Kerry's sharp eye on the secretary spot  —  AS EGYPT battles over its future, Senator John Kerry is negotiating his own.  —  The Bay State's senior senator is running an unofficial campaign to become the next secretary of state.  For once, he looks artful, as well as ambitious.

Rand Paul: End ‘welfare’ to Israel  —  Tea party-backed Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) isn't sure that congressional Republicans have the guts to make the big budget cuts they've promised and, he said, members of the movement are becoming frustrated.  —  “There's a disconnect between Republicans …

Santelli Slams CNBC Panelists for Spinning Jobs Report  —  CNBC's floor reporter criticizes ‘kool-aid drinkers’ for trying to find good news in the ‘disappointing.’  —  Jobs are heading up and down at the same time.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the morning of Feb. 4 …

Obama's Approval Ratings More Polarized in Year 2 Than Year 1  —  Ranks as fourth-most-polarized year for a president since 1953  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama's job approval ratings were even more polarized during his second year in office than during his first …

Attention Fox Nation: There Is More Than One Version Of The Bible  —  Conservatives have spent the last several years trying to cast doubt on President Obama's Christianity, often by suggesting he is a secret Muslim or claiming that he is a non-believer pretending to be Christian for political benefit.

Open Left is closing  —  I have some sad news.  After nearly four years in operation, today will be the final day Open Left publishes new content.  —  The site will not disappear, and all published content will remain online, but after today we will cease producing new content.

Gingrich 527 pulls in big money  —  Washington (CNN) - Newt Gingrich outpaced his potential 2012 rivals in fundraising during the last three months of 2010 thanks to his influential 527 group “American Solutions for Winning the Future,” which can solicit unlimited corporate and individual contributions.

Justice Scalia, Not Kennedy, Eyed As Key Vote In Support Of Health Care … WASHINGTON — Observers of the legal drama surrounding President Obama's health care reform legislation have reached two broad conclusions: that it will ultimately be ruled on by the Supreme Court, and that Justice Anthony Kennedy will be the deciding vote.

Elizabeth Spiers Taking Over As Editor In Chief of The New York Observer  —  Elizabeth Spiers is taking over as Editor-in-Chief of The Observer today, overseeing both the print and digital content.  —  “I am very excited to be working with Elizabeth to further build on the great progress we have made over the past few years.

Citizen activist grates on state over traffic signals  —  RALEIGH — David N. Cox says he was merely exercising his right to petition the government, but a state Department of Transportation official has raised allegations that Cox committed a misdemeanor: practicing engineering without a license.

Finger-pointing begins on Egypt  —  The debate over who “lost” Egypt seems to have begun.  —  Critics are openly questioning the quality of information and analysis given to President Barack Obama by U.S. intelligence agencies in the days leading up to the dramatic uprising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Another Kind of Financial Fragility  —  Recent events have a lot of economists working hard at trying to determine the causes of financial fragility — the vulnerability of some economies, ours very much included, to disruptive shocks that cause credit and spending to freeze.

Christie won't rule out running — in 2016  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Thursday evening that he hadn't ruled out running for president — in 2016.  —  Christie, the Garden State governor who's popular with Republicans but denied interest in running for president in 2012 …

The Bad Faith of Mandate Critics, Part 2  —  Read part 1 of this argument here.  —  The conservative legal brief against the Affordable Care Act rests heavily on a simple proposition.  Government can't make us obtain private insurance because, as the argument goes, that would be forcing us to buy a private product.

ObamaCare's Repeal Has Begun  —  This week's Senate vote to scrap an IRS reporting requirement is the start of a piece by piece approach.  —  Mark this date: On Feb. 2, 2011, a Democratic Senate killed the first piece of the health-care law it passed less than a year ago.

Report: Political Correctness Prevented FBI, DoD from Stopping Maj. Hasan  —  Today the Senate Homeland Security Committee released an independent report on the Ft. Hood shootings.  The 91 page report is titled A Ticking Time Bomb: Counterterrorism Lessons from the US Government's Failure to Prevent the Fort Hood Attack.

Senators Issue Lobbyist ‘Call to Arms’  —  The Senate Appropriations Labor, Health & Human Services subcommittee organized a meeting last month for lobbyists so they combine efforts to bring money into the committee.