Conservatives Finish 2009 as No. 1 Ideological Group  —  Uptick owing largely to more independents calling themselves conservative  —  PRINCETON, NJ — The increased conservatism that Gallup first identified among Americans last June persisted throughout the year, so that the final year-end …

National security adviser: Airline bomber report to ‘shock’  —  WASHINGTON — White House national security adviser James Jones says Americans will feel “a certain shock” when they read an account being released Thursday of the missed clues that could have prevented the alleged Christmas Day bomber from ever boarding the plane.

Oh, Byron, We Hardly Knew Ye  —  Senator Byron Dorgan is retiring!  I know this comes as a shock to you, people.  Also Senator Chris Dodd!  We are only one week into the new year, and the political world is in turmoil.  It's a wonder we can continue on with our regular duties.

Press corps grills Gibbs: Um, didn't Obama totally shamelessly lie about C-SPAN?  —  Reminds me of the time Tapper coolly yet cruelly pressed Gibbs to defend Biden's sub-moronic advice to New Yorkers about avoiding city subways during swine-flu season.  There is, and can be, no defense here, and everyone in the room knows it.

Sarah Palin will headline first-ever Tea Party Convention  —  Sarah Palin's appearance is a coup for a movement now getting grudging respect from mainstream commentators.  But will the feisty Tea Party movement coalesce with the GOP's old guard?  —  Atlanta

NCTC director Michael Leiter remained on ski slopes after Christmas Day airline bombing attempt  —  WASHINGTON - The top official in charge of analyzing terror threats did not cut short his ski vacation after the underwear bomber nearly blew up an airliner on Christmas Day, the Daily News has learned.

Study predicts $1.5 trillion increase in GDP if undocumented immigrants are legalized.  —  A new study by University of California at Los Angeles professor Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda suggests that comprehensive immigration reform, which includes an earned path to legalization for undocumented immigrants …

Geithner's New York Fed Told AIG to Limit Swaps Disclosure  —  Jan. 7 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, then led by Timothy Geithner, told American International Group Inc. to withhold details from the public about the bailed-out insurer's payments to banks during the depths …

Dick Morris sees two parties.  I see four.  —  I can't remember a more breathtaking 48 hours in politics since Barack Obama's election in November 2008.  Byron Dorgan is out; Chris Dodd is out; Bill Ritter is out.  Who would have thought that just one year into Obama's promising presidency …

U.S. learned intelligence on airline attack suspect while he was en route  —  U.S. border enforcement officials discovered alleged extremist links in a database while the suspect was headed to Detroit on Christmas Day, new disclosures show.  —  Reporting from Washington …

Sestak puts blame on Democratic leaders for slipping support  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  Rep. Joe Sestak blames Democratic leaders for the plunge in public support for overhauling the health care system, saying Wednesday they failed to defend proposals that helped carry the party to victories in 2008.

Steele Lashes Out: Critics Should ‘Get a Life,’ ‘Shut Up,’ ‘Fire Me ... or Get out of the Way’  —  ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Rick Klein report: RNC Chairman Michael Steele is lashing out his critics, with a series of blunt messages for prominent Republicans who have blasted him over his leadership for the Republican Party.

White House budget director ditched pregnant girlfriend for ABC News gal  —  President Obama's budget guru has a secret love child — with the woman he jilted for his hot new fiance, The Post has learned.  —  White House budget director Peter Orszag's ex, shipping heiress Claire Milonas …

Exclusive: Koppel may return to ABC  —  ABC News is negotiating with “Nightline” founder Ted Koppel, a 42-year veteran of the network, for a potential return to anchor “This Week” three Sundays a month, broadcast industry sources said.  —  ABC News executives said no offers have been made.

Ellen Malcolm Flees Emily's List  —  For a lot of reasons, I believe that electoral support with no lobbying arm is a flawed advocacy model.  But there's no denying that Ellen Malcolm was a superb fundraiser who built Emily's List into a powerful support network for pro-choice female candidates.

Todd Harris, GOP Strategist, DECIMATED By Chris Matthews (VIDEO)  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  What have the Republicans done for America lately?  Or in the past couple decades?  —  That's what Chris Matthews pressed Republican strategist Todd Harris about during Hardball on Wednesday.

Health-care reform bill's proposed tax on high-cost plans raises questions  —  With Congress on the verge of imposing a new tax on high-cost health insurance plans, skeptics continue to raise questions about who would be hit hardest and whether health-care spending would be limited as much as proponents say.

Democrat Wears Scorn as Medal in Abortion Fight  —  MENOMINEE, Mich. — Representative Bart Stupak often endures things others find unbearable.  He crisscrosses a Congressional district so vast that some constituents live eight hours apart and so cold that the beer at his beloved football games sometimes freezes.

Numbers to Watch in 2010: Presidential Approval  —  This post was written by Glen Bolger and Jim Hobart  —  This is the first in a series of posts examining key polling data and other numbers to watch as we move towards Election Day.  —  Over the course of the past year …

Health bill at issue in Mass. special  —  With the Massachusetts Senate special election less than two weeks away, Scott Brown is framing himself as the GOP's last hope to stop Democratic health care legislation, an approach that could provide both parties with an early glimpse at the political resonance of the issue.

Carlson Launches Right's Answer to HuffPost  —  The offices of The Daily Caller evoke a long-ago era of journalism, circa 2005 or 2006, before the Los Angeles Times closed its big-city bureaus, The Washington Times fired 60 percent of its staff, and magazines from Gourmet to Portfolio shuttered for lack of revenue.

Republicans put new hold on TSA nominee Erroll Southers  —  The nomination of a former FBI agent to lead the Transportation Security Administration hit a new obstacle Wednesday as several Republican senators expressed “serious reservations” about the nominee and pressed the White House …