Washington in 60 Seconds: Partisan Blame Begins Over Terrorist Attack

Good morning, Capitolists! The president is in Hawaii, the vice president is in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Capitolist is in a secure, undisclosed location less exotic than our fearless leaders'.

No matter where you are in the world, here's what's making news in Washington today:

* Blame Begins. Following the fizzled Christmas Day terrorist attack on a Detroit-bound airliner, several Republicans took to the airwaves to accuse the Obama administration of being asleep at the wheel in the war on terror. When Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) was asked on "Fox News Sunday" if it's fair to blame the president for the events at Fort Hood and over Detroit, he replied, "Yeah, I really think it is."

* Bomber Sent to Prison, Gets a Lawyer. The Detroit Free Press reports that the alleged bomber on that flight has been transferred from a Michigan hospital, where he was treated for burns, to a federal prison 50 miles outside of Detroit. The Nigerian national has been assigned an attorney, who says she has not talked to him at length yet.

* Granny, Be Careful! In the flurry of year-end must-do's, Congress did not deal with the expiring estate tax, which will disappear Jan. 1. That means the tax rate on inheritances will go from 45 percent to zero for one year, but will then return to 55 percent. Democrats have promised to freeze the tax retroactively, but the New York Times editorializes this morning that it should be tweaked to exempt capital gains, and The Capitolist says Granny should sleep with one eye open until this all blows over.

* Daley Tells Dems: Go Big Tent or Go Home. In case you missed it in the pre-Christmas rush, former Commerce Secretary William Daley penned an op-ed for the Washington Post almost begging his fellow Democrats to abandon their lurch to the left or suffer unpleasant consequences in 2010. "Either we plot a more moderate, centrist course or risk electoral disaster not just in the upcoming midterms but in many elections to come."

* Congresswoman 2 Twitter. Breaking news! There's more to life than politics, and Gator fan Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) knows it. She took to Twitter over the weekend to lament the news that University of Florida coach Urban Meyer is taking a leave of absence from his job to give his ticker a rest. From The Hill's Twitter Room: "Sad 2 hear abt UF football coach stepping down but good that he's taking care of himself. And 2day: Go Dolfins! Beat Houston Texans!"