Is Obama overplaying sequester hand?  —  President Barack Obama's greatest adversary in the latest budget battle isn't the Republican leadership in Congress — it's his confidence in his own ability to force a win.  —  He has been so certain of his campaign skills that he didn't open a line …

For the First Time in My Life, I Am Ashamed of My Country  —  RUSH: To be watching all of this, to be treated like this, to have our common sense and intelligence insulted the way it's being insulted?  It just makes me ashamed... Panic here, fear there: Crisis, destruction, no meat inspection …

The D.C. Dubstep  —  On July 26, 2011, Jack Lew, then the White House budget director, went to Harry Reid's office for a budget strategy session.  According to Bob Woodward's book, “The Price of Politics,” Lew told the Senate majority leader that they had come up with a trigger idea to force a budget deal.

Marriage Equality Is a Conservative Cause  —  The party of Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan has now lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections.  The marketplace of ideas will render us irrelevant, and soon, if we are not honest about our time and place in history.

Crowd Cheers After McCain Tells Aurora Victim's Mother She Needs ‘Straight Talk’ (VIDEO)  —  Constituents at a town hall hosted by Sen. John McCain Wednesday in Phoenix cheered after the Arizona Republican told the mother of an Aurora, Colo. shooting victim that an assault weapons ban could not get through Congress.

A BAD IDEA GETS WORSE  —  Ed Kilgore is a good man.  He's been very kind to the blog since its toddlerhood.  Which makes it something of a surprise that he's trying so very hard to kill me.  He calls attention to this horror in the New York Times and then steps back, as if to distance himself …

Papal resignation linked to inquiry into ‘Vatican gay officials’, says paper  —  Pope's staff decline to confirm or deny La Repubblica claims linking ‘Vatileaks’ affair and discovery of ‘blackmailed gay clergy’  —  A potentially explosive report has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI …

Soledad O'Brien to Take on New Role at CNN  —  Soledad O'Brien will leave CNN's morning show in the spring, but she won't be leaving the cable news channel altogether.  —  Ms. O'Brien, who is well-known for CNN documentaries like “Black in America,” said Thursday that she would form …

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tells Cuyahoga County GOP it's time for new generation of leaders  —  INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a rising star in national politics, presented himself here Thursday as a fresh face for Republicans “demoralized” after last year's elections.

In Gun Debate, a Bigger Role Seen for Insurers  —  In a society sharply divided over efforts to curb violence and the right to bear arms, both sides of the gun debate seem to agree on at least one thing: a bigger role for the insurance industry to play in a heavily armed society.

Magistrate Grants Bail for Pistorius  —  PRETORIA, South Africa — After four days of combative hearings, a South African magistrate on Friday granted bail for Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee track star accused of murdering his girlfriend, in a case that has horrified and fascinated the nation and much of the world.

America's New Mandarins  —  The paths to power and success are narrowing.  So is the worldview of the powerful.  —  Yesterday, I wrote about the silliness of requiring a file clerk to have a college degree.  This morning, a friend sent me the following note about the narrowing of opportunity in modern America:

European Commission Offers Grim Prediction for Economy  —  BRUSSELS — A top European Union official warned Friday that worse-than-expected growth last year and weak prospects for 2013 will lead countries like France to miss deficit-reduction targets designed to ensure the stability of the euro.

Military service chiefs warn budget cuts will undermine readiness  —  After staying largely on the sidelines of the debate over deficit reduction, the U.S. military's service leaders have begun painting a stark picture of the toll a congressionally mandated budget cut could take on the readiness of the world's largest armed forces.

Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us  —  1. Routine Care, Unforgettable Bills  —  When Sean Recchi, a 42-year-old from Lancaster, Ohio, was told last March that he had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, his wife Stephanie knew she had to get him to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Biden says lawmakers need to ‘show some courage’ on gun control  —  Vice President Biden urged lawmakers to “show some courage” and back the Obama administration's favored measures for reducing gun violence.  —  Biden, on Thursday, called on lawmakers to support proposals like reinstitution …