‘Soul-searching’ Obama aides: Democrats' midterm election losses a wake-up call  —  After nearly two weeks of introspection, President Obama's top advisers have concluded that the “shellacking” Democrats took on Election Day was caused in large part by their own failure to live …

Heath Shuler Says He'll Challenge Nancy Pelosi for Democratic Leader Post … North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler said Sunday he would challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the leadership of the Democratic minority in the next Congress although he acknowledged that he does not have the votes to win.

Nazis Were Given ‘Safe Haven’ in U.S., Report Says  —  WASHINGTON — A secret history of the United States government's Nazi-hunting operation concludes that American intelligence officials created a “safe haven” in the United States for Nazis and their collaborators after World War II …

Who Will Stand Up to the Superrich?  —  IN the aftermath of the Great Democratic Shellacking of 2010, one election night subplot quickly receded into the footnotes: the drubbing received by very wealthy Americans, most of them Republican, who tried to buy Senate seats and governor's mansions.

Air Force One Arrival Edition: Welcome to Alaska — FIRST LOOK: Obamans blame Rahm in Richard Wolffe book, ‘Revival’ — NYT balance-the-budget game — Valerie Jarrett, Ben ‘Karaoke’ Rhodes b'day  —  Happy Sunday.  President Obama lands this morning, Eastern time, at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska …

TSA encounter at SAN  —  [These events took place roughly between 5:30 and 6:30 AM, November 13th in Terminal 2 of the San Diego International Airport.  I'm writing this approximately 2 1/2 hours after the events transpired, and they are correct to the best of my recollection.

Rangel ‘raided’ PACs for 393G  —  Tweet  —  Congressman Charles Rangel, whose ethics trial starts tomorrow, appears to have improperly used political-action committee money to pay for his defense.  —  Rangel tapped his National Leadership PAC for $293,000 to pay his main legal-defense team this year.

Try Something Hard: Governing  —  Many Americans who voted this fall expressed a deep mistrust of government.  House Republicans' triumphalist vows to tie up the Obama administration with nonstop investigations and obstructionist budget crimping are not going to allay those voters' concerns — or solve any of the country's problems.

Waiver-mania!  The ever-expanding Obamacare escapee list  —  Let us briefly review the rapidly growing rolls of companies, unions, and states bursting out of the Obamacare escape hatch.  —  In early September, I noted the push by Obamacare promoter and Democrat Rep. Ron Wyden …

DeMint: Tea Party is ‘support group’ for trying to kick earmarks  —  As Senate Republicans mull an earmark ban, they have organizations to remind them such spending is unpopular with voters, according to the senator leading the push for a moratorium: Tea Party groups who want spending shrunk.

Sunday hosts slam ‘narrowcasting’  —  The Sunday show hosts, normally fierce competitors, gathered at a live event this morning to discuss something that affects them all: a shifting political-media climate most recently defined by images of candidates making mad dashes to their cars to avoid reporters.

Karzai wants U.S. to reduce military operations in Afghanistan  —  KABUL- President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday that the United States must reduce the visibility and intensity of its military operations in Afghanistan and end the increased U.S. Special Operations forces night raids …

Obama to push Senate on START  —  YOKOHAMA, Japan - President Obama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday that he'll push the Senate in coming weeks to ratify a nuclear arms treaty the two leaders signed earlier this year.  —  “I reiterated my commitment to get the START treaty done during …