When Obamatons Respond  —  On Tuesday, I wrote that the Obama budget is a liberal, big government document that should make moderates nervous.  The column generated a large positive response from moderate Obama supporters who are anxious about where the administration is headed.

651,000 Jobs Reported Lost in February  —  Another 651,000 jobs were lost in February, adding to the millions of people who have been thrown out of work as the economic downturn deepens.  —  In a stark measure of the recession's toll, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday …

The Big Dither  —  Last month, in his big speech to Congress, President Obama argued for bold steps to fix America's dysfunctional banks.  “While the cost of action will be great,” he declared, “I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy …

Omnibus still one vote short  —  Short by one vote, Senate Democrats abruptly pulled back Thursday night from completing action on a giant omnibus spending bill—forcing leaders to scramble to pass a stopgap measure to keep the government funded through next Tuesday.

Undisclosed Losses at Merrill Lynch Lead to a Trading Inquiry  —  CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One Merrill Lynch trader apparently gambled away more than $120 million in the currency markets.  Others seemingly lost hundreds of millions on tricky credit derivatives.  —  But somehow all this red ink …

CNN's Gupta Decides Against Surgeon General Position, Cites ‘Timing’  —  Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, said last night that he will not leave his television career to become the U.S. surgeon general and urged whoever gets the job to raise its profile as the nation grapples with how to reform health care.

Never waste a good crisis, Clinton says on climate  —  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience on Friday “never waste a good crisis,” as she highlighted the opportunity of rebuilding economies in a greener, less energy intensive model.

The Great Non Sequitur  —  The Sleight of Hand Behind Obama's Agenda  —  Forget the pork.  Forget the waste.  Forget the 8,570 earmarks in a bill supported by a president who poses as the scourge of earmarks.  Forget the “2 trillion dollars in savings” that “we have already identified …

DLC on brink of a major shake-up  —  The Democratic Leadership Council — a group of centrists that dominated politics during the Clinton presidency but is laboring to remain relevant in the Obama era — is on the brink of a major shake-up.  —  Al From, the DLC's founder and leader since …

A Heated Exchange: Al Gore Confronts His Critic(s)  —  The Goreacle has spoken-again.  —  Former Vice President Al Gore repeated his message that climate change is a planetary emergency at the WSJ's Eco:nomics conference in California.  The Nobel-prize winner declined to take any questions from reporters …

Barack Obama bets the farm in $4 trillion poker game  —  The President believes he can change US politics for a generation.  If he's wrong he could bankrupt the whole country  —  One of the most seductive elements of Barack Obama's ascent to the White House was his unshakeable conviction …

Corporate America's Icons Crumbling Under Global Recession  —  The truisms have been familiar to generations of Americans: As General Motors goes, so goes the nation; Citigroup is too big to fail; General Electric, one of the 12 original companies in the Dow Jones industrial average in 1896, brings good things to life.

POOR LITTLE RICH BOY.  Tigerhawk's anger at the proposed tax hike on people making more than $250,000 a year results in a remarkable video, in which he complains with frightening, quiet intensity that he and his rich friends “have worked harder and longer in their entire careers than most Americans understand and can even conceive.”

Bank Charges May Surge as Mortgages Marked to Market  —  Patricia Greenberg's townhouse in Irvine, California, was losing about $10,000 a month in value when she received a letter in February 2008 that looked too good to be true: An investor was offering to cut her $472,000 mortgage by 26 percent and her monthly payment by a third.

Rev. Wright Cautions: Obama 'Ain't Jesus'  —  President's longtime minister, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, says his former congregant is just like any other president and that he “ain't gonna improve your child's reading score.”  —  SELMA, Ala. — President Barack Obama's longtime minister …

Rep. Grayson won't hold his tongue  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  The standard playbook for new members of Congress includes this time-honored piece of advice: Lay low, focus on constituent service and avoid drawing too much attention to yourself.

Spitzer Is Back in D.C. — in Real Estate  —  Eliot Spitzer is returning to Washington, D.C., but this time as an investor in the commercial real-estate market.  —  The former New York governor, who resigned in disgrace a year ago after getting caught patronizing a prostitute in a Washington hotel …

Fox News' Glenn Beck strikes ratings gold by challenging Barack Obama  —  His success comes as Fox News embraces the role of voice of opposition to the new administration.  —  Reporting from New York — Before Glenn Beck started his new show on Fox News in January, he sat down with Roger Ailes …

Bill Seeks $500 Billion for FDIC Fund  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is moving to allow the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to temporarily borrow as much as $500 billion from the Treasury Department.  —  The Connecticut Democrat's effort …

Makers Are Pushing Back on Toxic-Toy Law  —  Makers of children's products and charities that run second-hand shops are stuck with more than $1 billion of inventory they can't sell because of a new federal product-safety law, according to surveys by trade groups and the charities.