NEVADA U.S. SENATE POLL: Reid hits new low in poll  —  Rating is worst in R-J's surveys for 2010 election  —  More than half of Nevadans are unhappy with Sen. Harry Reid, according to a new poll commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  It's the worst “unfavorable” …

Scott Brown swearing-in would be stalled to pass health-care reform  —  It looks like the fix is in on national health-care reform - and it all may unfold on Beacon Hill.  —  At a business forum in Boston today, interim Sen. Paul Kirk predicted that Congress would pass a health-care reform bill this month.

Courts Roll Back Limits on Spending in Election Law  —  WASHINGTON — Even before a landmark Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance law expected within days, a series of other court decisions is reshaping the political battlefield by freeing corporations, unions and other interest groups …

Unions Oppose Possible Health Insurance Tax  —  When millions of blue-collar workers were leaning toward John McCain during the 2008 campaign, labor unions moved many of them into Barack Obama's column by repeatedly hammering one theme: Mr. McCain wanted to tax their health benefits.

The Juiciest Revelations In “Game Change”  —  “Game Change,” the long-awaited and very gossipy chronicle of the 2008 campaign by journalists John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, is chock full of revelations that are bound to stir the folks who live within ten miles of the Beltway — and perhaps even reverberate beyond Washington.

G.O.P. Grief and Grieving  —  The attack on the Republican establishment by the tea party folks grabs the gaze like a really bad horror flick — some version of “Hee Haw” meets “28 Days Later.”  It's fascinating.  But it also raises a serious question: Are these the desperate thrashings …

A letter to the White House  —  Umar Abdulmutallab has been provided a lawyer and clammed up in connection with this efforts to take down Northwest Flight 253 as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day.  Yesterday Abdulmutallab was arraigned in federal court in Detroit.

White House Aides Said to Chafe at Slow Pace of Afghan Surge  —  WASHINGTON — Senior White House advisers are frustrated by what they say is the Pentagon's slow pace in deploying 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and its inability to live up to an initial promise to have all of the forces …

Loud Protests on NPR's ‘Tea Party’ Cartoon  —  For nearly two months, the animated political cartoon sat on npr.org virtually unnoticed.  And then someone discovered it, was disgusted and launched it into the blogosphere — making it a raucous rallying point for conservatives.

Ex-Police Official Backs Car Into Pregnant Woman  —  Howard Safir, a New York City police commissioner during the Giuliani administration, backed his sport utility vehicle into a pregnant woman on the Upper East Side on Friday afternoon and then drove away, the police said.

Where U.S. Health Care Ranks Number One  —  Isn't ‘responsiveness’ what medicine is all about?  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Last August the cover of Time pictured President Obama in white coat and stethoscope.  The story opened: “The U.S. spends more to get less [health care] than just about every other industrialized country.”

Analysis: Obama's buck-stopping goes only so far  —  Buzz up!  —  WASHINGTON - He says “the buck stops with me,” but nearly a year into office, President Barack Obama is still blaming a lot of the nation's troubles — the economy, terrorism, health care — on George W. Bush.

Jean Biden Dead: Joe Biden's Mother Catherine Dies At 92  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Catherine “Jean” Biden died today in Wilmington, Delaware, surrounded by family, according to a statement released by the White House.  —  Born Catherine Eugenia Finnegan, the mother of Vice President Joe Biden was 92.

Krauthammer's Take — By: NRO Staff  —  On President Obama's speech yesterday:  —  I thought it was rather appalling.  I find it mind-numbingly bureaucratic, flat, bloodless.  It was almost inside baseball describing how bureaucracies work.  —  And his conclusions?

Judge tosses out most evidence on Gitmo detainee  —  Buzz up!  —  WASHINGTON - A federal judge has tossed out most of the government's evidence against a tarrorism detainee on grounds his confessions were coerced, allegedly by U.S. forces, before he became a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay.

What the GOP Can Learn from a Pizza Chain  —  America is about second acts.  We love contrition and redemption.  —  This is one of those rare moments when the conventional wisdom in Washington is right.  The Democrats are poised to have a bad year; the only argument is over how bad it will be.

Native-American GOP Congressman Calls Steele's ‘Honest Injun’ Comments ‘Unacceptable’  —  On Monday, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele attracted considerable attention for a controversial term he used on Fox News: … Watch it:  —  Today, ThinkProgress received a statement …

Ford staffs up  —  Harold Ford's bid for Senate just got a little more serious: He's hired a spokesman, and — I'm told — brought on board Mike Bloomberg's campaign manager and pollster to help with his bid.  Two sources close to the nascent campaign said the pollster, Doug Schoen …