GAFFNEY: Middle East melting down into ‘Obamawar’  —  Israel-Gaza strip conflict deserves president's moniker  —  While debating Mitt Romney this fall, President Obama declared that he had decided to embrace the term “Obamacare” — a name originally coined and used by its detractors to tie …

Iowa's GOP Governor: Time to End the Straw Poll  —  Is one of the quirkiest rituals of the Republican presidential election calendar heading for the grave?  —  It is, if Iowa's Republican Gov. Terry Branstad has his say.  —  Eyeing the wreckage of the 2011 Ames Straw Poll …

Sources: DNI cut “al Qaeda” reference from Benghazi talking points, and CIA, FBI signed off  —  PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO  —  (CBS News) WASHINGTON - CBS News has learned that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) cut specific references to “al Qaeda” and “terrorism” …

Obama Campaign Viewed Huntsman as ‘Very Tough Candidate’  —  When Obama campaign aides surveyed the field of Republican presidential hopefuls early on, they saw a certain handsome Mormon candidate and thought he'd be trouble in a general election showdown.  —  It wasn't Mitt Romney.

I Believe and Am Thankful  —  Marco Rubio is getting beaten up by the press for not decisively and convincingly saying he thinks the world is billions of years old.  It has become the new litmus test in the media.  Believing what was believed to be literally true for a few thousand years is now nutty.

Poetic justice: Romney likely to finish at 47 percent  —  When all the votes are counted, could Mitt Romney really end up achieving perfect poetic justice by finishing with 47 percent of the national vote?  Yup.  Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report says new votes in from Maryland put Romney at 47.56 percent.

Senate bill rewrite lets feds read your e-mail without warrants  —  Proposed law scheduled for a vote next week originally increased Americans' e-mail privacy.  Then law enforcement complained.  Now it increases government access to e-mail and other digital files.

The Real Scoop on Papa John's and Obamacare … Affordable Care Act , Obamacare , Papa Johns , Papa Johns Health Care , Papa Johns Obama , Papa Johns Obamacare , Papa Johns Pizza , Pizza Health Care , Business News  —  Reading what has been written about statements I made on the effect …

Allen West concedes to Patrick Murphy  —  Florida Rep. Allen West — the tea party pugilist and face of the class of House Republicans that stormed to power two years ago — conceded Tuesday to 29-year-old construction executive Patrick Murphy in one of the nation's highest-profile congressional races.

Big News From Mars?  Rover Scientists Mum For Now … Scientists working on NASA's six-wheeled rover on Mars have a problem.  But it's a good problem.  —  They have some exciting new results from one of the rover's instruments.  On the one hand, they'd like to tell everybody what they found …

Nate Silver on ‘Morning Joe’: Why pollsters got it wrong  —  New York Times statistician Nate Silver stopped by MSNBC's “Morning Joe” on Tuesday to discuss how he got it right this election when so many others didn't.  —  Host Joe Scarborough — who during the campaign questioned Silver …

Elmo Puppeteer Resigns After Fresh Allegation  —  5:11 p.m. |  Updated Kevin Clash, the longtime voice and puppeteer behind “Sesame Street's” Elmo character, resigned on Tuesday after a new allegation was made that he had underage sexual relationships.  —  Announcing the decision with what he called a …

Christie's Post-Hurricane Embrace of Obama Outrages Many in G.O.P.  —  A few days after Hurricane Sandy shattered the shores of New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie picked up the phone to take on a different kind of recovery work: taming the Republican Party fury over his effusive embrace of President Obama.

Church of England governing body blocks move to approve female bishops  —  LONDON — The Church of England's governing body blocked a move Tuesday to permit women to serve as bishops in a vote so close it failed to settle the question of female leadership and likely condemned the institution to years more debate on the issue.

Can the Senate Be Saved?  —  The most important action the Senate takes in January may not involve any legislation at all.  Early next year, when the latest group of senators convene for the first time, the “world's greatest deliberative body” may finally do something worthy of its nickname: reform the filibuster.

The Real Reasons You Waited Hours in Line to Vote  —  An Obama campaign legal adviser explains the humiliating meltdown in voting we saw around the country during this year's presidential election.  —  Voters in Miami on November 6 (Andrew Innerarity/Reuters)

Sen. Mark Warner passes on 2013 governor bid  —  After months of speculation, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner today announced he won't seek another term as governor, meaning whatever his political future holds is likely be oriented around Washington rather than the State Capitol.

‘Unskewed Polls’ Founder Dean Chambers Launches Vote Fraud Website  —  Dean Chambers, the founder of UnSkewedPolls.com, launched a new website last week alleging that President Barack Obama did not legitimately carry Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida, but instead won those states thanks to voter fraud.

Mitt Romney Surfaces At A Gas Station Looking Very Normal  —  Long time no see, old friend.  —  Dorsey Shaw  —  a few minutes ago  —  63 responses

Former Sen. Warren Rudman of NH dies at 82  —  CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Colleagues knew former Sen. Warren B. Rudman for his abrupt manner, but they trusted his expertise.  On one matter in particular, though, he wished people would have listened to him: that the U.S. was vulnerable to a major terrorist attack.

Wal-Mart: Always Low Wages  —  In the last few months, an unprecedented wave of labor unrest has shaken the retail giant Wal-Mart and its far-reaching supply chain.  While the number of employees taking part in walkouts has been limited to the low hundreds, workers and labor activists …

A GOP Plan for 2016: Pot, immigration and defense cuts  —  Spinners and Winners  —  Ron Paul supporters might want to think twice before throwing away their “Paul for President” signs.  Though the frequent presidential candidate is retiring at the end of the year, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) …

Liberal Man of the Year  —  Chief Justice Roberts shares the dais with Lena Dunham.  —  No Supreme Court Justice has ever said “Live from New York, it's Saturday night,” at least on national television, but give it time.  This month Glamour magazine named Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg one of its “Women of the Year.”

The Economic Recovery and Economic Policy  —  Good afternoon.  I am pleased to join the New York Economic Club for lunch today.  I know that many of you and your friends and neighbors are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and I want to let you know that our thoughts …