MICHAEL STEELE'S RECENT COMMENTS  —  Comments attributed to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele are very troubling and despite his clarification today the party stands to lose many of its members and a great deal of its support in the trenches of grassroots politics.

Laura Ingraham mocks Meghan McCain as being ‘plus-sized.’  —  Last night, Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) daughter, Meghan McCain, appeared on Rachel Maddow's MSNBC show, where she continued to criticize Ann Coulter.  On her radio show today, Laura Ingraham responded to McCain's critique …

Obama: Economic crisis ‘not as bad as we think’ … WASHINGTON (AP) - Confronting misgivings, even in his own party, President Barack Obama mounted a stout defense of his blueprint to overhaul the economy Thursday, declaring the national crisis is “not as bad as we think” and his plans will speed recovery.

Ross Douthat: the College Years  —  A look at the newest New York Times columnist's undergrad writing.  —  The New York Times reported yesterday that it had hired conservative Atlantic blogger Ross Douthat as an op-ed columnist.  Douthat, who will be one of the youngest—if not the youngest …

Third Top Treasury Pick Withdraws From Consideration  —  Democratic sources say that H. Rodgin Cohen, a partner in the New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, and the leading candidate for Deputy Treasury Secretary, has withdrawn from consideration.  —  It's the third withdrawal …

Congresswoman, Tied to Bank, Helped Seek Funds  —  WASHINGTON — Top federal regulators say they were taken aback when they learned that a California congresswoman who helped set up a meeting with bankers last year had family financial ties to a bank whose chief executive asked them for up to $50 million in special bailout funds.

Source: Obama official on leave after FBI raids  —  Source: Obama technology official on leave after FBI raids his old DC office, arrests 2  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — An aide to President Barack Obama is on leave from his White House job after the FBI raided his old District …

Americans See 18% of Wealth Vanish  —  The wealth of American families plunged nearly 18% in 2008, erasing years of sharp gains on housing and stocks and marking the biggest loss since the Federal Reserve began keeping track after World War II.  —  The Fed said Thursday …

Army fired 11 soldiers in Jan. as openly gay  —  The Army fired 11 soldiers in January for violating the military's policy that gay service members must keep their sexuality hidden, according to a Virginia congressman.  Democratic Rep. Jim Moran said he has requested monthly updates …

Obama v. Limbaugh: Poll finds it's no contest  —  WASHINGTON — The deepening recession is taking a slight toll on President Barack Obama's standing, but he's still twice as popular as archnemesis Rush Limbaugh, according to a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll.  —  The survey found that 65 percent …

Clyburn: Sanford jab ‘beyond the pale’  —  House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) told me he thinks S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford's quip comparing President Obama's stimulus package to Zimbabwe's economic policies are “beyond the pale” — and suggested they might carry a racial subtext.

Lawmakers deny Freeman's Israel lobby charges  —  Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said pro-Israel lobby groups did not spur their opposition to Charles Freeman.  —  Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), a senior member of the House intelligence panel …

52 days, 52 mistakes  —  Let me count them up, in no particular order.  Some are big.  Some are small.  —  We all make mistakes.  Here's his:  —  1. A do-over on the oath of office.  —  2. Tim Geithner.  —  3. Bill Richardson.  —  4. Tom Daschle.  —  5. Eric “Nation of Cowards” Holder.

US missile strike in Kurram agency levels Taliban training camp  —  The US targeted a Taliban compound in a cross-border strike into Pakistan's tribal areas today.  The strike took place in the Kurram tribal agency and was the second attack there since December 2008.

Big Union Vows To Back Arlen Specter In 2010 If He Supports Employee Free Choice  —  This is big: Senior officials with the powerful AFL-CIO have privately assured GOP Senator Arlen Specter that they'll throw their full support behind him in the 2010 Senate race if he votes for the Employee Free Choice Act …

The Man Obama Double-Crossed  —  As George Clooney Returns, Dr. Mehmet Oz On How ER Changed Our Lives.  —  Web  —  Blogs and Stories  —  The president's staffing nightmares began with Bill Richardson, the erstwhile Commerce nominee, who has told confidants that he was promised the secretary of State job.

White House objects to UN calling US ‘deadbeat’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House objected Thursday to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's description of the United States as a “deadbeat” donor to the world body.  —  Ban used the phrase Wednesday during a private meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol …

The Case Against Breast-Feeding  —  IMAGE CREDIT: JOSE LUIS PELAEZ/GETTY IMAGES  —  ONE AFTERNOON AT the playground last summer, shortly after the birth of my third child, I made the mistake of idly musing about breast-feeding to a group of new mothers I'd just met.

U.S. Jet Shoots Down Iranian Drone Over Iraq (Updated)  —  An American fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone as it was flying over Iraq, U.S. military sources in Baghdad tell Danger Room.  —  Details of the previously-unreported shoot-down, which occurred last month, are still sketchy.

Workers' Health Benefits Eyed for Taxation  —  Revenue Would Fund Expansion of Coverage  —  With President Obama's plan to tax the rich to pay for health care facing deep skepticism on Capitol Hill, key lawmakers are pressing a different way to raise money: taxing the health benefits workers receive from their employers.