Obama holds edge over Romney in general election matchup, poll finds  —  Boosted by improved public confidence in his economic stewardship, President Obama for the first time holds a clear edge over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a hypothetical general-election matchup, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Israel and Iran on the Eve of Destruction in a New Six-Day War  —  There are plenty of arguments against an Israeli attack on Iran.  And all of them are bad.  —  Jerusalem—It probably felt a bit like this in the months before the Six-Day War of 1967, when Israel launched …

BREAKING: Ninth Circuit Prop 8 Ruling on Tuesday — A Guide to Understanding What's Happening  —  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's public information office expects a ruling on Tuesday, Feb. 7 by 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern Time in the Perry v. Brown case challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8.

The End of Wall Street As They Knew It  —  After surprisingly successful financial reform, public vilification, and politics that have turned against them, the Masters of the Universe are masters no longer.  —  On Wall Street, bonus season is a sacred ritual.

Congressman Falls for The Onion's Planned Parenthood ‘Abortionplex’ Story  —  Meet John Fleming, the unfortunate Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana who made that wonderful and all-too-common mistake of thinking that an Onion article was real and telling his Facebook followers to read it.

Things Are Not O.K.  —  In a better world — specifically, a world with a better policy elite — a good jobs report would be cause for unalloyed celebration.  In the world we actually inhabit, however, every silver lining comes with a cloud.  Friday's report was, in fact, much better than expected …

Who Castrated Ann Coulter?  —  There is no conservative writer that I admire more than Ann Coulter.  She's smart as hell and, more importantly, she is courageous.  She has always been willing to write what other conservatives believe but don't have the guts to say in print.

Obama: I'm getting ‘better as time goes on’ at being president  —  President Obama said that he gets “better as time goes on” at his job and that he believes the grassroots movement that propelled him to victory in 2008 will help him win a second term during an interview that aired Monday on NBC's “Today Show.”

Obama criticized for walking out on Jeb Bush  —  Bloomberg's Al Hunt has a long list of examples of what he calls the Obama team's ‘hubris’ — including a recent anecdote where Obama left a fancy black tie dinner before former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke:

Newt Gingrich drops quest for Virginia ballot  —  Former House speaker Newt Gingrich has dropped his legal quest for a slot on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Virginia next month.  —  On Saturday, lawyers for Gingrich filed paperwork giving up the fight with a federal district court in Virginia.

Fathers and Schools: Presidential Parallels  —  Michael Medved has an interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal reflecting on the strange continuity that this election marks the seventh in a row featuring either a privileged son or a man with no relationship with his biological father, and wonders why:

‘We the People’ Loses Appeal With People Around the World  —  WASHINGTON — The Constitution has seen better days.  —  Sure, it is the nation's founding document and sacred text.  And it is the oldest written constitution still in force anywhere in the world.  But its influence is waning.

Sen. Tom Coburn defends relationship with Obama at Edmond town hall meeting  —  EDMOND — U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn on Saturday defended his cordial relationship with President Barack Obama and said American farmers should be allowed to plant more crops to regain America's economic dominance and “run the Chinese into the ground.”

Greece Asked to Destroy Itself In Exchange for Bailout  —  Greek economy being crushed by Troika austerity conditions (photo: Aragorn Bang)  —  Greek bailout talks have deadlocked again, but at the moment the culprit is not the hedge funds seeking a higher payout on the distressed debt they bought …

Records Show Ron Paul Trips Paid Twice  —  House Appears to Have Reimbursed Congressman for Trips That Were Also Paid for by Other Groups  —  Rep. Ron Paul appears to have been paid twice for flights between Washington, D.C., and his Congressional district, receiving reimbursement from taxpayers …

“Hidden” mortgage fee paying for payroll tax cut  —  PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO  —  Just before Christmas, American workers got a rare gift from Washington politicians - the current payroll tax cut would be extended for two more months.  —  At the time, both President Barack Obama …

Ethics Committee investigating Rep. Buchanan over financial disclosures  —  The House Ethics Committee is investigating whether Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) violated federal law and House rules by failing in his financial disclosures to report his positions in 17 entities.

My choice: Rick Santorum  —  As I wrote earlier, decision time has come to Minnesota, where I live.  Unfortunately, I can't officially participate in that choice, since we have a caucus system rather than a primary — and one cannot cast an absentee vote in a caucus system.

Coming soon: Individual mandate to buy Chevy Volts  —  President Obama spent more than $85 billion bailing out General Motors and Chrysler three years ago.  Now he claims credit for saving the industry, noting GM's recent return to the top sales spot among automakers worldwide, Ford's record profits …

The Citizens United catastrophe  —  We have seen the world created by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, and it doesn't work.  Oh, yes, it works nicely for the wealthiest and most powerful people in the country, especially if they want to shroud their efforts to influence politics behind shell corporations.