Betting on News, AOL Is Buying The Huffington Post  —  The Huffington Post, which began in 2005 with a meager $1 million investment and has grown into one of the most heavily visited news Web sites in the country, is being acquired by AOL in a deal that creates an unlikely pairing of two online media giants.

Jane Harman to resign from Congress  —  California Rep. Jane Harman (D) will resign from Congress, according to two senior Democratic leadership aides, a surprise announcement that will set off a special election in her 36th district.  —  NBC's Andrea Mitchell, who broke the news of Harman's resignation …

THE HILL POLL: Voters oppose raising the $14.3T debt ceiling  —  Only 27 percent of likely voters favor raising the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, while 62 percent oppose it, according to an exclusive poll for The Hill.  —  The poll found solid opposition from Republicans …

How President Obama plays media like a fiddle  —  In early November, Barack Obama was one sad sack of a president—his agenda repudiated by midterm voters, his political judgment scorned by commentators, his future darkened by a growing belief he might be a one-time president.

An ObamaCare Appeal From the States  —  Twenty-one governors representing more than 115 million Americans have written to Kathleen Sebelius asking for more flexibility on health-care reform.  —  Unless you're in favor of a fully nationalized health-care system, the president's health-care reform law is a massive mistake.

Bush 2012  —  John J. Miller has a cover story in the new issue of National Review that's a compelling portrait of the accomplishments of Jeb Bush.  Four years after leaving the Florida governor's mansion, he remains one of the most impressive Republican politicians in the country …

Droughts, Floods and Food  —  We're in the midst of a global food crisis — the second in three years.  World food prices hit a record in January, driven by huge increases in the prices of wheat, corn, sugar and oils.  These soaring prices have had only a modest effect on U.S. inflation …

U.S. Envoy To Egypt Frank Wisner's Law Firm Has Represented The Mubarak Regime In The Past  —  Over the weekend, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's hand-picked envoy to Egypt, former U.S. diplomat Frank Wisner, caused a diplomatic row when he suggested at the Munich Security Conference …

A License to Shampoo: Jobs Needing State Approval Rise  —  Amid calls for shrinking government, lawmakers across the country are vowing to cut regulations that crimp economic growth.  President Barack Obama recently said it's time to root out laws that “are just plain dumb.”

Donald Rumsfeld to Diane Sawyer: 'It's Possible' Troop Decisions Were a Mistake in Iraq  —  ‘Not the Case’ That Iraq Is Like Vietnam; Denies Turning Bush's Attention to Iraq Post-9/11  —  More than four years after leaving public life, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continues …

Senators look for immigration deal  —  Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have rekindled their alliance on immigration reform, taking some early steps to test the political will for addressing the contentious issue this year.  —  Their call list hasn't focused …

McDonnell: GOP not ready for Obama  —  Acknowledging that his party is “not yet” ready to take on President Barack Obama, Republican Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell says he wants to play an expanded role in the national debate as the GOP crafts its message to take back the White House in 2012.

Transportation Regress  —  Scott Sumner discusses, among other things, the lack of meaningful progress in transportation technology over the past couple of generations: … Something that I think is worth paying attention to is the contrast between the pace of technical improvements in automobiles …

Texas' finances not as rosy as they seemed  —  The state prides itself as a model of conservative spending and responsible budgeting.  But a new $27-billion budget gap undercuts its image as a business-seducing, fiscally adaptive state.  —  Reporting from Austin, Texas …

Chrysler releases $9m Super Bowl ad while requesting more taxpayer dollars  —  You may have noticed that Chrysler released the longest ad in Super Bowl history on Sunday night, featuring the new Chrysler 200 driven by Detroit native rap star Eminem, an ad that CEO Sergio Marchionne says cost less than $9 million.

Beck blasts Kristol: ‘Do anything to keep their little fiefdom together’  —  Fox News's Glenn Beck lashed out at Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol on his radio show this morning, accusing Kristol of betraying conservatism and missing the significance of what Beck sees as an alliance between Islamism and socialism.

In Speech to Chamber, Obama Urges Businesses to ‘Get in the Game’  —  President Obama urged American businesses on Monday to “get in the game” by letting loose trillions of dollars being held in reserves, saying that they can help create a “virtuous cycle” of more sales …

Rush Hour Libertarians  —  I was in rush hour the other observing some self-centered dude blocking four lanes and snarling traffic for blocks to spare himself a minor inconvenience and it occurred to me that the logical result of our recent embrace of vulgar libertarianism is a total breakdown of social order.