Ridge Trails Pennsylvania's Specter By 3 Points, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; New Democratic Senator Tops Toomey By 20 Points  —  Newly-minted Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter would whip old Republican rival Pat Toomey 53 - 33 percent if the 2010 Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race were held today …

The Case Against Sotomayor  —  Indictments of Obama's front-runner to replace Souter.  —  This is the first in a series of reports by TNR legal affairs editor Jeffrey Rosen about the strengths and weaknesses of the leading candidates on Barack Obama's Supreme Court shortlist.  —  RELATED CONTENT

Sessions to take over top GOP slot on Judiciary  —  Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) will take over the ranking member position on the Senate Judiciary Committee after striking a deal with his more senior colleagues over the weekend, sources confirm to The Hill.  —  Sessions and Sen. Chuck Grassley …

Obama criticism shuts down conversation  —  Parties were more fun when George W. Bush was president.  You could debate, argue even, praise and condemn, throw darts and laurels and solve the world's problems over a bottle of wine.  —  No more.  At least not in my circles.

5/4: Paterson Approval Rating: Scraping Bottom?  —  How low can New York Governor David Paterson's job approval rating go?  Based on the latest Marist Poll numbers, it can still go lower, but not by much!  Not quite one-fifth of New York registered voters statewide — 19% …

McCotter Rejects GOP Policy Group  —  House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.) said on Friday that he chose not to join senior Republicans in establishing a new policy development group because he believes it could undermine House efforts to hone a stronger GOP identity.

RE: Resurgent Republic: Stan Greenberg's Open Letter to Ed Gillespie, Founder of Resurgent Republic, on Their Initial National Survey  —  To: Ed Gillespie Founder, Resurgent Republic  —  From: Stan Greenberg Greenberg Quinlan Rosner  —  RE: RESURGENT REPUBLIC

US Soldiers in Afghanistan Told to “Hunt People for Jesus... So We Get Them into the Kingdom” (Video)  —  Military officials at Bagram are caught on tape urging US soldiers to evangelize in the Muslim country.  —  New video evidence has surfaced showing that US military forces in Afghanistan …

N.Y. Times to File Notice It Will Close Boston Globe  —  The New York Times Co. said last night that it is notifying federal authorities of its plans to shut down the Boston Globe, raising the possibility that New England's most storied newspaper could cease to exist within weeks.

Another snort-inducer: Obama to crack down on tax cheats  —  Treasury Department tax cheat Tim Geithner already announced this knee-slapper initiative in March.  The White House follows up today with the details of the crackdown on corporate tax cheats: … Where's that Timmy G. tax cheat stamp?

GOP turns to Bush aides for advice  —  Republicans looking to recover from Bush-era defeats are turning to an unlikely source for advice: top aides to former President George W. Bush.  —  Former White House press secretary Dana Perino, former Bush counselor Ed Gillespie …

Sarah Palin's “Revelation”  —  This is unfinished business - a news event that got swallowed up by the release of the ICRC report, the OLC Memos and the Senate Armed Services report.  But given this blog's coverage of governor Palin's various strange stories about Trig …

Bush's Lawyers Strike Back  —  Blogs and Stories  —  In a brutally frank and at times contentious interview, former Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales sat down with Dan Abrams to talk about:  —  •their definition of torture ("Were the interrogations harsh?  Yes.

Doles encourage political passion  —  LAWRENCE — Former Sens. Bob and Elizabeth Dole called for more passion and cooperation from future politicians and public servants Sunday during a lecture to more than 500 students and community members at the Lied Center on The University of Kansas campus.

As Foreclosures Surge ...  The Obama administration sat by last week as 12 Senate Democrats joined 39 Senate Republicans to block a vote on an amendment that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify troubled mortgages.  —  Senator Obama campaigned on the provision.

Worries Rise on the Size of U.S. Debt  —  The nation's debt clock is ticking faster than ever — and Wall Street is getting worried.  —  As the Obama administration racks up an unprecedented spending bill for bank bailouts, Detroit rescues, health care overhauls and stimulus plans …

Michele Bachmann: Obama Led Spending “Orgy,” Government “Spent Its Wad” (VIDEO)  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann is on a roll.  Less than a week after suggesting a link between the swine flu outbreak and Democratic control of the U.S. government, the Minnesota Republican penetrated a heretofore unseen zone …

ACORN CHARGED.  —  Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State Ross Miller have announced they are filing criminal charges against the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) and two of its employees in particular for “compensating their employees …

Looking to Big-Screen E-Readers to Help Save the Daily Press  —  The iPod stemmed losses in the music industry.  The Kindle gave beleaguered book publishers a reason for optimism.  —  Now the recession-ravaged newspaper and magazine industries are hoping for their own knight in shining digital armor …

Pam Karlan and Souter's Seat—Stuntz  —  If Obama wants to appoint a Scalia for the left, he should choose Pam Karlan, a longtime colleague of mine at Virginia who now teaches at Stanford.  Pam is (1) brilliant, (2) broadly knowledgeable — Cass Sunstein aside, I can't think of anyone who knows …

Franken's in limbo as the weeks grind on  —  He's got the lead, but all he can do is study issues, talk policy and raise money to pay his recount bills.  —  Six months after Election Day, Al Franken is a man in limbo, preparing for an office he's not entirely sure he's going to get …

Personal Savings and the Age of Reagan  —  I've heard Europeans ascribe the low American savings rate to some aspect of our national character, but as you can see on this chart it's something that's changed quite a bit over the years:  —  Any political observer will look at this trend …

Prisoners of the White House  —  Smart decisions don't grow in a vacuum.  The most successful presidents recognize the fact and encourage debate—and even rivalry—between their advisers.  They do their best to consider the options fully.  All the same, it's harder than many people might imagine …

Banks Think They “Own” Congress?  Wrong — We're Taking Congress Back  —  If you think special-interest influence in Congress perverts our public policy, last week saw an outrage that vindicates that belief entirely.  —  Sen. Dick Durbin offered a bill that would allow families at risk …