Mitt Romney: A good man.  The right fight.  —  Over the years, one of the more troubling characteristics of the Democratic Party and the left in general has been a shortage of loyalty and an abundance of self-loathing.  It would be a shame if we Republicans took a narrow presidential loss …

Boehner shoots down proposal to agree to Obama tax demand  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other top Republicans on Wednesday shot down a proposal by a senior GOP lawmaker that the House agree to President Obama's demand to extend current tax rates for the middle class.

Make Up Turned Break Up  —  Are the Republican senators unreasonable?  Or is the secretary of state-manqué undiplomatic?  Did the senators sandbag Susan Rice?  Or did Rice further inflame a tense situation?  Is it a case of shooting the messenger and playing politics?

Obama On Filibuster Reform: White House Embraces Harry Reid's Rule Changes … REACT:  —  FOLLOW:  —  Harry Reid , Barack Obama , White House, Congress, Barack Obama , Video, Obama Harry Reid, White House Filibuster Reform, Filibuster, Filibuster Reform, Harry Reid Filibuster Reform …

YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT GLENN BECK DID TO AN OBAMA BOBBLEHEAD DURING HIS SHOW ON TUESDAY  —  UPDATE: Ebay, the online marketplace where Glenn Beck put his Obama creation up for auction for charity, has now pulled the ad.  At it's last bidding around 11:00 a.m. ET, the bid for the Obama doll in the jar was up to $11,300.

My Secretary of State  —  President Obama is assembling his new national security team, with Senator John Kerry possibly heading for the Pentagon and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice the perceived front-runner to become secretary of state.  Kerry is an excellent choice for defense.

John Heilemann Makes Lindsey Graham Joke on ‘Morning Joe;’ Edited Out of 8am Reair  —  Just after 6am, on “Morning Joe” this morning, Joe, Mika and guest John Heilemann were talking about yesterday's New York Times article about “the three amigos” Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham …

When Work Is Punished: The Tragedy Of America's Welfare State  —  Exactly two years ago, some of the more politically biased progressive media outlets (who are quite adept at creating and taking down their own strawmen arguments, if not quite as adept at using an abacus, let alone a calculator) …

In U.S., Majority Now Against Gov't Healthcare Guarantee  —  Views of healthcare system overall more positive in some respects  —  PRINCETON, NJ — For the first time in Gallup trends since 2000, a majority of Americans say it is not the federal government's responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage.

No one reported shot, stabbed or slashed in New York City on Monday, police sources say  —  Neither Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne nor other officials could remember the last time a day ended with three zeros.  It likely didn't happen in 1990, when the city logged a record 2,245 murders …

Problems With a Reporter's Facebook Posts, and a Possible Solution  —  Start with a reporter who likes to be responsive to readers, is spontaneous and impressionistic in her personal writing style, and not especially attuned to how casual comments may be received in a highly politicized setting.

The No-Tax-Hike Pledge Is an IQ Test for Republicans  —  Eugene Robinson is one of the group-think columnists at the Washington Post.  Like E.J. Dionne, he is an utterly predictable proponent of big government.  So it won't surprise you to know that he wants taxes to go up and he's a big fan of Obama's class-warfare agenda.

How much would you pay for 1 hour with Sandra Fluke?  —  EXCLUSIVE: Sandra Fluke, noted advocate for government-subsidized birth control, is auctioning off one hour of her time for an online “strategy session” at the site BiddingForGood.com.  —  According to the auction page …

Grover Norquist: No GOP fingerprints on fiscal cliff tax hikes  —  Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist said Wednesday that Republicans need to have “credible” separation from any tax hike as part of a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff — in order to make a case to voters …

Two-thirds of millionaires left Britain to avoid 50p tax rate  —  Almost two-thirds of the country's million-pound earners disappeared from Britain after the introduction of the 50p top rate of tax, figures have disclosed.  —  George Osborne, the Chancellor, announced in the Budget earlier …

In Silicon Valley, Technology Talent Gap Threatens G.O.P. Campaigns  —  SAN FRANCISCO - I live in Brooklyn, where President Obama won 81 percent of the vote earlier this month.  It's hard to find anywhere in the country that is more Democratic-leaning.  —  But San Francisco qualifies.