What I'm reading, 2/18

1. Reports emerge that two more Taliban leaders have been captured in Pakistan.  But despite some recent successes, Peter Brown of the Wall Street Journal expects the GOP to continue attacking President Obama as naive about terrorism.
2. The New York Times  reports that lawmakers are nearing agreement on the creation of a systemic risk regulator led by the Treasury Department. 
3. EJ Dionne argues that the Democrats haven't strayed from the center - they've strayed from the message discipline that carried them in 2008. 
4. The GOP challenges Democrats to a televised debate about the economy and unemployment.
5. Karl Rove urges the Tea Party movement not to explicitly align itself with the GOP, arguing that "if they merged, the sum would be less than the parts."