We Didn't Have to Lose Arlen Specter  —  IT is disheartening and disconcerting, at the very least, that here we are today — almost exactly eight years after Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party — witnessing the departure of my good friend and fellow moderate Republican …

Obama targets tea bags at town hall  —  At his 100th-day town hall meeting in St. Louis Wednesday, President Barack Obama took direct aim at the anti-tax “tea party” demonstrations that have cropped up over the last month and took a veiled shot at the Fox News Channel, the cable news network closely associated with the protests.

U.S. Economy in 2nd Straight Quarter of Steep Decline  —  The American economy shrank rapidly in the first three months of the year, the government reported on Wednesday, a signal that the economy is likely to remain a dominant issue as the Obama administration looks beyond its first 100 days.

House Approves Budget Plan  —  WASHINGTON — The House approved a $3.5 trillion federal budget on Wednesday as Democrats raced to cap President Obama's first 100 days in office by adopting a fiscal blueprint laying out the path for his chief policy initiatives.

U.S. officials want ‘swine’ out of flu name  —  Source: Reuters  —  What's in a name?  U.S. pork producers are finding that the name of the virus spreading from Mexico is affecting their business, prompting U.S. officials to argue for changing the name from swine flu.

EXCLUSIVE: Steele may lose purse strings  —  A battle over control of the party's purse strings has erupted at the troubled Republican National Committee, with defenders of Chairman Michael S. Steele accusing dissident RNC members of trying to “embarrass and neuter” the party's new leader.

The black-white divide in Obama's popularity  —  On his 100th day in office, Barack Obama enjoys high job approval ratings, no matter what poll you consult.  But if a new survey by the New York Times is accurate, the president and some of his policies are significantly less popular …

Early Resolve: Obama Stand in Auto Crisis  —  WASHINGTON — By the time he sat down in the Oval Office to brief Michigan's Congressional delegation, President Obama had made up his mind.  Days earlier, he had decided to oust the head of General Motors and give it and Chrysler weeks to fix themselves.

State of play in the Harman case  —  Rep. Jane Harman has hired lawyer Lanny Davis, a former special counsel to President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky affair, as a media advisor, The Cable has learned.  —  The enlisting of the heavyweight help is the latest sign that the California Democrat intends …

After the Great Recession  —  On April 14, President Obama gave a speech at Georgetown University, trying to explain why he was taking on so many economic issues so early in his administration.  He argued that the country needed to break its bubble-and-bust cycle and cited the New Testament …

Historian Michele Bachmann Blames FDR's “Hoot-Smalley” Tariffs For Great Depression  —  Make no mistake: When it comes to economics, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) knows her history — even if that history is from another planet.  —  On Monday night, our friends at Dump Bachmann reported …

“Never Again,” Obama Style  —  No president in modern times has managed to conceal so much of his biography as this one.  The journalists assigned to the Obama beat seem to have lost their traditional avidity for digging out the missing details.  We do not have a medical report …

Official Defends Signing Interrogation Memos  —  WASHINGTON — Judge Jay S. Bybee broke his silence on Tuesday and defended the conclusions of legal memorandums he had signed as a Bush administration lawyer that allowed use of several coercive interrogation practices on suspected terrorists.

House to vote on hate crimes bill  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - The House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday on expanding federal protection against hate crimes to disability, gender, and sexual orientation.  —  The proposal is one of the most sensitive civil rights issues to come before the Congress in years.

Fed Is Said to Seek Capital for at Least Six Banks  —  At least six of the 19 largest U.S. banks require additional capital, according to preliminary results of government stress tests, people briefed on the matter said.  —  While some of the lenders may need extra cash injections from the government …