Debate Swings Door Open for Perry, Closed for Palin  —  Most people have better things to do than to watch a presidential debate eight months in advance of the Iowa caucuses.  So when considering a debate like the one that took place among Republican candidates in New Hampshire tonight, it's important to be mindful of the following:

Pundit Under Protest  —  I'll be writing a lot about the presidential election over the next 16 months, but at the outset I would just like to remark that I'm opining on this whole campaign under protest.  I'm registering a protest because for someone of my Hamiltonian/National Greatness perspective …

CREW Files Complaint Over House DOMA Defense, Boehner Spokesman Calls It “Stupid”  —  Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) regarding the $500,000 contracted by the Office …

Wingnut debt ceiling demands  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — A lot of politicians are weighing in with demands before they'll support raising the debt ceiling.  Most of their conditions are related to debt, such as put in place a debt reduction plan or cut spending.

HELLO! exclusive: Mildred Baena, the housekeeper who had a child with Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks out for the first time  —  When it was revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger had a 13-year-old child with a trusted member of the family's domestic staff, the world let out a collective gasp.

Allen West Violates Federal Law During Weekend Diving Trip  —  ​There's nothing really bad to say about Rep. Allen West going diving off the coast of Deerfield Beach with a bunch of military veterans — except for the fact that he violated U.S. federal law in the process, and provided pictorial of himself doing so.

Rick Perry Says Voters Want More Options In GOP Field  —  Keywords:  —  Enlargephoto by: Bob Daemmrich  —  Texas Governor Rick Perry carries his bags off a private plane at the San Antonio International Airport on November 1, 2010.  —  Texas Gov. Rick Perry, in New York …

Is Every Lesbian Blogger a Middle-Aged Man?  —  We're one lesbian away from a bona fide Fleet Street “trend”.  Further to yesterday's post, a lesbian blogger who helped unmask the Syrian lesbian blogger as a middle-aged American male has herself been revealed to be a middle-aged American male:

Newt Gingrich Charity Paid Cash To Gingrich For-Profit Business  —  A non-profit charity founded by Newt Gingrich to promote freedom, faith and free enterprise also served as another avenue to promote Gingrich's political views, and came dangerously close, some experts say …

Obama: My family would be fine with just 1 term  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says his wife and daughters aren't “invested” in him being president and would have been fine had he decided against running for re-election.  But he says they believe in what he's doing for the country.

Why Sarah Palin Must Run in 2012  —  One of the prevailing debates in the GOP these days (if not the only one) is whether or not Governor Sarah Palin will, or should, run for president.  Not only should she, she must if the GOP has any hope of having a legitimate nominee whom everyone can support for the 2012 election.

Bachmann says she won't seek re-election to Congress, while running for president  —  MINNEAPOLIS - U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann says she's not running for re-election in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District while she's campaigning for the Republican nomination for president.

Citing his own past, Barney Frank declines to judge Rep. Weiner  —  Citing his own brush with sexual scandal, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Tuesday that he's in no position to judge the lurid actions of colleague Anthony Weiner.  —  “Given these circumstances, where I was myself engaged …

Statue of Liberty redux  —  A smart colleague reminds us that Ronald Reagan kicked off his formal general election campaign in 1980 with a Liberty Park speech, as Jon Huntsman is doing for his primary effort.  —  But there's another, more recent , and far more local, candidate who announced …

High Hopes at Miracle-Gro in Medical Marijuana Field  —  Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. has long sold weed killer.  Now, it's hoping to help people grow killer weed.  —  In an unlikely move for the head of a major company, Scotts Chief Executive Jim Hagedorn said he is exploring targeting medical marijuana …

Boycott Huffington Post  —  As some but by no means all progressives know, the Newspapers Guild and the National Writers Union have called a boycott against Huffington Post for refusing to pay its writers.  Unlike unionized workplaces like the New York Times, Huffington Post exploits laborers desperate …

Fact-checking the GOP debate in New Hampshire  —  That was some collection of facts and statistics during the GOP debate in New Hampshire on Monday night that aired on CNN.  —  We're going to take an instant stab at some of them, and then perhaps come back later this week with a more extended look at other assertions.

Obama fundraiser underwhelms  —  The empty seats at President Obama's fundraiser in Miami, Fl. were hard to miss.  —  MIAMI, Fla. — A low-dollar fundraiser here Monday felt like a throwback to the 2008 campaign.  —  There was the same old soundtrack - including “City of Blinding Lights” …

National poll: Anthony Weiner's got to go  —  As Rep. Anthony Weiner continues to face calls for his immediate resignation, a new poll finds six in 10 Americans agree with those who want him out of Congress - and only eight percent have a favorable view of the lawmaker.

Cass Sunstein: The Obama Administration's Ambivalent Regulator … When President Barack Obama let it be known in January 2009 that he had selected Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein to be his regulatory czar, it was an early example of how some of his staffing decisions would undercut his lofty campaign promises.

NY's top Catholic officials seek to halt Senate vote on legalizing gay marriage  —  ALBANY - New York's top Catholic sought to slow momentum Tuesday toward a state Senate vote to legalize gay marriage.  —  “The stampede is on,” Archibishop Timothy Dolan wrote in a blog post.