Hoyer

WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said this morning that Democrats are closing in on the votes needed for the U.S. House to pass a bill with historic changes in health insurance.

But lacking 218 votes, Hoyer said Democrats were continuing to persuade members in his party nervous about…

WASHINGTON — Pressure from the right has already forced out one Obama administration “czar.” About 50 Republican House members, including two from Missouri, are now trying to oust a second.

In a letter sent to President Barack Obama, 53 GOP representatives…

Rep. Blunt

WASHINGTON — When you’re not raising money for your election campaign, you have to do something.

For Rep. Roy Blunt, who’s in the midst of a frenzy of fundraising, today offered the opportunity to speak to the type of voters he…

Jimmy Carter

WASHINGTON — When a former president talks, people tend to listen, which is why Jimmy Carter’s assertion yesterday that race is at the core of the anti-Barack Obama sentiments of late is getting attention.

In case you missed it, Carter said in…

WASHINGTON — How low can it go?

By “it,” we mean the favorability rating of Congress, which has sunk to its lowest level since 1985, according to a Pew Research Center survey of more than 2,000  adults released this afternoon.

The numbers reflect a precipitous…

President Obama

WASHINGTON — So what happened to the message maestro?

Polls since last night showing a nation distinctly dubious about health-care reform speak to the stern challenge ahead not just for President Barack Obama but for a divided Democratic Party.

According to an…

Rep. Clay

WASHINGTON — Could this have simply been a ploy to get liberals as riled up as conservatives?

Whatever the motivation, the Obama administration’s suggestion that they might drop the drive for a public option from health-care reform has left the impression…

Nancy Pelosi

WASHINGTON — In the blowback to the shifting health care debate, many progressives were wondering today what kind of reform would be left if Democrats back off the demand that any package contain a government entity to compete with insurance companies.

Some…

Sen. Grassley

WASHINGTON — It was just yesterday when President Barack Obama warned about the “scare tactics” fueling the intense debates and town hall ruckuses over health-care reform.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, must not have been tuned in — or perhaps he has other ideas…

Willie Mays

WASHINGTON — Of course, President Barack Obama wouldn’t would want to bounce it up to the plate tonight. Or bean the mascot, ala the film Bull Durham.

And this president is both a wannabe jock and a guy who likes to be…