Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid icon and father of modern South Africa, dies  —  The evolution of Nelson Mandela  —  (CNN) — Freedom fighter, prisoner, moral compass and South Africa's symbol of the struggle against racial oppression.  —  That was Nelson Mandela, who emerged from prison …

Obama: GOP should be ‘embarrassed’ by low productivity on Hill  —  Republicans ought to be “embarrassed” of their record low productivity during their time in charge of the House of Representatives, President Barack Obama said Thursday.  —  In an interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews …

First Thoughts: Universal, bipartisan praise for Mandela — when that wasn't always the case  —  Universal, bipartisan praise for Mandela after his passing — when it wasn't always the case... Cincinnati-area focus group: Voters angry with Washington, down on Obama, and feeling helpless in fixing things …

Majority of Americans Want Major Changes to Health Law  —  Fifty-two percent want Congress to repeal or scale back the law  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — After two months of glitches with the new federal healthcare website and attempts to fix it, the percentage of Americans who prefer that Congress scale …

Obama Approval Down Most Among Hispanics in Past Year  —  Hispanics' approval has fallen from 75% in December 2012 to 52% in November  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama's job approval rating averaged 41% in November, down 12 percentage points from 53% last December, his high-water mark since his first year in office.

No talk of affordable health care in Obamacare PR push  —  WHITE HOUSE BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE KATHLEEN SEBELIUS JAY CARNEY  —  One striking thing about the new White House Obamacare promotion campaign is that so far it hasn't had much to say about the central focus of Obamacare …

Biden or Clinton?  Obama won't choose  —  President Obama stayed neutral Thursday about his possible sucessor, saying both Vice President Biden and former secretary of State Hillary Clinton “would make outstanding presidents.”  —  Asked to “compare and contrast” the pair's presidential attributes …

Obama Gets Real  —  Much of the media commentary on President Obama's big inequality speech was cynical.  You know the drill: it's yet another “reboot” that will go nowhere; none of it will have any effect on policy, and so on.  But before we talk about the speech's possible political impact …

President Clinton Doodled Male Genitalia (We Think) and It Was Glorious  —  The image above comes from the hacker Guccifer, who reportedly got access to the Clinton Library and allegedly obtained unreleased doodles.  Guccifer famously broke into George W. Bush's emails and revealed that the former preisdent paints dogs.

GOP comes to Detroit, trying to win over African-American voters  —  WASHINGTON — Today, Detroit has the eye of the Republican Party.  —  This morning, the state Republican Party will open an African American Engagement Office as part of a nationwide effort to reach out to black voters.

U.S. Economy Adds 203,000 Jobs, as Unemployment Falls to 5-Year Low  —  The economy added 203,000 jobs in November, a bit better than expected, as the unemployment rate fell to 7 percent, the lowest in five years.  —  While the return of hundreds of thousands of federal employees following …

Obamacare's architects plugged their ears and misled public  —  BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE SUPREME COURT MEDICARE AND MEDICAID  —  In 1970 the eccentric but insightful economist Albert Hirschman published a book called Exit, Voice and Loyalty.  It explored how people respond when a private firm's …