AN Obama Bubble?

MORE PROBLEMS for Eric Holder? Just remember, conservatives — Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood got knocked off during the appointment process, only to be replaced by . . . Janet Reno.

PRINCE HARRY: A “royal Walt Kowalski?”

I MIGHT BE A JEW! “Believe it or not, she thought I was a Jew because when we met I was holding a copy of Glenn Reynolds’ book An Army of Davids. No, this is not a joke.”

CHRIS DODD UPDATE: Dodd could face serious challenge in re-election bid.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd is up for re-election next year, and will likely face the stiffest challenge in his political career. This could prove to be as big — maybe bigger — than U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s 2006 re-election bid. . . .

Dodd’s popularity in the state has fallen as quickly and as sharply as the Dow Jones. His approval ratings are below 50 percent for the first time in his political career. And he still has to deal with the controversy surrounding the preferential treatment on two home mortgages he received. He’s promised to release all the documents related to the Countrywide VIP program once the Senate Ethics Committee completes its investigation.

Of course, there’s no actual reason for him to wait until then, except that he doesn’t want you to see them now. And this is fun:

In fact, there’s already a grassroots effort coming out of Woodbury called Dump Dodd 2010. They’ve registered with the Federal Elections Commission as a Political Action Committee, allowing them to raise money and contribute to a potential challenger; they’ve launched a Web page (www.dumpchrisdodd.com), and they’re hawking Dump Dodd buttons and bumper stickers. (The material on the Web page is not flattering or unbiased in its view of the senator. It’s slanted to cast the senator in the most unfavorable light possible — surprise.)

They’re also urging supporters to write letters to the editor to their local newspapers expressing their disappointment and disapproval of the senator — and mentioning the Web page in those letters — in an effort to recruit supporters for the movement.

It looks like another hard-fought Senate campaign is shaping up here in the land of steady habits.

Stay tuned.

THROWING ISRAEL to the wolves?

COURTESY OF JACK BAUER, a new form of torture.

HMM: Obama Says Recession Requires Scaling Back Promises.

IS OBAMA OFFERING a revival of Clintonism?

JOE THE PLUMBER TO FOREIGN REPORTERS: “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

UPDATE: Video.

FROM MEGAN MCARDLE, a story that previews what government-run health care would be like . . . .

LIVE-BLOGGING the Golden Globes.

I’M SURE IT’S AT THE TOP OF BARACK’S PRIORITY LIST: Anne Hathaway Demands Explanation For Rick Warren.

CRITICISM OF CHARLIE RANGEL AND NANCY PELOSI:

Furthermore, Mrs. Pelosi has failed to keep her promise to have the House Ethics committee finish their probe by Jan. 3 into Rep. Charlie Rangel’s failure to report income taxes on a Caribbean villa, his usage of four rent controlled apartments in Harlem, his involvement with an offshore firm asking for tax exemptions, Mr. Rangel’s use of official House stationary to solicit funds for a school in his name and contributions from an oil company to the school. Mr. Rangel is also committee chair for the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in the new Congress, which makes the changes in the fairness rules circumspect.

In the meantime, Mrs. Pelosi has not asked Mr. Rangel to put down his gavel while a House Ethic’s subcommitte expands the investigation into his activities.

So much for ending the “culture of corruption.”

A SALE ON GARAGE-ORGANIZING STUFF. I’ve got the Gladiator workbench and cabinets. I always kind of wanted the “garage refrigerator,” but — not being Jay Leno — I don’t really have the garage to justify it. But it seems cool, somehow. I always wanted to put in the floor tile, too. . . .

UPDATE: On the garage refrigerator, reader Stan Beck writes: “Remember…..man’s rule #1 — the garage fridge is for beer ONLY! Except for refrigerated manly snacks such as beef jerky or chip dip.” A nice chardonnay is right out.

CAMERA ADVICE: A reader emails: “Can you recommend a decent point and shoot (fairly compact) digital camera? My budget is between $200-$250. I’ve been using my SONY HANDYCAM for still shots, etc. but that’s not really what it’s intended for. I’m not really a photo enthusiast and take many closeups (pictures of toys) as well as pictures of buildings and landscapes.”

There are so many good digital cameras in that range that it’s hard to go wrong. But they’re still selling the Canon Powershot SD770 for $159, and that seems like quite a deal to me, as I mentioned before.

UPDATE: Reader Michael Cummins writes to recommend this Samsung. I’ve never used a Samsung digital camera, but for $132 it seems hard to go wrong, and I like the fact that it has a wide-angle lens. With pocket cameras you find yourself wishing for more wide-angle more often than for more telephoto, at least in my experience.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader John Richardson emails: “I bought my Canon Powershot SD770 on Black Friday from Amazon. The price was the same $159 that you mentioned in today’s post. It is my first digital camera as my first love is still film. It is a sweet little camera. The best thing about it is the price. I was in Sam’s Club yesterday in Asheville and their price was $199. $40 bucks less than Sam’s Club is sweet and mine also included an extra 4GB SD card.”

IT’S NOT JUST A GUSSIED-UP PRIUS: Popular Mechanics reports on the first hybrid-only Lexus.

AUTOBLOG IS COVERING the Detroit Auto Show. Just keep scrolling.

SOME STREET FIGHTER IV VIDEO leaks at CES.

DISCUSSING “SUGAR DADDIES” over at THE XX FACTOR. The discussion has been hot and heavy for a while, so just keep scrolling.