On Saturday, political newcomer and Tea Party activist Jack Kimball was elected chairman of the New Hampshire GOP, adding new complexity to the 2012 presidential race—the first contest for the presidency with Tea in the mix—since all eyes will be on New Hampshire and its first-in-the-nation primary next January.

Next Tuesday sees the release of "O: A Presidential Novel," which tells the story of an incumbent president named 'O' seeking reelection in 2012. It's an anonymous author's (yes, anonymous) attempt to imagine what's going on in the political landscape—and the president's head—at the end of his first term.

Take a look, then play the game and tell us: What is 'O' thinking?

The House of Representatives today voted to pass H.R.2, dubbed “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act,” by a vote of 245-189, with only four Democrats joining the Republican bloc in voting for repeal. Members of the House of Representatives spent the past two days on the floor arguing over the bill's merits.

The debate was marked by a now-familiar back-and-forth between Democrats and Republicans, with each trotting out almost as many numbers and anecdotes as there are dollars in the national debt. Given that the bill was certain to pass, but almost certainly has no future beyond the House, this week's proceedings were closer in character to a production of Waiting for Godot than meaningful debate.

With the arrival of Chinese President Hu Jintao in Washington this week, it's time to catch up with the world's most ascendant superpower. By "catch up," we don't mean economically—although that's a huge cause for concern in America. For now, we'd do well to refresh ourselves, looking at the reasons our relationship with China is tense, how the country has navigated the global economic crisis (and continued to grow), and what's at stake if the two biggest kids in the sandbox can't get along.

The House of Representatives begins debate today on a bill called “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act.” (Speaker John Boehner's office dialed back the language on the legislation in a Sunday blog post, calling it "job-crushing" instead of "job-killing," but the bill's name remains the same.)

To make their case for repeal, House Republicans are honing in on the massive health care overhaul's effect on employment, at a time when that’s the most sensitive issue on American minds.

How does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which aims to expand health insurance coverage and reduce costs, kill jobs? The Republican majority offers this report, Obamacare: A Budget-Busting, Job-Killing Health Care Law.

On Tuesday afternoon, beginning his second year in office, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie gave his first State of the State address. The speech laid out his plans to reform the state's budget, pension system, and educational institutions, including promises not to raise taxes, and a proposal for merit-based pay for teachers.

Now that Governor Cuomo has taken office and given his first State of the State address, it's time to track what he does with his mandate. Here's a guide to the campaign promises Andrew Cuomo made as part of his "New NY Agenda." As he enacts these proposals, abandons them, or changes direction altogether, we'll be keeping score. For now, here's how the scorecard looks after the State of the State address.

In his first State of the State address on Wednesday afternoon, Govenor Andrew Cuomo laid out his plans for reorganizing New York state government, closing the $10 billion budget deficit, and acting on a host of progressive social issues.

He said streamlining government and taking on the deficit go hand in hand. "This is not just a budget exercise," Cuomo said. "This is a fundamental realignment for the state. You can't make up these savings over this period of time through a cutting or trimming exercise. We need to reorganize government agencies and redesign our approach, because the old way wasn't working anyway."