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 …

Suicide bomber kills 31 at Russian airport: reports  —  (Reuters) - At least 31 people were killed and more than 100 injured on Monday in a suicide bombing at Russia's biggest airport, Russian news agencies reported.  —  Russia's ruble-dominated stock market MICEX fell by nearly …

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 …

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.

'America's lifeguard'  —  I had the privilege of coming of age during the era of Ronald Reagan.  I like to think of him as America's lifeguard.  As a teenager, Ronald Reagan saved 77 lives as a lifeguard on the Rock River, which ran through his hometown of Dixon, Ill. The day he was inaugurated in 1981 …

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.

N.J. Gov. Christie says ‘no’ to State of the Union response  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) turned down an offer to rebut President Obama's State of the Union address, according to a top Christie adviser.  —  Bill Palatucci told The Star Ledger that the Republican leadership …

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 …

Mortgage Giants Leave Legal Bills to the Taxpayers  —  Since the government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending the mortgage finance companies and their former top executives in civil lawsuits accusing them of fraud.

Olbermann Split Came After Years of Tension  —  MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.

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.