The youngest freshman in the incoming House class just gave up his perch as one of the Illinois lawmakers who would decide the fate of the state's disgraced governor.

Sara Murray reports on politics.

Attitudes about the state of the country — and specifically the economy — have taken a dive during the eight years of President Bush’s administration, but core beliefs have largely stayed the same, according to a new Pew Research Center study.

Just 13% of people said they were satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., compared to 55% in 2000. Similarly only 7% said economic conditions are good or excellent compared to 46% eight years ago.

The negative attitudes about the state of the nation are no surprise as November’s unemployment reached 6.7%. (The unemployment rate was 3.9% in December 2000).

And yet people’s optimistic nature, overarching view of government and stance on social issues stayed about the same.

In December, 56% of those surveyed said they expect their family finances to improve in the next year – virtually the same as the 57% who said that in 2000.

On government intervention, people were just as pessimistic – but no more so – than at the end of former President Bill Clinton’s tenure. About four in ten adults said regulating business did more harm than good–the same as 2000. Roughly half of adults also said in 2000 and eight years later that government is almost always wasteful and inefficient.

There was little movement on social issues as well, with 54% of people saying abortion should be legal in all cases, compared to 59% eight years ago. Less than a quarter of people believed that women should return to traditional roles, consistent with the 2000 poll.

The biggest social movement involved religion in politics. A growing number of people said churches and other houses of worship should stay out of politics and that there was too much expression of faith and prayer by political leaders. That being said, the number of adults who said political leaders didn’t express their faith enough also climbed.

The Pew study was based on a comparison between a December 2008 survey and various comparable surveys in 1999 and 2000.

This webpage has links to all the Green Parties established around the world.

Susan Davis reports on politics.

For much of the 2008 campaign, Texas lawmaker and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul and his supporters served as a thorn in the side—or a punching bag—for the mainstream GOP establishment.

Yet today, the six men vying to run the Republican National Committee praised the grassroots enthusiasm Paul tapped into during his campaign—and discussed how they would like to capture that enthusiasm to expand the party’s appeal.

“Ron Paul certainly brought a whole new generation of voters and I think it’s important going forward that we recognize the strengths and the attributes of these individuals who are out there actively building the party and building a movement, a consensus if you will, on certain issues. We can’t look that in the eye and say ‘No, we don’t want that,’” said former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, adding that the RNC needs to find “creative ways” to work with candidates supported by Paul and his followers, and to work with Paul directly to that end.

“I think, at this stage at this party, everyone who can help us should be brought into the room to help us,” Steele said.

South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson recalled memories of Paul’s supporters campaigning during his state’s early primary.

“I witnessed early on the Ron Paul army in South Carolina,” Dawson said, stressing the importance of building new coalitions. “I want people involved in my party that will hang off bridges and paint on their cars and make up t-shirts. There was a passion that I saw of those people for him and his ideas. Do we agree with all of them? No, but we are a party that has to embrace differences.”

Saul Anuzis, Michigan Republican Party Chairman, touted his outreach to Paul supporters, attending campaign functions and talking to supporters. “I think you treat [Paul supporters] like everybody else—if they want to be part of the Republican Party, if they want to participate, we have to welcome them in.”

Former Mike Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman recalled seeing the passion behind Paul’s operation on the ground while the two former rival campaigns shared office space in Iowa. (Saltsman also identified Paul, an obstetrician, as “Dr. Paul”—a key distinction among his supporters.) “Dr. Paul…he is a wonderful man with wonderful ideas,” Saltsman said, “Do we agree with him all the time? Absolutely not.”

Incumbent RNC Chairman Mike Duncan agreed the GOP has to broaden their appeal, and noted that he has met with Paul on two occasions. The key, Duncan said, was respect. “I personally have treated leaders of his campaign with respect, I’ve met with them. I personally treated his foot soldiers with respect whether it was at our convention in Kentucky or whether it was the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, St. Paul,” he said.

Only Ken Blackwell did not praise Paul by name, although he agreed with the overall sentiment of broadening the party’s base. “We are a federation that invites differences,” he said, “The RNC can no longer be a social club, it must be the flagship Republican organization in this nation.”

As for Paul, he spent Monday doing what he does best—railing against federal intervention and regulation of the free market during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the alleged $50 billion Ponzi schemes of Bernard Madoff.

“It’s not the fault of the individuals at the [Securites and Exchange Commission]. They have an impossible job and they have to pretend they’re doing something to feel relevant, the same way we do here, in the Congress. We have to feel relevant in this,” Paul said, “Instead of saying what we need is the market to work, we need to get rid of the bad policies, the monetary system, and this mountains of debt. We say, well, we’re relevant because we’re going to hire more bureaucrats and we’re going to appropriate more money that we don’t have and we’re going to solve all our problems.”

Naftali Bendavid reports on Congress.

President-elect Barack Obama, coming to Capitol Hill today for the first time since his election, went out of his way to reach out to Republicans, and they seemed to respond in kind. After separate meetings with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Obama met with a bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers.

Obama told the participants the economy was bad and getting worse and that the two parties needed to work together. He wanted to move swiftly but responsibly, he added, and he would like the economic recovery package on his desk by the President’s Day congressional recess in mid-February.

Obama also told the Republican lawmakers, “The monopoly on good ideas does not belong to a single party. If it’s a good idea, we will consider it.”

Seated around a table in the ornate Lyndon B. Johnson Room on the second floor of the U.S. Capitol, the lawmakers each made comments. The Republicans said they needed to feel included in the process, that they wanted to work with Obama and that they all recognized the economy was in deep trouble.

They also made specific suggestions about the stimulus package. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky proposed that aid to the states should be in the form of loans, not grants, and urged that a good deal of the package be in the form of tax cuts. House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio told Obama the public dissatisfaction with the bailout for the financial services industry indicated the need for public hearings on the stimulus.

“I agree with you,” Obama said, later adding, “I will demand complete transparency and accountability in doing it.” He also said there would be no pork in the bill. When incoming House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia said the plan should be put online so the public can scrutinize it, the president-elect said he’d already been planning on that. Obama concluded by saying he understood that the Republicans needed to be part of the process and would ensure that they were.

Republicans seemed charmed by Obama, and also gratified that, as they saw it, he had adopted some of their positions, such as including a hefty tax cut. McConnell said he believed Congress could enact the recovery plan by Obama’s deadline, roughly six weeks from now.

Boehner did express some concern over the size of the package, which is expected to be about $775 billion, although the size was not discussed at the bipartisan meeting. But both he and McConnell said they appreciated the tone of the session. “The atmosphere for bipartisan cooperation was sincere on all sides,” McConnell said. “I am convinced as a result of listening to the president-elect that he is interested in what Republican ideas might be for the stimulus package.”

On January 5, the Minnesota Secretary of State posted new totals for Al Franken and Norm Coleman for U.S. Senate. No new totals were calculated for the other candidates.

Compared to the original tally, Al Franken gained 1,056 votes, and Norm Coleman gained 616. These new votes were sufficient to reverse the outcome. Whereas Norm Coleman had won by 215 votes in the original tally, the new numbers have Al Franken winning by 225 votes. Coleman does not accept the results and is contesting the recount results.