Obama official Kareem Dale confirms White House's love for MSNBC  —  (UPDATED: A second video has been added below.)  —  For some inexplicable reason having to do with who knows what, a widespread impression has grown among many politics fans that MSNBC and its crowd of talkers …

Joe The Plumber Slurs Gay People: I Would Never Let “Queers” Near My Children  —  Joe the Plumber, aka Samuel Wurzelbacher, sat down for an lengthy interview with Christianity Today to discuss his views on the future of the Republican party.  Wurzelbacher took the opportunity to speak out against gay marriage, which he says is wrong.

Leaking under stress  —  John Hempton has a good question, which other people have asked me: who is leaking about the stress tests?  —  Traditionally, leaks to the press come from officials trying to curry favor with journalists, who will treat them favorably in the future.  (See Woodward, Bob.)

Porous Border With Pakistan Could Hinder U.S. Troops  —  PESHAWAR, Pakistan — President Obama is pouring more than 20,000 new troops into Afghanistan this year for a fighting season that the United States military has called a make-or-break test of the allied campaign in Afghanistan.

Murtha's Nephew Got Defense Contracts  —  Millions in Work Came Without Competition  —  The headquarters of Murtech, in a low-slung, bland building in a Glen Burnie business park, has its blinds drawn tight and few signs of life.  On several days of visits, a handful of cars sit in the parking lot …

Ridge May Run for Specter's Senate Seat  —  Former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge (R) is seriously considering a 2010 bid for the Senate seat held by Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter and will make his decision in the next two weeks, according to several sources familiar with his thinking.

A Litmus Test That Counts  —  As the time approaches for President Obama to choose a successor to Justice David Souter, the term “litmus test” will be heard throughout the land.  The White House will deny applying any such thing, but the nominee will undoubtedly be chosen according …

Our Genius President: ‘Happy Cuatro de Cinco!’  —  I like to note these little incidents when they happen, not because I think it makes Obama an idiot because he occasionally stumbles over his words, but because his somewhat overblown reputation as the most cerebral, eloquent …

Establishment Clause Violation for Public High School Teacher To Call Creationism “Superstitious Nonsense”: So holds C.F. v. Capistrano Unified School Dist., decided Friday.  I understand the logic of the case — the Court has repeatedly said that the government's disapproving of religion …

Jeffrey Rosen, TNR and the anonymous smears against Sonia Sotomayor  —  Jeffrey Rosen's New Republic smear of Sonia Sotomayor's intellect and character — based almost exclusively on anonymous, gossiping “sources” — is such a model of shoddy, irresponsible, and (ironically enough) …

How I Survived John's Affair  —  On May 3, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards acknowledged that a federal investigation had been opened into whether his campaign improperly gave money to a woman with whom Edwards had an extramarital affair.  Edwards has denied any wrongdoing by his campaign.

Named and shamed: the 16 barred from UK  —  Sixteen people banned from entering the UK were “named and shamed” by the Home Office today.  —  Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she decided to make public the names of 16 people banned since October so others could better understand what sort …

Congress Poised To Launch 9/11-Styled Commission On Financial Crisis  —  The House of Representatives came to agreement on Monday afternoon on the establishment of a 9/11-styled commission that would be independent of Congress and granted the power of subpoena to investigate the origins of the financial crisis.

G.O.P. Résumé, Cabinet Post, Knack for Odd Jobs  —  WASHINGTON — Ray LaHood, the secretary of transportation, is not one to toot his own horn over how much he knows about planes, trains and automobile bailouts.  On the contrary.  —  “I don't think they picked me because they thought …