Washington in 60 Seconds: N.Y. Times Hammers Rangel; Corzine Starts Food Fight

Good morning, Capitolists! If you're awake, you probably already know that the Postal Service is considering cutting mail delivery to five days a week from six. Oh, and President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Beyond those eyeball poppers, here's what else is making news today:

* Obama will respond to the Nobel announcement at 11 this morning in the Rose Garden.

* Later, he'll meet with his war advisers in the Situation Room to discuss America's military options in Afghanistan.

* Speaking of Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reports that although the McChrystal troop-increase request has been bandied as 40,000, another scenario floated by the Pentagon could sent 60,000 additional combat troops to the country.

* This weekend, Obama speaks to top gay-rights activists from the Human Rights Campaign. But The Hill writes that after an election campaign full of promises to the gay community, Obama will meet a skeptical group looking for less talk and more action. The Advocate also reports thousands of activists will march in Washington on Saturday "in order to register their discontent with the administration."

* The New York Times hammers Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel and his ally, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an editorial this morning. "It is time for Democrats in Congress -- who once justifiably complained about the corruption of the Republican majority -- to demonstrate to Americans that someone in that august body has ethical standards."

* The New York Post takes a swipe at the Senate Finance Committee's version of health care reform two days before the committee votes on it, saying the bill may be deficit-neutral, but "the numbers come from books so well-cooked they'd make Julia Child blush."

* And finally, does this campaign make Chris Christie look fat? The generously proportioned Republican challenger to New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has been the subject of negative ads accusing him of "throwing his weight around" the Garden State. He tells the New York Times he's "numb" to whacks on his weight, but NBC New York reports that when pollsters asked voters for the first thing that came to mind about Christie, "fat" was one of the most frequent responses.