Dems are earmark junkies but GOP goes straight  —  Press coverage of the budget frenzy on Capitol Hill has suggested that pork-barrel earmark spending is still a bipartisan problem, that after months of self-righteous rhetoric about fiscal discipline, Republicans and Democrats remain equal-opportunity earmarkers.

The new comeback kid  —  If Barack Obama wins reelection in 2012, as is now more likely than not, historians will mark his comeback as beginning on Dec. 6, the day of the Great Tax Cut Deal of 2010.  —  Obama had a bad November.  Self-confessedly shellacked in the midterm election …

PolitiFact's Lie of the Year: ‘A government takeover of health care’  —  In the spring of 2009, a Republican strategist settled on a brilliant and powerful attack line for President Barack Obama's ambitious plan to overhaul America's health insurance system.

How Would President Romney Govern?  —  “Sincerity is everything - once you can fake that, you've got it made.”  —  There's Mitt Romney's problem in 1 sentence.  He cannot fake sincerity.  His insincerity is blatant, inescapable, clumsy and off-putting.  Ross Douthat phrased the indictment …

Judge Hints He May Rule Against Health Law  —  PENSACOLA, Fla. — A federal judge asserted on Thursday that it would be “a giant leap” for the Supreme Court to accept the Obama administration's defense of a central provision of the new health care law, suggesting he may become the second judge to strike it down as unconstitutional.

Exclusive: Sarah Palin on 2012 Plans, Double Standards for Women  —  Palin Says Thinking About Presidential Run Is a ‘Prayerful Consideration’  —  Sarah Palin is surveying the lay of the land to consider whether to make a presidential run in 2012, she told “Good Morning America” …

Snub for Obamas as Royal sources reveal they will not be invited to Prince William's wedding  —  President Obama and his wife Michelle will not be invited to Prince William's wedding next year.  —  Because Prince William is not yet heir to the throne, his wedding to Kate Middleton is not classed …

Breaking?  Study Finds Fox News Viewers Are The Most Misinformed  —  To perhaps nobody's surprise, a study released this week finds that Fox News viewers are the most misinformed of any news consumers.  —  The University of Maryland study, called “Misinformation and the 2010 Election,” …

HPD knows names of 2 slain robbers  —  In the back room of a humble jewelry store and pawn shop in Houston's East End Thursday afternoon, a gunman tied Eva Castillo's wrists tightly — too tightly.  She complained of the pain, so he loosened the bindings.  Then Castillo's husband was ordered …

Feds Force Okla. Bank To Remove Crosses, Bible Verse  —  Federal Examiners Say Religious Decoration Inappropriate  —  PERKINS, Okla. — A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won't let it keep religious signs and symbols on display.  —  Federal Reserve examiners come every four years …

Our view: Pawlenty wishes he'd have run again; will he pursue the presidency?  —  Outgoing Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty didn't even hesitate.  “Yes,” he answered when asked by the News Tribune editorial board this week whether, after the Republicans took control of the Minnesota Legislature …

Aides: GOP senators may let 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal go forward  —  Washington (CNN) — Four key GOP senators who have announced their support of a “don't ask, don't tell” repeal are prepared to join Democrats in voting to let the bill proceed, as long as Congress first deals with a measure …

Wall Street Whitewash  —  When the financial crisis struck, many people — myself included — considered it a teachable moment.  Above all, we expected the crisis to remind everyone why banks need to be effectively regulated.  —  How naïve we were.  We should have realized …

The Limits of the Taxing Power  —  An interesting question emerges from one of my comment threads on whether or not congress should be able to use the taxing power to get over limits on its enumerated powers.  —  1) Can Congress enact a $50,000 tax on second term abortions?

Why is Obama leaving the grass roots on the sidelines?  —  In the wake of President Obama's deal to extend the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, pundits have focused on how Obama has alienated the left.  But the issue isn't the left - it's the list.

Reapportionment Preview: Mapping Out States “On the Bubble”  —  House Editor David Wasserman kicks off the Cook Political Report's in-depth coverage of Redistricting 2012, which you can also follow via Twitter handle @Redistrict as the remap gets underway.  Over the next year …

Columbia U. vs. the little guy  —  Tweet  —  We often hear politicians and pundits denounce property rights.  Property rights, we're told, protect the fat cats against the needs of the public.  They're a tool for keeping the little guy down.  —  Like a lot of what we hear from politicians and pundits …

An incoherent Congress  —  The tax deal passed last night, and without changes.  Liberals don't really like it.  Conservatives don't really like it.  Even people who supported the deal — myself included — don't really like it.  It's tempting to say that this broad spectrum …

In Seconds Before Blast, the Making of a Hero  —  BALAD RUZ, Iraq — As the suicide bomber clutched the detonator to his explosive belt, preparing to spray fire and shrapnel into a religious procession here, an Iraqi police officer named Bilal Ali Muhammad faced a choice between his own life and something larger.

CNN and Tea Party Express to host first-of-its-kind Tea Party presidential primary debate  —  Washington (CNN) - CNN is teaming up with the Tea Party Express for a first-of-its-kind presidential primary debate, both organizations announced Friday.  The Tea Party debate …