Obama Administration to Delay New 15-Cent Christmas Tree ‘Fee’  —  The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation and revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News.  The fee, requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009 …

Herman Cain Accuser Karen Kraushaar works for Obama and she's ugly  —  Ew, gross!  Who the hell does this ugly b1tch think she's fooling?  —  Just to be clear, Karen Kraushaar is the one on the left.  —  Via The Daily...

Obama up big in Ohio  —  One person who should be feeling particularly good about last night's election results in Ohio is Barack Obama.  On our weekend poll, which got the final result of Issue 2 correct to within a point, Obama led all of his Republican opponents in the state by margins ranging from 9-17 points.

A Very Good Night for Democrats  —  In state elections across the country Tuesday, voters rejected Republican attempts to pursue a far right-wing agenda  —  Democrats had a very good election night on Tuesday.  —  Their cherished causes prevailed, they kept their statehouses …

How Mississippi beat Personhood  —  Will this derail a movement aiming for Roe v. Wade?  —  If Mississippi can't pass a Personhood amendment, can any state?  Those who put major political and financial muscle behind Initiative 26 — rejected last night by an astonishing 58 percent of the state's voters …

Virginia elections may be a warning sign for Obama  —  Tuesday's legislative elections in Virginia appeared likely to add more evidence — as if national Democrats needed it — that the terrain of the political map will be significantly more rugged for President Obama next year.

BREAKING NEWS: DEMS WALK AWAY FROM SUPER COMMITTEE  —  Latest update on the lack of progress for Dems and Republicans to reach a tax deal.  Yesterday Democrats of the Super Committee rejected Republicans' offer to “raise federal tax collections by nearly $300 billion over the next decade.”

David Gregory: No “Grand Wizard” In GOP To Force Cain Out  —  On Wednesday's “Today” show, host of NBC's “Meet the Press” David Gregory says there is no “Grand Wizard” right now in the GOP to “force” Cain out of the primary.  Transcript below: Ann Curry, NBC News: “He's not stepping down …

GOP lawmakers want out of tax pledge  —  Grover Norquist's grip on the House Republican Conference is loosening.  —  A growing number of GOP lawmakers have disavowed Norquist's pledge against supporting tax increases in recent days, telling The Hill they no longer feel bound to uphold …

Occupy Oakland makes $20K deposit at Wells Fargo  —  Last week, one or more Occupy Oakland protesters smashed the windows of a Wells Fargo branch.  —  This week, the group's general assembly agreed — in a near-unanimous vote Monday — to temporarily place $20,000 of the group's money …

Shrinking the presidency back down to size  —  (Andrew Harrer - Bloomberg) In his response to my recent New York Review of Books essay, Conor Friedersdorf laments what he sees as a defense of President Obama's record that ignores his intervention in Libya, or his record on civil liberties.

Romney campaign: Personhood a state call  —  Mitt Romney's campaign, seeking to nip a potent general election attack in the bud, says he's being falsely characterized as supporting a proposed amendment to define a fertilized egg as a “person” that was badly defeated in Mississippi yesterday.

This Is The Way The Euro Ends  —  This is the way the euro ends.  —  This is the way the euro ends.  —  Not with a bang but with bunga-bunga.  —  Seriously, with Italian 10-years now well above 7 percent, we're now in territory where all the vicious circles get into gear …

Gingrich on global warming ad with Pelosi: 'The dumbest single thing I've done in years'  —  In 2008 former House Speaker Newt Gingrich appeared in a TV ad created by Al Gore's Climate Reality Project with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to urge action on anthropogenic climate change.

Durbin, breaking with Dems, applauds GOP offer on taxes as a breakthrough  —  Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) diverged from Democratic colleagues Wednesday and applauded the Republican offer to raise $300 billion in new taxes as part of a deficit-reduction deal.

Exclusive: French, Germans explore idea of core euro zone  —  (Reuters) - German and French officials have discussed plans for a radical overhaul of the European Union that would involve establishing a more integrated and potentially smaller euro zone, EU sources say.

Generation Jobless: Students Pick Easier Majors Despite Less Pay  —  Biyan Zhou wanted to major in engineering.  Her mother and her academic adviser also wanted her to major in it, given the apparent career opportunities for engineers in a tough job market.

Eddie Murphy Drops Out of Oscars Telecast  —  LOS ANGELES — Eddie Murphy is dropping out as the host of the Oscars telecast, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said Wednesday, just one day after the show's producer, Brett Ratner, stepped aside amid a storm of criticism over his use of an anti-gay slur. .

Barclays Says Italy Is Finished: “Mathematically Beyond Point Of No Return”  —  Euphoria may have returned briefly courtesy of yet another promise for a resignation that will likely not be effectuated for weeks or months, if at all, and already someone has done the math on what the events in the past several days reveal for Italy.

Florida Primary: Cain 30%, Romney 24%, Gingrich 19%  —  As he continues to battle media coverage over past sexual harassment allegations, businessman Herman Cain leads other Republican hopefuls in the first Rasmussen Reports look at the GOP primary race in Florida.

Morning Jay: Mitt Romney's Perfect Storm  —  There is great consternation among many Republicans over the prospects of a Mitt Romney nomination.  I've heard various opinions, ranging from “I guess I can live with him” to “I really can't stand him!”  Among the latter camp …