Obama's Gift to the Republicans  —  The ancient Greeks liked to say that character is fate.  —  The colossal mess that Obamacare has become reflects both the character of the legislation and that of the president who sponsored it.  —  The Affordable Care Act, as a government mandate …

Census ‘faked’ 2012 election jobs report  —  In the home stretch of the 2012 presidential campaign, from August to September, the unemployment rate fell sharply — raising eyebrows from Wall Street to Washington.  —  The decline — from 8.1 percent in August to 7.8 percent in September — might not have been all it seemed.

Cheney Family Values  —  If Liz Cheney, whose bid for the Senate has always had a stench of extreme opportunism, wants to discuss traditions and values, I'm all for it.  Let's start here: Isn't there a tradition of close-knit family members' taking care not to wound one another?  Is there not value in that?

Chris Christie Knocks GOP, Says Washington Is Full of ‘Absolutists’  —  WASHINGTON — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had some harsh words for Washington, D.C. Monday night, telling a group of CEOs that “both parties” in Washington are the problem, but still harshly criticizing the GOP …

Martin Bashir apologizes for dirty, disgusting slam at Sarah Palin  —  FILE: Martin Bashir on the second day of Michael Jackson's child molestation trial in Santa Maria.reuters  —  When I first saw a headline about what Martin Bashir said, I figured it must be exaggerated.

Edwards teaming up again with former law partner  —  RALEIGH, N.C. — Two-time Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards will soon begin practicing law again with his former law partner, David Kirby, and his daughter Cate.  —  The Edwards Kirby law firm will have offices in Raleigh and Washington, D.C.

The analogy is less telling than who is employing it.  —  Granted, it's an imperfect analogy.  So is every other analogy, but there are some particularly glaring differences here.  As Karl Van Zandt observes on Twitter, President Bush didn't push Hurricane Katrina through Congress without a single vote from the other party.

Seminole deputies arrest George Zimmerman  —  Video: Zimmerman's wife calls 911, won't press charges  —  911 audio: Shellie Zimmerman says George is threatening everyone  —  George Zimmerman's attorney gives statement  —  George Zimmerman's wife says he threatened her

Chat wrap: OUR Walmart rep answers your questions about this story  —  Is the food drive proof the retailer pays so little that many employees can't afford Thanksgiving dinner?  —  Norma Mills of Canton, who lives near the store, saw the photo circulating showing the food drive bins, and felt both “outrage” and “anger.”

Ford Nation hits the airwaves … Mayor Rob Ford and Coun.  Doug Ford debuted their talk show ‘Ford Nation’ on the Sun News Network Monday evening shortly after council voted to futher strip the mayor's power and budget.  Video courtesy: Sun News … Photos View photos  — zoom

Majority in U.S. Say Healthcare Not Gov't Responsibility  —  Republicans' attitudes on this measure have changed significantly since 2000  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The 56% of U.S. adults who now say it is not the federal government's responsibility to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage continues to reflect a record high.

Elizabeth Warren: Don't cut Social Security.  Expand it!  —  “The most recent discussion about cutting benefits has focused on something called the Chained-CPI.  Supporters of the chained CPI say that it's a more accurate way of measuring cost of living increases for seniors.  That statement is simply not true.

Morose Obama asks his base for psychological intervention  —  A downbeat President Barack Obama repeatedly asked his worried supporters Monday night to help resurrect his spirits, following weeks of political disasters and personal humiliations caused by the cascading collapse of Obamacare.

Al Jazeera America fails to attract US audience  —  After just two months on the air, Al Jazeera America is losing ground in the US.  —  The US offshoot of the Mideast news outfit managed fewer than half of the viewers who tuned in to its predecessor, Al Gore's Current TV.

Monty Python to reunite for stage show  —  All of the surviving members of comedy group Monty Python are to reform for a stage show, one of the Pythons, Terry Jones, has confirmed.  —  “We're getting together and putting on a show - it's real,” Jones told the BBC.  —  “I'm quite excited about it.

Stephens: From ‘Four Score’ to ‘Yes We Can!’  —  Sudden modesty from the selfhyperadulated president.  —  Seven score and 10 years ago, Abraham Lincoln delivered his sacred speech on the meaning of free government.  Edward Everett, a former secretary of state and the principal speaker …

Meet The ‘Assassination Market’ Creator Who's Crowdfunding Murder With Bitcoins  —  As Bitcoin becomes an increasingly popular form of digital cash, the cryptocurrency is being accepted in exchange for everything from socks to sushi to heroin.  If one anarchist has his way, it'll soon be used to buy murder, too.

President Obama's messy breakup with insurers  —  Administration officials say they can take care of that problem.  They're going to look at ways to adjust special payment mechanisms built into Obamacare, called “risk corridors,” that pay health plans if they have higher costs than they expected.

Obamacare flopped, but at least fracking works: Column  —  More proof that federal government programs are least effective.  —  CONNECT  —  As I've written here before, there are two Americas: One that works, produces value, and overcomes problems, and one that for the most part doesn't work …