees and Holy sites  —  The biggest leak of confidential documents in the history …

The Competition Myth  —  Meet the new buzzword, same as the old buzzword.  In advance of the State of the Union, President Obama has telegraphed his main theme: competitiveness.  The President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board has been renamed the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Statement of Events: Bradley Manning's Primary Visitor Detained at Quantico  —  At roughly 1:00 pm, upon driving onto the base at Quantico, David House and blogger Jane Hamsher were detained by military guards.  House, who is on the Quantico Brig's visitation list, has been visiting Bradley Manning in confinement since last September.

Tea time for Antonin Scalia  —  Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will speak on Monday on the separation of powers at an event organized by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and her Tea Party Caucus.  —  Though the Tea Party Caucus is a conservative group, Bachmann's office confirmed …

George Allen to announce Senate bid Monday  —  Former Sen. George Allen will end weeks of speculation and formally declare his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Virginia on Monday, two Republican advisers tell POLITICO.  —  Allen, who has been making all the moves of a candidate in recent weeks …

The World from The Hill: U.N. funding an early target for House Republicans  —  A key House Republican is quickly pressing forward with her goals to scale back U.S. funding for the United Nations.  —  Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee …

Sarah Palin and the Battle for Feminism  —  When Sarah Palin took the podium in St. Paul to accept her nomination for the vice presidency in September 2008, calm and collected feminists might have recalled the old saw: Be careful what you wish for.  Here she was, an ambitious political woman …

Interviewing Thomas Sowell On Basic Economics  —  Interviewing Thomas Sowell On Basic Economics  —  Late last year, I wrote a column for Townhall called, 10 Life Changing Books To Give This Christmas.  One of those book was Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics 4th Ed: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy.

20 years after Desert Storm, Congress defers to the Pentagon on budgets  —  Since the swift U.S.-led victory in Operation Desert Storm, Congress largely has shown deference to Pentagon decisions on budgets, weapon programs and war plans - a trend accelerated by the 9/11 attacks, defense experts say.

Global Price Fears Mount  —  As Food, Raw Materials Soar, Europe's Central Bank Head Warns on Inflation  —  Inflation fears—fueled by spiraling food, oil and raw material prices—are mounting around the globe, prompting the head of the European Central Bank to signal that it could raise interest rates …

Top senators seek deal on rules for nominations  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior senators are negotiating to reduce the 1,400 presidential appointments subject to time-consuming Senate confirmation, hoping to streamline a system that has frustrated administrations of both parties, according to officials familiar with the discussions.