First Thoughts: A truce - for now  —  Both sides declare a budget truce — for now... How a Grand Bargain could still take place... And why achieving a Grand Bargain has been so difficult... NYT on a GOP that's united on just one issue right now: taxes and spending... Obama …

Back on the Trail  —  When disgraced South Carolina governor Mark Sanford decided to run for office again, he asked his ex-wife, Jenny, for her blessing.  Whether he has her vote is another matter.  —  Late last year, a few days before Christmas, former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford embarked on a delicate political mission.

Hill Poll: President's support for Israel found wanting by many voters  —  Three times as many voters believe the Obama administration is not supportive enough of Israel as believe it is too supportive, according to a new poll for the Hill.  —  The proportion of voters who now say the president does …

Jeb Bush pushes back against pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants  —  Former Florida governor - and potential GOP presidential candidate - Jeb Bush said this week that a pathway to citizenship should not be a component of an overhaul of the nation's immigration system.

Obama pushing to diversify federal judiciary amid GOP delays  —  In Florida, President Obama has nominated the first openly gay black man to sit on a federal district court.  In New York, he has nominated the first Asian American lesbian.  And his pick for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit?

Recovery in U.S. Lifting Profits, Not Adding Jobs  —  With the Dow Jones industrial average flirting with a record high, the split between American workers and the companies that employ them is widening and could worsen in the next few months as federal budget cuts take hold.

Obama's Fault  —  Our feckless leaders may be incapable of passing a budget, but, boy, can they pass the buck.  The White House spent last week in full campaign hysteria, blitzing online followers with the message that heartless Republicans are prepared to transform America into …

Republicans and Their Faulty Moral Arithmetic  —  Conservative values and money issues are worth less than concern for the poor.  —  In the waning days of the 1992 presidential campaign, President George H.W. Bush trailed Bill Clinton in the polls.  The conventional wisdom was that Mr. Bush seemed …

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Opinion: Big drama guaranteed if Ashley Judd challenges McConnell in Kentucky  —  “Argo” and “Lincoln” won big at the Oscars.  Here's a pitch for the next Washington political story that is sure to be a Hollywood hit.  —  The plot goes like this: A young, liberal Democratic actress returns home to run for the U.S. Senate.

Mooching Off Medicaid  —  Conservatives like to say that their position is all about economic freedom, and hence making government's role in general, and government spending in particular, as small as possible.  And no doubt there are individual conservatives who really have such idealistic motives.

Priest burns picture of pope in CHURCH in protest at resignation as ‘rock star’ cardinals gather to choose successor  —  It ought to have been the most serene of days for the former Pope.  —  But Benedict XVI's first Sunday in retirement has been sullied by a village priest who burnt a photograph of him during Sunday mass.

As Automatic Budget Cuts Go Into Effect, Poor May Be Hit Particularly Hard  —  WASHINGTON — The $85 billion in automatic cuts working their way through the federal budget spare many programs that aid the poorest and most vulnerable Americans, including the Children's Health Insurance Program and food stamps.

Behind the Doors of the Senate Gym  —  Early-rising lawmakers get better acquainted in ‘sweat-filled room’ — the Senate gym  —  Behind a discreet set of keypad-entry double doors on the first floor of the Russell Senate Office Building lies one of the last oases of what was once …