Jindal aides clarify Katrina story  —  A spokeswoman for Bobby Jindal says the Louisiana governor didn't imply that an anecdote about battling bureaucrats during Katrina directly involved the governor or took place during the heat of a fight to release rescue boats.

Tea Party photo album: Fiscal responsibility is the new counterculture  —  Scroll down for more updates...  I've got tons of photos and e-mails pouring in from Tea Party people across the country.  I joked to a Christian Science Monitor reporter covering the events that fiscal responsibility is the new counterculture.

U.S. pulling out of racism conference  —  White House aides told Jewish leaders on a conference call today that the United States will boycott the United Nations' World Conference on Racism over hostility to Israel in draft documents prepared for the April conference.

Obama Plans to End Combat Mission in Iraq by August 2010  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama heads to one of the nation's most storied military bases Friday morning to unveil plans to pull most troops out of Iraq by August 2010 and he has support from an unlikely quarter — Senator John McCain …

Steele to CPAC: The Republican party is just fine  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Capping off a day of conservative soul-searching, strategizing and navel-gazing at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele announced Thursday …

Obama administration may rescind ‘conscience rule’  —  Officials say the move seeks to clarify rules for health care workers  —  WASHINGTON — Taking another step into the abortion debate, the Obama administration Friday will move to rescind a controversial rule that allows health-care workers …

The “Worst Food Product Ever” May Have Been Found  —  Pork Brains In Milk Gravy.  Could it be the worst food product ever?  It does have 1170% of your daily cholesterol per serving.  Mmmm.  —  [This Is Why You're Fat via BuzzFeed]

White House Plan Would End Subsidies to Student Lenders  —  The Obama administration has proposed a sweeping change in the $85 billion-a-year student loan industry, one that could fundamentally alter the business of lenders such as Sallie Mae.  —  The proposal, included in yesterday's budget outline …

RE: Fred Hiatt  —  Speaking of Fred Hiatt's absurd claim that people who don't like George Will spreading global warming misinformation should “debate” him, rather than expect the Post to run a correction ...  Yesterday's Washington Post featured op-eds by Henry Kissinger, David Broder, Bill Kristol, David Ignatius, and George Will.

Calif. Mayor Who Sent White House Watermelon Patch E-Mail Quits  —  Mayor of Orange County, California city says he will resign after being criticized for sharing an e-mail picture depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons.  —  LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — The mayor …

James Dobson resigns as Focus on the Family chair  —  DENVER (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that James Dobson has resigned as chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family.  —  Jim Daly, president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Springs …

Scenes from CPAC  —  Going into CPAC this year I was afraid it might be a little dead this year.  After all, with such excitement last year over the presidential election, I was worried there might not be as much energy on behalf of the activists.  —  Boy, was I ever wrong.

Climate of Change  —  Elections have consequences.  President Obama's new budget represents a huge break, not just with the policies of the past eight years, but with policy trends over the past 30 years.  If he can get anything like the plan he announced on Thursday through Congress, he will set America on a fundamentally new course.

Jobless Angry at Possibility of No Benefits  —  As governors in nine states, mostly in the South, consider rejecting millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for increased unemployment insurance, there is growing anger among the ranks of the jobless in those states that they could be left out of a significant government benefit.

Conservatives Confident Their Day Is Coming  —  Tucker Carlson closed out the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference to a chorus of boos.  His crime: informing a crowd of youngish, frustrated conservatives that if they wanted to succeed, they had to copy The New York Times.

Senator calls Obama 'world's best salesman of socialism'  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Another prominent Republican told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that the president's spending plans are pushing the country to the brink of socialism.  —  Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina …

Obama Approval Rating Increases to 67%  —  Had dropped to 59% prior to his Tuesday congressional address  — USA - Government and Politics - Presidential Job Approval - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — In the days immediately after Barack Obama's …

AP Exclusive: Gregg had stake in, won aid for base  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's former nominee to become commerce secretary, Sen. Judd Gregg, steered taxpayer money to his home state's redevelopment of a former Air Force base even as he and his brother engaged in real estate deals there …

Exclusive: Joe the Plumber suggests some members of Congress should be shot.  —  On Wednesday, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher said that if he were in Congress, he would “probably be in jail” because he'd be charged with “slapping some member.”  He added, “And that's not [bull] either.”

The Un-Rove  —  I've learned for two years now not to under-estimate Obama.  I watched from the very start of the campaign how he strategized a path to achieving his goals partly by eschewing the kinds of tactics that Washington has come to see as political skill.  I think of him in some ways as the Un-Rove.