Obama in Capitol
For Final Health Push

Today in Politics

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  Political Skills Assist Panetta

  CIA Director Leon Panetta, a former congressman and White House chief of staff, has brought to the spy agency a politician's focus on repairing strained relationships.

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  Bernanke Assails Giant Firms

  Bernanke called for action on financial-services firms that are "too big to fail," describing the problem as "pernicious" and an "insidious" barrier to competition.

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  Nations Decline to March to U.S. Beat

  A string of public rebukes of U.S. foreign policy in recent weeks is highlighting how the global goodwill Obama enjoyed on taking office last year has often failed to translate into wins on the foreign-policy front.

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  Obama: Dodd's Financial Overhaul 'Essential'

  Obama used his weekly radio address to call for an overhaul of U.S. financial regulation, saying reform is needed to rein in bad practices and better protect consumers.

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  Recession Stays at Bay in Washington

  Washington has been relatively unscathed by the recession. That's because the recession has been pretty good to its main industry: government.

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  Tool Firms Seek U.S. Aid

  Cash-strapped small and midsize companies that supply critical parts to industrial giants are seeking a $30 billion U.S. loan-guarantee program and pressing General Motors to speed up payments.

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  Bair: 'Too Big to Fail' Must End

  The FDIC's Bair said policy makers need to end the concept of "too big to fail," including revising Senate legislation that could still allow for industrywide bailouts.

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  Former Interior Secretary Udall Dies

  Stewart Udall, who sowed the seeds of the modern environmental movement as a U.S. interior secretary, died at 90 years old.

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  Greenspan Defends Low-Rate Policy

  Greenspan acknowledged a range of regulatory failures in a review of the causes of the financial crisis, but disputed the view that the Fed left interest rates too low for too long.

  • The Crisis: Read the Greenspan paper
  • Econ: What Will Labor Recovery Look Like?

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  Clinton Rebukes Putin's Nuclear Plan

  Putin said Iran's Russian built nuclear-power plant will start operating this summer, prompting a rebuke by Clinton on her Moscow visit.

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  Party-Switcher Roils New York Race

  Steve Levy, a Democratic county executive switching to the Republican Party, is entering the New York governor's race, throwing the contest for the GOP nomination into flux.

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  Obama Presses for Action on Jobs

  Obama pressed a distracted Congress for faster action on his job-creation agenda, as he signed a $17.5 billion bill giving businesses a tax break for hiring unemployed workers.

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  SEC 'Pay to Play' Report Tips Unlikely Figure

  An SEC report concerning "pay to play" payments focuses on a campaign contribution to Phil Angelides, the former California treasurer who now heads a panel investigating the causes of the financial crisis.

  • Read the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

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  Census Tracks Mail, Alarming Some

  Census Bureau officials are counting on an advanced postal tracking system to speed up responses and save money, but some privacy advocates are troubled by it.

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  Levy Defects to GOP in New York Race

  Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has decided to abandon the Democratic Party and run for governor of New York as a Republican.

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  Schapiro: Lehman Oversight Fell Short

  The SEC chairman said the agency's oversight of Lehman Brothers may have been inadequate during a critical period when the company may have masked its losses.

  • Judge Approves Lehman-J.P. Morgan Pact

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  Bernanke Warns Against Narrowing Fed Focus

  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that a proposal stripping oversight of smaller banks from the Fed would unwisely narrow the central bank's focus.

  • News Hub: Bernanke's Case for Fed Powers

• Blagojevich Denied Trial Delay

  A judge denied a request by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to push back his trial date.

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  Freeze Imperils Virtual Border Fence

  The U.S. has frozen funding for a planned virtual fence along the border with Mexico as a report detailing mismanagement of the project was set to be released Thursday.

  • Vote: How would you grade the management of the virtual fence construction?

• Clinton to Discuss Arms Reduction in Moscow

  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will seek to overcome the final obstacles to completion of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia during her two-day trip in Moscow that will include a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev, said U.S. officials.

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  The White House and Fox News: Spring Thaw?

  President Barack Obama is scheduled to appear on Fox News tonight for the first time since the White House blasted Fox as an arm of the Republican Party last fall. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the interview is a part of an effort to reach conservative Democrats.

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  Fourth Top Aide Quits Paterson Staff

  Gov. Paterson's press secretary resigned just hours after Paterson proclaimed for the first time that he did nothing wrong when he talked to a woman who had accused one of his top aides of abuse.

  • Capital Journal: It's Good to Be the Attorney General

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  Senate Clears Jobs Bill

  The Senate voted 68-29 to give final approval to $17.5 billion legislation creating a payroll-tax credit for employers who hire unemployed Americans.

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  Obama's New Partner: Al Sharpton

  Al Sharpton famously confronted U.S. officials on behalf of black Americans. Now he has a new role: telling black leaders to quiet criticisms and give the government a chance.

  • Readers React: 'Unbelievable'