The Mask Slips  —  I haven't read much Karl Marx since the early 1980s, when I taught political philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.  Still, it didn't take me long this weekend to find my copy of “The Marx-Engels Reader,” edited by Robert C. Tucker — a book that was assigned …

No ‘bitter’ aftertaste?  How Obama gaffe plays  —  JACOBUS, Pa. — Phil Little seems like just the sort of Pennsylvanian voter who might have been offended by Sen. Barack Obama's comments that small-town residents “get bitter” and “cling to guns or religion.”

Israel snubs Carter and declines security help  —  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's secret service has declined to assist U.S. agents guarding former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit in which Israeli leaders have shunned him, U.S. sources close to the matter said on Monday.

McCain keeps his faith out of politics  —  Don't expect any public testimonies of faith from presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, who is not demonstrative about his religion but who embraces a Baptist faith that is based on salvation.  —  The religious intentions of Democratic candidate …

Megyn Kelly, Fox News's Fast-Rising Anchor  —  NEW YORK — It's just after 10:30 Monday morning on “America's Newsroom,” and Megyn Kelly has bounced from riots in Paris to storms in the Midwest, from a truck-and-train collision to a strange interview about the 1969 Manson family murders with the sister of slain actress Sharon Tate.

56% Disagree with Obama's Comments on Small Town America  —  Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters nationwide disagree with Barack Obama's statement that people in small towns “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Iraqis aren't stupid — and they're watching us  —  Last month, Vets for Freedom visited the Twin Cities to talk about their experience in Iraq — and got rewarded by being booted from a local high school.  Michael Honeycutt and I, along with hundreds of people from our community …

Full Text of Obama's Speech to the Alliance for American Manufacturing  —  Being here in Pennsylvania with the primary coming up, I know that politics is what's on a lot of people's minds.  But as I look out at this crowd, I also know that being here isn't just about politics for me.  It's personal.

Is John McCain Bob Dole?  —  Or is he Dwight Eisenhower?  (Actually, that may depend on whether Barack Obama is Mike Dukakis or John Kennedy.)  A handicapping.  —  By the time John McCain trundles into the ballroom of the Fairmont hotel in Dallas, he has already had what for most men his age would have been a very full day.

Despite Tough Times, Ultrarich Keep Spending  —  Who said anything about a recession?  Sometime between the government bailout of Bear Stearns and the Bureau of Labor Statistics report that America lost 80,000 jobs in March, Lee Tachman spent roughly $50,000 last month on a four-day jaunt to Miami for himself and three close friends.

Housing Woes in U.S. Spread Around Globe  —  DUBLIN — The collapse of the housing bubble in the United States is mutating into a global phenomenon, with real estate prices swooning from the Irish countryside and the Spanish coast to Baltic seaports and even parts of northern India.

Obama Goes on Offense After Fumble  —  GRANTHAM, Pa. — Sen. Barack Obama sharply mocked his Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sunday night as he found himself defending his candidacy to white working-class voters for the second time in a month.  —  Sen. Obama accused Sen. Clinton …

HARD-CORE MARILYN  —  FBI'S MONROE SEX FLICK SOLD FOR $1.5M  —  Some really like it hot.  —  In the sordid tradition of peddling raunchy video footage of celebrities à la Paris Hilton, a long-buried sex movie of Marilyn Monroe recently hit the market, a top collector told The Post.

A Libertarian Surge?  —  Bob Barr will be dry-eyed if his candidacy is to John McCain what Ralph Nader's was to Al Gore in 2000.  —  Compact and Feisty Bob Barr, 59, probably will seek and get the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, which convenes in Denver on Memorial Day weekend.

The Indiana primary's fretful five  —  In the May 6 Indiana primary, the next critical contest after Pennsylvania votes on April 22, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama can point to impressive rosters of endorsements by prominent state and local politicians.