Obama to GOP: I'm done negotiating with myself  —  Republican aides are circulating their summary of the White House's opening bid on the fiscal cliff.  They're circulating it because they believe it fleshes out Speaker John Boehner's complaint that “the White House has to get serious.”

Exclusive: The Internal Polls That Made Mitt Romney Think He'd Win  —  It's no secret that the Romney campaign believed it was headed for victory on Election Day.  A handful of outlets have reported that Team Romney's internal polling showed North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia moving safely …

Cliff-jumping with Barack  —  Why are Republicans playing the Democrats' game that the “fiscal cliff” is all about taxation?  —  House Speaker John Boehner already made the preemptive concession of agreeing to raise revenue.  But the insistence on doing so by eliminating deductions without …

Self-Awareness Matters  —  In politics, self-awareness matters.  It does.  When I was a political consultant, I told my clients my first two rules.  The first was to know when you were in the minority, even when you thought you were right.  The second was to know yourself as others see you.

Down and Out With Ted Cruz and the GOP  —  As Republicans regroup from electoral disaster, some — including a rising star in the Senate — insist conservatism was not to blame.  —  Associated Press  —  Why did Republicans lose the 2012 election?  Ask Ted Cruz, the newly elected Republican senator from Texas.

For Secretary of State, G.O.P. Pushes Old Hand  —  WASHINGTON — As President Obama's potential nominee for secretary of state, Susan E. Rice, comes under increasing fire, Congressional Republicans appear to be coalescing around a familiar name as an alternative candidate …

Complaints Aside, Most Face Lower Tax Burden Than in the Reagan '80s  —  What Is Fair?:  —  BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Alan Hicks divides long days between the insurance business he started in the late 1970s and the barbecue restaurant he opened with his sons three years ago.

History  —  At their Conference today, the Justices will consider petitions raising federal constitutional issues related to same-sex marriage.  These are the most significant cases these nine Justices have ever considered, and probably that they will ever decide.

Class Wars of 2012  —  On Election Day, The Boston Globe reported, Logan International Airport in Boston was running short of parking spaces.  Not for cars — for private jets.  Big donors were flooding into the city to attend Mitt Romney's victory party.  —  They were, it turned out, misinformed about political reality.

Pot legalization support hits record high, poll shows  —  Support for marijuana legalization has edged up recently and is now tied with the oppposition, according to a CBS poll released Friday — the first time since that survey started keeping track of the issue.

Reid must wrestle with undecided Dems to reform filibuster rules  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may be short on votes he needs to force changes to the Senate's filibuster rules, as nine Democratic senators sit on the fence about the proposed reforms.

GOP Rep. Floats New Conspiracy Theory: Obama Ousted Qaddafi ‘So Al-Qaeda Could Take Over’  —  As if it weren't enough that members of the Republican Party spent much of President Obama's first term accusing him of being a crypto-Manchurian Candidate who was born in Kenya …

New ethanol blend could damage vehicles and void warranties, AAA warns  —  The AAA says the Environmental Protection Agency and gasoline retailers should halt the sale of E15, a new ethanol blend that could damage millions of vehicles and void car warranties.

Why Conservatives Must Surrender on ‘Redistribution’  —  Liberals talk about booming incomes at the top while lower-income households barely see benefits from economic growth.  Conservatives talk about a rising share of the population that depends on government benefits and a shrinking share that pays income tax.