In Tax Fight, Republicans Seeking Fallback Position  —  WASHINGTON — With President Obama insisting on higher tax rates for affluent Americans and winning public support for the idea, Congressional Republicans find themselves in an increasingly difficult political spot and are quietly beginning the difficult search for a way out.

Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck dead at age 91  —  Arts critic  —  Dave Brubeck, a jazz musician who attained pop-star acclaim with recordings such as “Take Five” and “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” died Wednesday morning at Norwalk Hospital, in Norwalk, Conn., said his longtime manager-producer-conductor Russell Gloyd.

Hillary Clinton Wins High Popularity, Majority Support for a 2016 Bid  —  Carried by a new high in personal popularity and broad approval of her work as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton closes out her diplomatic career with majority support as a candidate for president in 2016.

Democrats to Obamaland: Share your data  —  The hottest property to emerge from Barack Obama's lopsided victory over Mitt Romney is not the president's much lauded campaign team.  Nor is it the shrewd turnout operation that catapulted him to victory.  —  It is something far more valuable that's …

Detroit councilwoman to Obama: We voted for you, now bail us out  —  DETROIT (WJBK) — The city of Detroit faces a major financial crisis and one member of city council thinks President Barack Obama should step in and help.  —  City Council member JoAnn Watson said Tuesday the citizens support …

Vote: Worst Political Prediction of 2012  —  We have narrowed down our list of the best & worst political predictions this year and would like your help in making the final call.  —  Here are our three final candidates for the Worst Political Prediction of 2012

Fox News Puts Karl Rove on the Bench  —  The post-election soul searching going on inside the Republican Party is taking place inside Fox News as well.  Fox News chief Roger Ailes, a canny marketer and protector of his network's brand, has been taking steps since November to reposition Fox …

Ryan, Rubio plot GOP's path  —  Paul Ryan took an unmistakable shot Tuesday at Mitt Romney's assertion that 47 percent of Americans would never vote Republican because they are too dependent on government.  —  “Both parties tend to divide Americans into ‘our voters’ and ‘their voters,’” …

Sheldon Adelson: 'I'm Basically a Social Liberal'  —  In a three-hour interview with The Wall Street Journal, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson excoriated President Barack Obama, Democrats and unions, as one would expect of a top donor to conservatives and Republican causes in the 2012 election.

Ohio Senator Confronted By Constituents Over Support For Medicare And Social Security Cuts  —  Ohio Senator Rob Portman (R) was one of a handful of Washington, D.C lawmakers and policy experts invited to participate in a panel discussion on the fiscal cliff on Tuesday morning …

Anguished fotog: Critics are unfair to condemn me  —  Ki Suk Han, 58, of Queens frantically tries to climb to safety yesterday as a train bears down on him in Midtown.  He was fatally struck seconds later. … I was on an assignment, waiting for a train at the 49th Street subway platform, when I suddenly heard people gasping.

Susan Rice and the Senate's blame game  —  A variety of insults have been deployed in opposition to Susan Rice's likely nomination for secretary of state: She is not qualified; she's too aggressive; she “misled” the public following the lethal attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya.

Cuomo: Mainline Democrats “squandered the opportunity”  —  In an op-ed that will also be published in tomorrow's Times Union, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo weighs in on the state Senate coalition deal.  —  By Gov. Andrew Cuomo  —  Elections often clarify political situations, but sometimes confuse

Global Warming Is Behind The Real War On Christmas  —  It's that time of year when Fox News and other conservative media outlets revive their imaginary “War on Christmas.”  But the actual threat to one Christmas tradition comes from something more insidious than Fox's perceived attacks …

A losing GOP hand  —  O holds all the fiscal-cliff cards  —  Republicans have a bad hand to play when it comes to the “fiscal cliff” coming up Jan. 1, when taxes will rise automatically on everyone and whopping defense cuts will be imposed automatically.  —  Did I say a bad hand?

Sununu: Democrats won election by turning out voters who are dependent on government  —  Former governor, John H. Sununu, right, was one of three former Republican governors of New Hampshire to attend a discussion at the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy's second sponsored dinner …

Marco Rubio Clarifies The Earth's Age: It's ‘At Least 4.5 Billion Years Old’  —  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) turned heads last month when he told GQ Magazine that he didn't know the age of the earth and sparked speculation that he is laying a foundation for a 2016 presidential run.

How The Voter ID Crusade Backfired On Republicans  —  The Republican push to make it more difficult to vote this year — seen by many as a racially tinged attempt to keep Democratic turnout down — could not have failed more spectacularly, a top African American activist told a left-leaning think tank Tuesday.

BREAKING: Tom Perriello Announces He Will Not Run for Virginia Governor in 2013  —  I just received the following statement from Tom Perriello.  I think Tom would have made a strong candidate for governor, and potentially a great governor.  On the other hand, Tom's brilliant, and I'm confident he'll do great things in other ways.

Biggs and Richwine: The Underworked Public Employee  —  The cliché is true: Government workers do tend to take it easier than their private counterparts.  —  With state and local governments struggling to balance budgets in a still sluggish economy, government employment has fallen …

On Wednesday's Show — 12-05-12 Rundown and Interviews: Eli Lake, John Fund & Sen. Rand Paul  —  Check out the show rundown for Wednesday, December 5, 2012.  —  Brian Wilson and Larry O'Connor talked to Daily Beast's Eli Lake, National Review's John Fund and Senator Rand Paul this morning on WMAL.

House Would Extend Protection for Past Presidents  —  The House has voted to give former presidents and their wives lifetime Secret Service protection, arguing that terrorist threats and the comparative youth of recent presidents make such a change necessary.