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.

Obama sends Clinton to Middle East to seek end to Gaza violence  —  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed to the Middle East amid escalating violence between Israel and Hamas, the White House announced.  —  “Secretary Clinton and the President spoke about the situation in Gaza …

How The Conservative Media Lost The Election  —  The plan was to unmask Obama.  It didn't work.  —  President Obama's decisive reelection has promised the conservative new media four more years of fodder, but it's also left some of its more earnest participants with a gnawing question: What went wrong?

Following Obama's Victory, Wisconsin Governor Proposes New Limits On Voter Registration  —  Two weeks after Barack Obama and Sen.-elect Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) carried the state of Wisconsin with the support of minorities and young voters, Gov. Scott Walker (R) announced one of his major policy proposals …

The Rich People Who Don't Know How Tax Rates Work  —  How do you get to be as rich as the people in this New York Times story without ever figuring out how taxes work? … You see these idiots every time a tax hike becomes possible again.  They have no apparent idea how marginal rates work.

Oklahoma is latest to reject state-based health exchange  —  Add Oklahoma to the list of Republican-led states that won't implement the key feature of President Obama's healthcare law.  —  Gov. Mary Fallin said Monday that she won't set up a state-based insurance exchange …

The Conservative Future  —  If you listened to the Republican candidates this year, you heard a conventional set of arguments.  But if you go online, you can find a vibrant and increasingly influential center-right conversation.  Most of the young writers and bloggers in this conversation intermingle …

California, Home of the Destitute  —  Last spring, my wife and youngest daughter and I spent a week in California.  We were reminded of the extraordinary natural wealth and beauty that were showered on that uniquely blessed state.  For a century or so, guided by brilliant private sector leadership …

Barack Obama blunders again on the world stage  —  It is only two weeks since his re-election, and his second term remains two months away, but Barack Obama is already blundering again on the world stage, with the kind of gaffes that would have been plastered on the front page of The New York Times …

Gay marriage takes next steps  —  The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide on Tuesday whether to consider legalizing gay marriage.  —  But gay activists don't plan to wait to press the advantage they feel they have coming off of this year's election wins.  —  The Court will decide …

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.

Mitt Romney Surfaces At A Gas Station Looking Very Normal  —  Long time no see, old friend.  —  Dorsey Shaw  —  a half hour ago  —  2 responses

DREAM Act, not the ACHIEVE Act , is the right solution for undocumented youth  —  Republicans, fresh from their electoral defeat, are considering their own legislation to compete with the DREAM Act.  Sen. Kay Hutchinson (R-Texas) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) have put forward the ACHIEVE Act …

Four California men arrested after they ‘planned to join al-Qaeda to commit jihad against Americans’  — Arrested were Sohiel Omar Kabir, 34; Ralph Deleon, 23; Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales, 21; and Arifeen David Gojali, 21  —  Federal authorities say four Southern California men …

Case Pits Technology-Based Police Search Against Citizens' Rights  —  AURORA, Colo. — On the afternoon of June 2, the authorities say, a former music teacher named Christian Paetsch walked into a Wells Fargo bank waving a gun and ordered everyone to lie down.

THE FINAL DAYS OF THE MEDIA CAMPAIGN 2012  —  OBAMA ENJOYS SURGE IN POSITIVE COVERAGE THE LAST WEEK OF THE RACE; ATTENTION TO ROMNEY DROPS  —  In the final week of the 2012 presidential campaign, Barack Obama enjoyed his most positive run of news coverage in months, according to a new study …

Let's go over the fiscal cliff  —  Here's an idea for how to start the New Year in a bipartisan fashion: Let's go over the fiscal cliff!  —  Today, the only ones in Washington who advocate fiscal cliff-diving are liberal Democrats.  It's time for conservatives to join them.

2013 Looks a Lot Like 1937 in Four Fearsome Ways  —  Will 2013 be 1937?  This is the question many analysts are posing as the stock market has dropped after the U.S. election.  On Nov. 16, they noted that industrial production, a crucial figure, dropped as well.

In D.C. Circuit, Judge Calls Use of Acronyms ‘Painful’  —  By now, if lawyers haven't already taken notice, they should: Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit isn't a big fan of abbreviations, including acronyms.  Today, the judge twice questioned the space-saving practice of shortening.