Much Worse Than I Expected  —  All I can say is: the president gave a speech he could have given at any point in the last three years.  No one in that room could disagree with any of the things he said.  I sure don't (with the exception of the hate crimes hooey).  And he said it well and movingly.

McCain weighs in on Palin in 2012  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain is openly admitting that there were tensions between his former campaign manager Steve Schmidt and those close to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's one-time White House running mate.

Two Wrongs Make Another Fiasco  —  THOSE of us who love F. Scott Fitzgerald must acknowledge that he did get one big thing wrong.  There are second acts in American lives.  (Just ask Marion Barry, or William Shatner.)  The real question is whether everyone deserves a second act.

Another Fine Mess: Comics Whack Obama  —  WASHINGTON — Is President Obama in trouble with his late-night comedy base?  —  It's likely he hasn't noticed or doesn't care.  He is, after all, in the midst of his oft-invoked “full plate” of supposedly “defining moments” in his presidency …

U.S. SENATE SEAT: Two could beat Reid, poll finds  —  Lowden, Tarkanian tied atop GOP challengers  —  Nevadans say they're ready to replace longtime Democratic incumbent Sen. Harry Reid with an untested Republican.  —  Which Republican?  Undecided.  —  But of their top two picks …

Daughter saves mother, 80, left by doctors to starve  —  AN 80-year-old grandmother who doctors identified as terminally ill and left to starve to death has recovered after her outraged daughter intervened.  —  Hazel Fenton, from East Sussex, is alive nine months after medics ruled …

WH communications director: Fox News operates as ‘a wing of the Republican Party.’  —  This morning on CNN's Reliable Sources, White House communications director Anita Dunn defended her recent comment to Time magazine that Fox News is “opinion journalism masquerading as news.”

In Today's Viral World, Who Keeps a Civil Tongue?  —  Late last month, Charisse Carney-Nunes fired up the computer at her home in Northeast Washington to check her e-mail.  Her brain already was on morning drive time: breakfast for the kids, her day's work at a government agency.

Yes We Can (Pass Climate Change Legislation)  —  CONVENTIONAL wisdom suggests that the prospect of Congress passing a comprehensive climate change bill soon is rapidly approaching zero.  The divisions in our country on how to deal with climate change are deep.

The truth about the Baucus bill - Part 1  —  Obamacare advocates in the White House, Congress and the newsroom of the New York Times were elated this week when a Congressional Budget Office statement said the health care reform bill by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. …

Steep Losses Pose Crisis for Pensions  —  Two Bad Choices for Funds: Cut Benefits Or Take Greater Risks to Rebuild Assets  —  The financial crisis has blown a hole in the rosy forecasts of pension funds that cover teachers, police officers and other government employees …

Feinstein: Obama Should Approve McChrystal's Recommendations  —  Senator Dianne Feinstein told me this morning that President Obama must approve General McChrystal's recommendations for an additional 40,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan.  —  “I don't know how you put somebody in …

Smith sends e-mail detailing opposition  —  NFL Players executive director DeMaurice Smith on Saturday made a move to solidify the union against a bid by conservative talk show radio host Rush Limbaugh as part of a group that aims to purchase the St. Louis Rams.

Barack Obama ready to pay Afghan fighters to ditch the Taliban  —  The Obama administration is considering outbidding the Taliban to persuade Afghan villagers to lay down arms as it struggles to find a new approach to a war that is fast losing public and congressional support.