The Democrats Need to Stop Freaking Out About Obamacare and Take Charge  —  Well, here we are again—the Democrats are ‘in disarray,’ flailing on Obamacare.  It's a potent story line, but this time Obama must crack the whip, stop the panicking, and make it work.

LOCKED IN THE CABINET  —  The worst job in Barack Obama's Washington.  —  Steven Chu is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, a brilliant innovator whose research fills several all-but-incomprehensible paragraphs of a Wikipedia entry that spans his achievements in single-molecule physics …

Rand Paul: Chris Christie Won Because ‘He Got A Lot Of Federal Money For His State’  —  An ongoing feud between potential 2016 contenders bubbled to the surface again Wednesday when Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) took a pointed shot at New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) use of federal funds for Hurricane Sandy relief.

Obamacare credibility going up in smoke: Our view  —  New HealthCare.gov data show just how broken it is.  —  CONNECT  —  The health insurance signup numbers the White House released Wednesday afternoon were deeply disappointing, though not particularly surprising.

Obamacare Schadenfreudarama  —  To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, you'd have to have a heart of stone not to laugh at the unraveling of Obamacare.  —  First, the obligatory caveats.  It is no laughing matter that millions of Americans' lives have been thrown into anxious chaos as they lose their health insurance …

Two Secret Service agents cut from Obama's detail after alleged misconduct  —  A call from the Hay-Adams Hotel this past spring reporting that a Secret Service agent was trying to force his way into a woman's room set in motion an internal investigation that has sent tremors through …

Obama open to health-law change  —  The government released numbers Wednesday showing that far fewer Americans had enrolled in private insurance plans under the new health law than expected and, in a marked shift, the Obama administration signaled it was open to legislation to fix the troubled rollout.

Commissioned poll: Mike Enzi up 53 on Liz Cheney  —  Liz Cheney's support has faded in Wyoming since the summer, according to internal polling conducted for a super PAC that's been running ads against her and shared exclusively with POLITICO.  —  Sen. Mike Enzi (R) has expanded his lead …

Americans' Approval of Healthcare Law Declines  —  Currently 40% approve and 55% disapprove  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' views of the 2010 healthcare law have worsened in recent weeks, with 40% approving and 55% disapproving of it.  For most of the past year, Americans have been divided on the law …

GOP seeks Holder impeachment  —  A group of hard-line conservative House Republicans will introduce a resolution on Thursday calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Eric Holder.  —  But there is no sign yet that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) or other House GOP leaders will act on the measure.

The Necessary Contradictions Of A Conservative  —  Sorry for missing the Best of the Dish Today deadline last night.  I was giving a speech on conservatism at Eastern Michigan University, and the conversation didn't stop.  —  I prepped by re-reading parts of my friend Jesse Norman's terrific book …

Why We Lied to Obama  —  We told him he could be popular.  What we meant to say was he could be popular ... if he told the truth.  —  Americans told President Obama in 2012, “If you like your popularity, you can keep it.”  —  We lied.  —  Well, at least we didn't tell him the whole truth.

Socialist candidate leading in Seattle City Council race  —  A Seattle City Council election that was thought to be a foregone conclusion is suddenly on the cusp of seeing a Socialist candidate either win or force a recount, the Seattle Times reported on Tuesday.

Why President Obama's sinking job approval numbers matter.  A lot.  —  Who cares?  —  That's a common reaction — particularly in the Democratic wing of the Twitter-sphere — anytime, like this morning, we post a piece detailing President Obama's sinking poll numbers.

Ted Cruz: When You Attack Me, You're Attacking the ‘American People’  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) believes that when his critics attack, they're not just going after him, but also taking on “the American people.”  Following his lively conversation with Jay Leno last Friday, the senator attended an …

Ex-S.D. Senator: Comeback Bid Based on ‘Idealistic Concept’  —  If he runs at all, former GOP Sen. Larry Pressler's, R-S.D., bid for Senate as an independent won't look like your traditional campaign.  —  He said his campaign is running on an “idealistic concept” in a Wednesday phone interview with CQ Roll Call.