Obama's ratings tumble after health-care flaws  —  The flawed rollout of the Affordable Care Act has pushed President Obama to the lowest point of his presidency, with dwindling faith in his competence and in many of the personal attributes that have buoyed him in the past, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Rude Awakening for Federal Way Woman Who Got Shout-Out From President - Can't Afford Obamacare Policy After All  —  After Jessica Sanford Sends Fan Letter to Obama for Making Insurance Affordable, State Says She Must Pay Full Ticket  —  Jessica Sanford, the Federal Way woman who got a shout …

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.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Calls For Expanding Social Security  —  American values demand that Congress boost retirement benefits rather than shrinking them to satisfy deficit hawks, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said on the Senate floor Monday afternoon.  “We should be talking …

'I'm not perfect': Defiant Toronto Mayor Rob Ford insists he can lead  — Facebook - Twitter - Reddit - Pinterest - Email  —  In a TODAY interview that aired Tuesday, embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted flaws, but blasted his critics and insisted he's fit to serve the city.

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.

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 …

High Standards for All Schools and Students, Everywhere  —  We have a tendency in our fast-moving world to focus on controversial-sounding soundbites, instead of the complex policy debates that underlie them.  Unfortunately, I recently played into that dynamic.

Judge To Decide If Zimmerman Is Released On Bail  —  SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — George Zimmerman's arrest following a domestic dispute with his girlfriend marks the latest in a series of brushes with the law he has had since his acquittal in a murder case that sparked nationwide debates about race and self-defense laws.

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.

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.

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?

Did the Shutdown Even Matter?  —  When budget negotiations began last month, Democrats felt confident that public opinion surrounding the government shutdown would force Republicans to the table, eager to prove their party could compromise.  —  But today, there's little sense of urgency on a budget deal.

Phil Gingrey's top staffers resign campaign  —  The Phil Gingrey's campaign for U.S. Senate took a blow on Monday, as four top staffers resigned.  —  General consultant Chip Lake, who once served as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, confirmed his departure via email.

Court order that allowed NSA surveillance is revealed for first time  —  Fisa court judge who authorised massive tapping of metadata was hesitant but felt she could not stand in the way  —  A secret court order that authorised a massive trawl by the National Security Agency of Americans' email …

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 …