Hotheaded Emanuel may be White House voice of reason  —  Rahm Emanuel is officially a Washington caricature.  He's the town's resident leviathan, a bullying, bruising White House chief of staff who is a prime target for the failings of the Obama administration.

Why I'm Not Running for the Senate  —  WHEN it was reported two months ago that I was thinking seriously about running for the United States Senate from New York, Democratic Party insiders started their own campaign to bully me out of the race — just as they had done with Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Steve Israel and others.

CORRECTED: Mickey Kaus Takes Out Papers For U.S. Senate Run  —  ​Pioneering political blogger Mickey Kaus took out papers [filed] to run for U.S. Senate in California, he told LA Weekly.  The Venice resident said he'll run this year against Barbara Boxer for her seat.

Who really gets hurt when GOP's Bunning blocks this bill?  —  WASHINGTON — The Department of Transportation furloughed nearly 2,000 employees without pay Monday as the government began to feel the impact of Republican Sen. Jim Bunning's one-man blockage of legislation that would keep a host of federal programs operating.

Coffee Party, With a Taste for Civic Participation, Is Added to the Political Menu  —  Fed up with government gridlock, but put off by the flavor of the Tea Party, people in cities across the country are offering an alternative: the Coffee Party.  —  Growing through a Facebook page …

D.C. journalist provided 'writer's advice'  —  A prominent Washington journalist and former Globe reporter is among the many advisers and political experts who helped Mitt Romney write “No Apology,” according to the book's acknowledgments.  —  “Nina Easton, the noted journalist and commentator …

Postal Service expected to announce ‘significant changes’  —  The U.S. Postal Service will release projections Tuesday that confirm for the first time the suspicion that mail volume will never return to pre-recession levels.  In response, the agency is pushing anew for a dramatic reshaping …

GOP Sen. Kyl: Unemployment Benefits Make People Not Want To Get A Job  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  A debate on the Senate floor Monday over unemployment compensation crystallized, at least for a moment, the divide between the two parties in Washington.  —  Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona …

B'klyn ACORN cleared over giving illegal advice on how to hide money from prostitution  —  Brooklyn prosecutors on Monday cleared ACORN of criminal wrongdoing after a four-month probe that began when undercover conservative activists filmed workers giving what appeared to be illegal advice on how to hide money.

Roger Ebert takes to Twitter to give tea party followers a thumb's down  —  The film reviewer is aiming barbs at Sarah Palin and other conservatives.  —  Who's the biggest scourge of the tea party movement these days?  It might be film critic Roger Ebert, who lately has been tossing brickbats …

Reconciliation on health care would be an assault to the democratic process  —  America's Founders gave us a system of governance designed to limit government power and maximize liberty.  The legislative branch is different from the executive, and the Senate is different from the House.

Barack Obama should drink less alcohol and try harder to kick his smoking habit, doctors say  —  Barack Obama should not only try harder to kick his smoking habit, his team of doctors warned, but they also recommended ‘moderation of alcohol intake’.  —  It would seem the pressure of the U.S. presidency …

Paterson Said to Direct Aides to Influence Abuse Case  —  ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson personally directed two state officials to contact the woman who had accused his close aide of assaulting her, according to two people with direct knowledge of the governor's actions.

In Closing: Rick Perry  —  In his 1990 bid for agriculture commissioner, Rick Perry recalls, “I had a very, very small staff.  I flew everywhere myself.  I didn't have anybody that went with me.”  If that campaign was a 9.5 on the political Richter Scale of difficulty …

Same-sex marriage leads Catholic Charities to adjust benefits  —  Employees at Catholic Charities were told Monday that the social services organization is changing its health coverage to avoid offering benefits to same-sex partners of its workers — the latest fallout from a bitter debate …