Obama to introduce health care bill Wednesday, “much smaller” than House version  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday President Obama will soon propose a health care bill that will be “much smaller” than the House bill but “big enough” to put the country on a “path” toward health care reform.

Sen. Bunning is Angry: ‘This Is a Senators Only Elevator!’  —  ABC's Jonathan Karl and Z. Byron Wolf report from Washington:  —  An angry Senator Jim Bunning refused to answer questions from ABC News about his decision to block a bill extending unemployment benefits.

A reconciliation primer  —  It is amazing how few reporters understand what the budget reconciliation process is: Either how it works, or what it's traditionally been used for, or what Democrats are proposing to use it for.  That confusion creates comical exchanges like this one …

How many beers a day would Obama need to be drinking before his doctor would recommend “moderation of alcohol intake”?  —  Drudge picks out this bit from Obama's health report:  —  The link goes to this report — which stresses the advice to “continue smoking cessation efforts” (which means he's still smoking, apparently) — and ends:

Public Option Garners Avalanche of Support in Senate  —  In the wake of last week's “bipartisan summit” — which proved that no Republicans in Congress will vote for health care reform — an avalanche of Democratic senators are announcing today that they will vote YES for the public health insurance option …

Halter declares against Lincoln  —  Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter is moving ahead with a primary challenge to Sen. Blanche Lincoln, he announced Monday.  —  “Washington is broken,” Halter said in a video on his campaign website.  “Bailing out Wall Street with no strings attached …

Network News at a Crossroads  —  ABC News is making no secret about what is behind the sweeping staff cuts it now faces: raw survival instinct.  —  “I just looked out at the next five years and was concerned that we could not sustain doing what we were doing,” said David Westin …

Financial Reform Endgame  —  So here's the situation.  We've been through the second-worst financial crisis in the history of the world, and we've barely begun to recover: 29 million Americans either can't find jobs or can't find full-time work.  Yet all momentum for serious banking reform has been lost.

The Photo That Could Doom the Democrats  —  Blogs and Stories  —  Nancy Pelosi is protecting Rep. Charles Rangel, who failed to pay taxes on his Caribbean villa, among other miscues.  But the ethically challenged congressional baron is endangering the Democrats' control of Congress.

Obama's Drop  —  Barack Obama now has a negative approval rating in every state he flipped from the Bush column to his in 2008.  In each of those places his level of support is now in the 44-46% range.  It's probably a good thing he doesn't have to run for reelection this year.

White House Is Rethinking Nuclear Policy  —  WASHINGTON — As President Obama begins making final decisions on a broad new nuclear strategy for the United States, senior aides say he will permanently reduce America's arsenal by thousands of weapons.  But the administration has rejected proposals …

Buffett would scrap health bill  —  Billionaire investor Warren Buffett advised President Barack Obama on Monday to scrap the health care bill and start over.  —  In an interview with CNBC, Buffett said the current bill does not focus on controlling costs, which he sees as the central problem …

Hoyer: Raising taxes a realistic option for cutting $12 trillion debt  —  Tax increases may be necessary to rein in $12 trillion in federal debt, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Monday.  —  Hoyer emphasized the need to reform Social Security and Medicare …

Tea Party prominent: Palin not presidential  —  Former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo was the opening speaker at the recent Tea Party conference with Sarah Palin.  In an interview with NRC Handelsblad, he spoke his mind about Palin.  “I really don't have this feeling about her as being presidential.”

Closing Arguments: Finally, an end to Justice Dept. investigation  —  I've been under investigation for more than five years for legal advice that I gave in the immediate wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.  This month, the Justice Department's top career lawyer finally put an end to the farce.

Understanding the Participatory News Consumer  —  The overwhelming majority of Americans (92%) use multiple platforms to get their daily news, according to a new survey conducted jointly by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Source: Ralph Reed “Seriously” Considering Run for Congress  —  Sources close to Ralph Reed tell The Brody File that the former Executive Director of the Christian Coalition is “seriously” considering running for Congress in Georgia.  According to one well-placed source …