Dems at odds on how to turn tide on health  —  House Democrats' drive to overhaul the nation's healthcare system sputtered Tuesday, fueling doubts that the complex legislation can be passed before lawmakers leave town for the August recess.  —  If Democrats in the lower chamber do not pass …

DEMOCRAT CARNAHAN DISMISSES BLACK MAN AT TOWNHALL  —  Yesterday, I attended a townhall meeting on healthcare with Representative Russ Carnahan, where he dissed this black constituent.  For those of you unfamiliar with Missouri politics, the new breed of Carnahans are those who are riding …

Should The GOP Take The Birther Threat Seriously?  Rush Does....  That's the thesis of the First Readers of NBC News, after viewing this astonishing clip from a town hall meeting that Rep. Mike Castle held in Delaware for his constituents.  What's most notable, to me, at least …

Obama's Ominous Implication: Euthanasia of the Elderly May Be Necessary  —  Gee, socialized medicine sounds great — don't you think so, grandma and grandpa? … In other words, faceless bureaucrats in Washington — not your family — will decide whether your grandparents live or die.

How to Make Health-Care Reform Bipartisan  —  In Washington, it seems history always repeats itself.  That's what's happening now with health-care reform.  This is an unfortunate turn of events for Americans who are legitimately concerned about the skyrocketing cost of a basic human need.

AP NewsBreak: Palin implicated in ethics probe  —  ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts.  —  The report obtained by The Associated Press says Palin …

Obama's birth: ‘Appeasing the nut-cases’  —  Listen to the cheers for the woman holding up her birth certificate and asking why the president won't share his.  —  Listen to the boos when a Republican congressman asserts rather assuredly that the president of the United States, a Democrat …

Obama Wins Crucial Senate Vote on F-22  —  WASHINGTON — With some of his political capital on the line, President Obama won a crucial victory on Tuesday when the Senate voted to strip out $1.75 billion in financing for seven more F-22 jet fighters from a military authorization bill.

Opposition to state budget deal mounts  —  L.A. County threatens to sue, a state workers' union considers a strike, and a GOP leader protests release of prison inmates.  —  Reporting from Sacramento — Less than 24 hours after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders announced …

Flashback: Michael Steele Lacked Health Insurance For Years, Told Kids Not To “Break Anything”  —  Hoo boy, this one's rich.  Turns out that RNC chair Michael Steele, who agreed approvingly that health care failure could be Obama's “Waterloo,” himself lacked health insurance for years …

20 questions for the President's press conference  —  President Obama is scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow (Wednesday) evening at 8 PM EDT.  —  I hope the questions are better than the one asked by Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times at the President's 100-day press conference on April 30th:

Gates Says He Is Outraged by Arrest at Cambridge Home  —  Prominent Black Professor Says He Will Use Experience to Further Academic Work  —  Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's most prominent scholars of African-American history, cast his recent arrest in his home in Cambridge …

Dobbs wonders whether President Obama is undocumented.  —  Today, Political Wire posted a clip of an episode of Lou Dobbs' radio show in which he not only questions President Obama's citizenship and promotes the bizarre right-wing “birther” theory, but also insinuates that Obama might be undocumented:

DeMint: Obama ‘Played Right Into My Hands’  —  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) stands by his comment that health care will be President Obama's Waterloo, a comment Obama derided in a health care speech yesterday.  —  “I think he played right into my hands,” DeMint told Neil Cavuto on Fox News this afternoon …

IG-Gate UPDATE: Behind the Scenes of the Investigations  —  Behind closed doors on Capitol Hill last week, I asked a Republican source about the investigative efforts of Democratic staffers for the House Oversight Committee.  —  “Honestly?” the source said.  “They're useless.”

Rather Wins Access to Thousands of Documents in Suit Against CBS  —  Dan Rather won significant victories Tuesday in his suit against his former network, CBS.  He won access to more than 3,000 documents that his lawyer said were expected to reveal evidence that CBS had tried to influence …

Pakistan Objects to U.S. Expansion in Afghan War  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan is objecting to expanded American combat operations in neighboring Afghanistan, creating new fissures in the alliance with Washington at a critical juncture when thousands of new American forces are arriving in the region.

Waterless urinals miss the mark?  —  State workers say new devices leading to splashes, stink  —  ALBANY — The Department of Environmental Conservation's effort to maintain eco-friendly bathrooms at its downtown headquarters has made quite a splash but not in the way the state intended.

What am I bid?  Nothing!  Watergate Hotel fails to sell  —  An attempted auction of the Watergate Hotel, part of a Washington landmark made famous by a presidential scandal, has failed to attract any bids.  —  The opening price on the hotel was $25m (£15.2m), but none of the 10 people registered to bid did so.

Jackson Browne Defeats John McCain  —  (McCain: Face the Nation, Karin Cooper; Browne: AP, Matt Sayles)  —  Singer Jackson Browne has won his copyright battle against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), getting an apology and an undisclosed sum of money from the 2008 presidential nominee …

‘Huckabee to air Fox News show from disputed East Jerusalem site’  —  Former U.S. presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee plans to broadcast his weekend show on Fox News from the site of a disputed Israeli construction project in East Jerusalem, a New York politician has told Haaretz.