Palin Hits Obama on ‘Special Olympics’ Joke  —  Gov. Sarah Palin responded to remarks made last night by President Obama related to the Special Olympics on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”: … Well, after the way his allies went after her, he really couldn't count on a full-throated defense of a boneheaded comment.

Obama budget could bring $9.3 trillion in deficits  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's budget would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than four times the deficits of Republican George W. Bush's presidency, congressional auditors said Friday.

THIS FEED IS CLOSED TO THE PRESS.  —  Huh, I wonder why Jake Tapper, press access warrior, has blocked me from following his Twitter feed.  —  Time for a blogger ethics panel?  —  UPDATE: Tapper has also blocked Talking Points Memo.  —  Bonus Tapper: His exchange with White House Press …

Joe the Plumber Wants to Make Love to Washington  —  The Republican's Working Man hero Joe the Plumber could barely contain himself last night before a crowd of adoring, media-bashing conservatives.  —  “God, all this love and everything in the room - I'm horny,” declared Joe, whose real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher.

Mass Hysteria Over AIG Obscures Simple Truths: Michael Lewis  —  Last September the U.S. government began to dole out the first of $173 billion to American International Group.  A big chunk of it passed right through to banks that had bought insurance from AIG against mortgage and corporate defaults …

MSNBC In Discussions with Ed Schultz  —  The Observer has learned that MSNBC president Phil Griffin is in discussions with syndicated talk radio host Ed Schultz about possibly joining the network on a full-time basis.  It is unclear what exactly the job would entail should Mr. Schultz and MSNBC come to an agreement.

ARE WE A BANANA REPUBLIC?  —  I'm stupefied to find that some people are defending the constitutionality of Nancy Pelosi's discriminatory, confiscatory and retroactive tax on people who receive bonus income from companies that got TARP money.  I would have considered it a bright line rule …

Sources say toxic asset plan near completion  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner could announce as soon as Monday his much-anticipated plan to get toxic assets off the books of the country's struggling banks, administration and industry officials said.

How I botched the bonus story  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  The Washington ritual of the boiling scandal, with howls of outrage and frantic demands for a high-ranking scalp, is now in full swing over $165 million in bonuses for employees at failed insurance giant AIG.

CNN's March Ratings So Far: More Lamb than Lion  —  More evidence that CNN is going to have to find a new strategy fast or risk becoming a cable news also-ran: In the month of March so far, the Time Warner-owned network has come in fourth place in prime time among adults 25 to 54 …

WITCH HUNTERY!  —  A great exchange on CNBC between the anchor and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), one of the few elected voices of reason during the financial crisis:

Tedisco: I'm focused on local interests  —  ONEONTA _ Political commentators may see the 20th Congressional District race as a contest of national consequence, but Republican James Tedisco, 58, is focused closer to home.  —  “Rush Limbaugh is meaningless to me,” Tedisco told the editorial board of The Daily Star on Thursday.

The Big Takeover  —  The global economic crisis isn't about money - it's about power.  How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution  —  It's over — we're officially, royally f**ked. no empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock …

Conyers suggests probe of ACORN  —  Calls fraud charges ‘serious’  —  In an startling partisan shift, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. on Thursday proposed holding hearings on claims the liberal activist group ACORN engaged in a pattern of crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style “protection” racket.

‘Shooting and crying’  —  Less than a month after the end of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, dozens of graduates of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory program convened at Oranim Academic College in Kiryat Tivon.  Since 1998 the program has prepared participants for what is considered meaningful military service.