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 …

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 …

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 …

Toomey Ties Specter In Pennsylvania, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Say New Democrat Does Not Deserve Another Term  —  Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's 2010 reelection lead over Republican challenger Pat Toomey has shrunk to a tie with 45 percent for Specter and 44 percent for Toomey …

Obama White House breaks another promise to reject Bush secrecy  —  Well, at least it's bipartisan.  —  The still sort-of new Barack Obama Democratic administration has again adopted yet another policy straight out of the administration of his much-criticized Republican predecessor George W. Bush.

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.

RATHER'S SUIT AGAINST CBS COMES BACK TO LIFE  —  If you believe Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS is close to finished, folks, you'll believe rocks can grow.  —  The anchor's $70 million lawsuit against his former employers got a new lease on life today when a Manhattan judge restored …

Conrad: A thorn in Obama's side  —  Sen. Kent Conrad (N.D.) has emerged as one of the most effective Democratic critics of President Obama's agenda, despite their close friendship and the fact that Conrad was one of Obama's earliest supporters for the White House.

Senator: Democrats “baffled” by president's health care stance  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - As the prospects for passing health reform by the time Congress leaves for its August recess look bleaker, Democratic grumbling about President Obama is growing louder.  One Democratic senator tells CNN …

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 …

Atheists choose ‘de-baptism’ to renounce childhood faith  —  Up until last summer, Jennifer Gray of Columbus, Ohio, considered herself “a weak Christian” whose baptism at age 11 in a Kentucky church came to mean less and less to her as she gradually lost faith in God.

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 …

Obama goes prime-time to pitch healthcare  —  U.S. President Barack Obama shifts his effort to convince the American people healthcare reform is the right thing to do right now to prime time Wednesday.  —  In an evening news conference, Obama is expected to outline the case for healthcare reform …

Fox News: Surgeon General Too Fat  —  In what has to be among Fox News' all-time lowlights, Neil Cavuto had a segment a short while ago on whether the new surgeon general nominee, Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, is “too fat” for the post.  Seriously.  In support of this argument …

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 …

Individual Mandate Has Broad Support Among Health-Care Reformers  —  A Proposed Requirement That All Americans Have Policies Has Broad Support Among Reformers  —  President Obama's dream of dramatically remaking the nation's health-care system is still a long way from reality.

Obama Administration Misses $100 Million Cut in 90 Days Deadline  —  Remember that $100 million Obama said he would cut from his trillion dollar deficit budget (Berman Post: Obama Orders $100 Million of $3.5 Trillion Budget Identified to Cut and Berman Post: Obama's $100M budget Cut Visualized)?

Governors' Races Offer Republicans an Opening  —  WASHINGTON — Republicans in search of good news these days have had to rely on bad news for the White House: the latest setback for President Obama's health care plan; his sagging poll numbers; the failure of the Obama economic stimulus plan so far to reverse the rise in unemployment.

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:

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: