Reid's about-face stuns Dems, W.H.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid led colleagues and the White House to believe he supported a bipartisan jobs bill — only to scuttle the plan as soon as it was released Thursday over concerns it could be used to batter Democratic incumbents, according to Senate sources.

Man Charged With Stockpiling Weapons Was Tea Partier, Palin Fan  —  The Massachusetts man charged this week with stockpiling weapons after saying he feared an imminent “Armageddon” appears to have been active in the Tea Party movement, and saw Sarah Palin, who he said is on a …

A deal on nominations that even a Republican could love  —  The administration scored a big victory last night, or at least it thinks it did.  After President Obama finally threatened to make recess appointments if Senate Republicans didn't let some of its nominees through the confirmation process …

Obama will help select location of Khalid Sheik Mohammed terrorism trial  —  President Obama is planning to insert himself into the debate about where to try the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, three administration officials said Thursday, signaling a recognition …

Why the MSM loves Palin  —  Fox News has been making a serious charge about mainstream political reporters: They hate Sarah Palin.  —  This is not just wrong, it's absurd.  The reality is exactly the opposite: We love Palin.  —  And if Palin does not exactly love us …

His Father's Son  —  As the youngest child of Ted Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy has become the heir apparent to a political dynasty.  But six months after his father's death, he reveals what that watershed moment taught him and why he won't run for Congress again this November.  —  Patrick Kennedy talked for hours

Ford's NBC contract suspended  —  When Harold Ford Jr. appears on NBC's “Meet the Press” this Sunday, it'll be as chair of the Democratic Leadership Council, according to a network release.  On the show's website, he's listed as a “political insider.”  —  But when he's more recently appeared …

75% back letting gays serve openly  —  Three-quarters of Americans say that they support openly gay people serving in the U.S. military, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, a finding that could lend momentum to the Obama administration's effort to dismantle the policy known as “don't ask, don't tell.”

Republicans and Medicare  —  “Don't cut Medicare.  The reform bills passed by the House and Senate cut Medicare by approximately $500 billion.  This is wrong.”  So declared Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, in a recent op-ed article written with John Goodman, the president of the National Center for Policy Analysis.

Iron Man was right  —  Spencer Ackerman's adjudication of the dispute between Captain America and Iron Man is some of the most relevant punditry you'll read today.  And, incidentally, I agree with Spencer entirely: Iron Man was unequivocally right in the argument over superhero registration.

Poll Finds Edge for Obama Over G.O.P. Among the Public  —  WASHINGTON — At a time of deepening political disaffection and intensified distress about the economy, President Obama enjoys an edge over Republicans in the battle for public support, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Where the U.S. went wrong on the Christmas Day bomber  —  It seems to me unlikely that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab will be known to future generations of lawyers for generating any groundbreaking legal principle or issue.  But when it comes to illuminating our public discourse about the …

Shocking True Tales of Media Bias  —  I don't begrudge anyone their living, so if people get attractive job offers to go work at Pete Peterson's new Fiscal Times more power to them.  But as we move into a world where more-and-more journalism will be financed on a non-profit basis …

Dick Durbin Throws Weight Behind Effort To Reform Filibuster  —  Okay, this could be significant: Senator Dick Durbin is now throwing his weight behind a new effort to reform the filibuster, a move that could give it a boost, given Durbin's clout as a senior member of the Dem leadership.

Tim Pawlenty offers a stinging critique of GOP  —  Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty criticized his party in an interview with Esquire magazine.  Photo by Jay Premack/Bloomberg News  —  In the upcoming issue of Esquire magazine, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) offers a harsh rebuke …

What's Next, Mr. President?  —  By 2008, Americans were disgusted with their government.  They were sick of partisan gridlock and general incompetence.  Along came Barack Obama offering to usher in a new era.  It was time, he said, to put away childish things.  —  There were actually two elements to the Obama campaign.

Wi-Fi Turns Rowdy Bus Into Rolling Study Hall  —  VAIL, Ariz. — Students endure hundreds of hours on yellow buses each year getting to and from school in this desert exurb of Tucson, and stir-crazy teenagers break the monotony by teasing, texting, flirting, shouting, climbing (over seats) and sometimes punching (seats or seatmates).

Is Medina a birther?  —  After ducking questions yesterday about whether the Bush administration aided in the Sept. 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, then saying she has never believed the government was involved, Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina gave a series of interviews late in the day.