Apart from AIG's sophistry is a much larger point.

President Barack Obama, after signing into law a $410 billion budget bill on Wednesday, declared five provisions in the bill to be unconstitutional and non-binding, including one that would effectively restrict U.S. troop deployments under U.N.

Former Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) criticized President Obama on Sunday for not letting the world's biggest insurer, the U.S.'s largest banks and America's largest automaker fail.

Congressional investigators are criticizing the Obama administration for failing to police deals in which banks participating in the $700 billion federal bailout lent billions of dollars overseas, highlighting the growing political tension over the extent of government involvemen …

President Barack Obama is a smart guy. Where others zig, he zags.

As contenders for the presidency, the two had hammered each other for much of 2008 over their conflicting approaches to foreign policy, especially in Iraq.

The Obama news conferences tell that story, making one yearn for the return of the always-irritating Sam Donaldson to awaken the slumbering press to the notion that decorum isn't all it's cracked up to be.

But acting to ease anger in Congress about problems with how the Treasury Department spent the first half of the bailout fund, Lawrence Summers, who Obama has chosen to head the National Economic Council, promised in the three-page letter that the new administration would "act bo …

The move to open contacts with Hamas - which could be initiated through the US intelligence services - would represent a definitive break with the Bush presidency's ostracising of the group.

The Guardian is reporting that President Elect Barack Obama is planning to communicate with Hamas. This is a huge break from the Bush doctrine; "We don't negotiate with terrorists". This is a welcome change and frankly is an obvious course of action.

As we draw near to president elect Obama's first day in office we ought to take the time ans ask ourselves this question. What will a successful presidency look like? It's not clear to me at this point what Obama would consider a successful time in office.

With 34,000 U.S. soldiers already in country, half under NATO command, the 20,000 will increase U.S. forces there to 54,000, a 60 percent ratcheting up. Shades of LBJ, 1964-65. Afghanistan is going to be Obama's War. And upon its outcome will hang the fate of his presidency.

About Israel's right and duty to defend its border towns, there is no dispute. When Hamas permits Gaza to be used as a launch pad for rockets, it must expect retaliation. Nor can Hamas claim some right to dictate the limits of that retaliation.

I was reading this article from The Politico and found a great modern day saying that always makes me shiver. "We're At War" says Joe Biden.

President-elect Obama has stressed the need for energy independence - but he'll be chauffeured around in a gas-guzzling Cadillac SUV limo that could pose a symbolism problem similar to the car controversy that dogged his friend and ally, Gov. Deval Patrick.

Barack Obama has re mained cool and confident amid the financial melt down, even as John McCain at times has been embarrassing, lurching from one proposal to the next. But while the polls are reflecting Obama's steady hand, the markets haven't.

"I kept getting approached by folks who asked me to register," Barkley said. "They'd ask me if I was registered. I'd say yes, and they'd ask me to do it [register] again. "Some of them were getting paid to collect names. That was their sob story, and I bought it," he said.

It said, "C.H.A.N.G.E. — Come Help A (N-word) Get Elected." Howard, who's been teaching in the district for 17 years, wrote the comment during his seventh-grade social-studies class that included 17 white students, six black students and one Asian.

Wow, this is creepy. I love when kids sing about things like Unity but not about specific people.

"If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention," said Hastings. "Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks.

NEW YORK (AP) - Republican John McCain says he's directing his staff to work with Barack Obama's campaign and the debate commission to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis.

- An 11-year-old in Aurora says his first amendment rights are being trampled after he was suspended for wearing a homemade shirt that reads "Obama is a terrorist's best friend."

University of Massachusetts officials yesterday quashed efforts by an Amherst campus chaplain to offer two college credits to any student willing to campaign in New Hampshire this fall for Democrat Barack Obama.

"I am not a Democrat who believes that we can or should defend every government program just because it's there," Obama said at a rally in Green Bay.

So I heard there was a presidential election coming up in the US. Silly me, I seem to have forgotten about it. Why would a news junkie like me forget about the election? Actually, the answer is easy: I don't care who wins.

(His large increase in energy taxes, not documented here, would disproportionately harm low-income Americans. And, while he says he will not raise taxes on the middle class, he'll need many more tax hikes to pay for his big increase in spending.)

The contenders in this year's US presidential election are no exceptions - both John McCain and Barack Obama have engaged in some nifty repositioning.

This is from the www.barackobama.com website and it really surprised me. Building a 21st Century Military * Expand the Military: We have learned from Iraq that our military needs more men and women in uniform to reduce the strain on our active force.