The Grand Strategy Behind Obama's Recess Appointment  —  Large American flags for all, Daily Show correspondent soundalikes for others!  —  President Obama's decision to use a recess appointment to seat Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was a no-brainer …

Face It: Romney's the Nominee  —  The media will desperately try to persuade you there is still a Republican race.  Do not pay attention.  —  Is there anyone not annoyed by Mitt Romney's narrow win in the Iowa caucus?  Conservatives are disappointed because they recognize …

Newt Gingrich suffers from super PAC buyer's remorse  —  Not long ago Newt Gingrich seemed to be a big fan of super PACs.  —  The former House Speaker two years ago called the new legal framework that gave rise to unlimited fundraising by outside groups a “great victory for free speech” …

How to fight liberals: Imitate them  —  Impressed by the effectiveness of the liberal Center for American Progress, a group of conservative journalists and operatives is preparing to engage in their own sincerest form of flattery - launching their own advocacy group with a similar name and mission but very different target.

Keith Olbermann Clashes With Current TV  —  The broadcaster Keith Olbermann is famous for estranging himself from his bosses, be it at ESPN, Fox or MSNBC.  —  At his new home, Al Gore's Current TV, he has done it in record time.  —  Mr. Olbermann, who was hired last year to be the top star …

Gingrich off base on judiciary  —  GOP PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Newt Gingrich recently made disturbing comments regarding the judiciary.  He proposed that Congress should be able to impeach judges whose decisions he believes to be wrong.  If elected, he would abolish courts that displease him …

Why Iowa Matters (Even If It Shouldn't)  —  Iowa is an outlier.  The 122,000 people who showed up to vote in the state's caucuses represent less than a fifth of registered Iowa Republicans and exactly 0.09% of the U.S. electorate.  In a representative democracy, Iowa is not very representative.

Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs  —  WASHINGTON — Benjamin Franklin did it.  Henry Ford did it.  And American life is built on the faith that others can do it, too: rise from humble origins to economic heights.  “Movin' on up,” George Jefferson-style, is not only a sitcom song but a civil religion.

What If Obama Loses?  —  Imagining the consequences of a GOP victory.  —  Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit StumbleUpon Delicious  —  It's a common complaint—we've certainly made it over the years—that too much political campaign coverage focuses on the horse race.

Oklahoma mom calling 911 asks if shooting an intruder is allowed  —  (CNN) — Home alone with her 3-month-old son, Sarah Dawn McKinley of Blanchard, Oklahoma, said she decided to make a stand when two men tried to break into her home on New Year's Eve.  —  McKinley, who had been widowed less …

Jobs Picture: Claims Fall, Job Creation Surges; Layoffs Ease  —  The news is all good for the jobs market so far in 2012: Separate reports Thursday showed a surge in private-sector job creation, a sharp drop in weekly unemployment claims and planned layoffs at their lowest level in six months.

Santorum commits Republican sacrilege: Attacks Ronald Reagan  —  BRENTWOOD, N.H. — Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum committed one of the gravest sins in Republican politics on Wednesday evening by knocking the revered former President Ronald Reagan at a packed town hall meeting.

Lawyers, courts see weaknesses in defense of Obama's healthcare law  —  The Obama administration is headed into a Supreme Court case over healthcare reform without a clear answer to significant questions about Congress's power.  —  The Justice Department will file its first brief on the merits …

Mitt Romney out of control  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — If this is Mitt Romney's idea of a victory rally, one shudders to think what would have happened if he had lost the Iowa caucuses.  —  The day after his impossibly thin eight-vote victory, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination flew …

Obama to cut “tens of thousands of ground troops” from military  —  The last time the US did this, we at least had the illusion of a “peace dividend” and unrivaled supremacy as the world's only superpower.  Now we're fighting a tough war in Afghanistan, and China's expanding its military might, if not its belligerence yet.

Denver woman arrested for punching, damaging $30 million Clyfford Still painting  —  Clyfford Still painting.  The damage to the painting is identified as “1957-J-No. 2.”  (Denver Post file photo)  —  A 36-year-old Denver woman, apparently drunk, leaned against an iconic Clyfford Still painting worth …