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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Noonan: The Drawn-Out Crisis—It's the Obama Way  —  The president seems to prefer frustration to good-faith negotiation.  —  The president's inviting Mitt Romney for lunch is a small thing but a brilliant move.  It makes Mr. Obama look big, gracious.  It implies the weakened …

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.

Pat Robertson challenges creationism  —  Washington (CNN) - Televangelist Pat Robertson challenged the idea that Earth is 6,000 years old this week, saying the man who many credit with conceiving the idea, former Archbishop of Ireland James Ussher, “wasn't inspired by the Lord when he said that it all took 6,000 years.”

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.

Griffin Wins Seat On Ways And Means Committee, Will Not Seek Higher Office In 2014  —  Arkansas' Second District Congressman Tim Griffin (R) has been named to the powerful House Ways and Means committee, the chief tax-writing panel in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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.

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.

Steve King: Democrats Will Win Over Hispanics By Giving Them ‘A Great Big Check’  —  Since President Obama's re-election and Mitt Romney's poor performance among Hispanic voters, a number of prominent conservative lawmakers and commentators have come out in favor of immigration reform.

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 …

Costco's Dividend Tax Epiphany  —  Obama's fans in the 1% vote to beat Obama's tax increase.  —  When President Obama needed a business executive to come to his campaign defense, Jim Sinegal was there.  The Costco co-founder, director and former CEO even made a prime-time speech at the Democratic Party convention in Charlotte.