Anger Over Firm Depletes Obama's Political Capital  —  President Obama's apparent inability to block executive bonuses at insurance giant AIG has dealt a sharp blow to his young administration and is threatening to derail both public and congressional support for his ambitious political agenda.

“USEFUL IDIOT” WATCH...  Memo to Meghan McCain: Enjoy the media coverage while it lasts, but know you're being used.  You are the flavor of the month in left-wing media land because you are a Republican bashing the GOP.  Likewise, your dad is most popular among the same people when he is slamming …

Don't Blame Jim Cramer  —  What Jon Stewart needs is Jon Stewart.  He could use a droll comedian to temper his ferocity and correct him when he's wrong, as he was about the financial media, particularly CNBC and its excitable analyst Jim Cramer.  They didn't cover up the story of financial shenanigans.

Moderate Is Said to Be Pick for Court  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is expected to name his first candidate to an appeals court seat this week, officials said, choosing David F. Hamilton, a highly regarded federal trial court judge from Indiana, for the appeals court in Chicago.

Obama Team Derides Cheney's Criticisms  —  The Obama administration responded sharply yesterday to former vice president Richard B. Cheney's comments in a weekend interview that the new president “is making some choices that, in my mind, will in fact raise the risk to the American people” of another terrorist attack.

Two Weeks Ago: White House Says It's Confident It Knows What Happened to Previous AIG Billions  —  From White House press secretary Robert Gibbs' briefing two weeks ago, when $30 billion in additional funds were announced for AIG.  AIG had at this point designated $165 million in retention bonuses …

Ron Paul's insane cameo in the upcoming Bruno movie.  —  Note: This article contains spoilers about Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming movie, Bruno.  —  Presidential candidates will do almost anything for publicity.  But Ron Paul's appearance in Sacha Baron Cohen's upcoming Bruno movie suggests …

GOP eyes Bush v. Gore to save Coleman seat  —  A state court could rule any day now on Norm Coleman's challenge to Al Franken's 225-vote lead in Minnesota, but the race may be far from over no matter what the judges say.  —  Top Republicans are encouraging Coleman to be as litigious as possible …

Pelosi goes to bat to keep Bay Area papers alive  —  (03-16) 17:38 PDT Washington - —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, worried about the fate of The Chronicle and other financially struggling newspapers, urged the Justice Department Monday to consider giving Bay Area papers more leeway …

Mexico to impose sanctions on US exports  —  ByAlan Beattie in Washington and Adam Thomson in Mexico City  —  A long-simmering trade dispute boiled over into sanctions on Monday after Mexico said it would raise tariffs on $2.4bn of US exports in retaliation for ending a pilot programme to allow Mexican trucks on American roads.

The American Legion Strongly Opposed to President's Plan to Charge Wounded Heroes for Treatment  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  Contact: Craig Roberts of The American Legion, +1-202-263-2982 Office, +1-202-406-0887 Cell  —  The leader of the nation's …

UW-Milwaukee Study Could Realign Climate Change Theory  —  Scientists Claim Earth Is Undergoing Natural Climate Shift  —  MILWAUKEE — The bitter cold and record snowfalls from two wicked winters are causing people to ask if the global climate is truly changing.

New York Times' New Columnist Is Full of It  —  Feds Zero In On Madoff's Inner Circle—and His Missing Money by Lucinda Franks  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Ross Douthat, the conservative pundit, was just named a columnist at the New York Times op-ed page.  Now, if only he'd listen to point about stem cells and IVF.

A Hand in the Health Care Debate  —  The last thing the surgeon said to me before they rolled me into the operating room was, “You know, if you and Obama had your way with health care, it wouldn't be me doing this operation.  It would just be some guy.”  —  I tried to tell him …