Obama Moves to Centralize Control Over Party Strategy  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is reconstituting the team that helped him win the White House to counter Republican challenges in the midterm elections and recalibrate after political setbacks that have narrowed his legislative ambitions.

Ellie Light: Obama Astroturfer?  Or Very, Very, Very Energetic But Independent Letter Writer?  With Houses All Over the Nation?  —  A woman has written the same letter defending Obama to dozens of publications across the country, getting them published in at least 42 newspapers in 18 states …

Obama Turns Up Heat Over Ruling on Campaign Spending  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama took aim at the Supreme Court on Saturday, saying the justices had “handed a huge victory to the special interests and their lobbyists” with last week's 5-to-4 decision to lift restrictions on campaign spending by corporations and unions.

(2 of 2)  —  “We don't make you take a drug test.  We ought to.  We don't even make you show up to your child's parent-teacher conference meeting or to the PTA meeting,” Bauer said.  —  “You go to a school where there's an active participation of parents and guess what?  They have the highest test scores.

Phil Griffin's Memo To MSNBC Talent: Stop Fighting With Each Other  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  On the heels of yet another public incident between his anchors, MSNBC president Phil Griffin reined in his talent in a staff memo Friday afternoon.  —  Griffin sent a memo …

Jury duty for President Obama?  —  To serve or not to serve?  Is that the question?  —  • Translation: TV titan Oprah Winfrey may have honored her Cook County Circuit Court Jury summons, but it's a good bet President Obama won't.  —  • To wit: Sneed has learned Obama's name …

They Still Don't Get It  —  How loud do the alarms have to get?  There is an economic emergency in the country with millions upon millions of Americans riddled with fear and anxiety as they struggle with long-term joblessness, home foreclosures, personal bankruptcies and dwindling opportunities for themselves and their children.

White House Is Confident Bernanke Will Be Confirmed  —  WASHINGTON — After a full-scale mobilization, White House officials expressed confidence on Saturday that they had contained a populist uprising among Democratic senators that had threatened President Obama's nomination of Ben S. Bernanke …

Justice Kennedy was key to conservatives' win in campaign finance decision  —  If there was a new boldness from the Supreme Court's conservative majority in last week's landmark ruling on campaign finance laws, there was also an underlying and familiar truth:

70-year gag on Kelly death evidence (Dr. David Kelly)  —  Well this latest news won't fuel any conspiracy theories (cough) or bring even more serious questions about the alleged murder (not suicide) of former UN weapons' inspector Dr. David Kelly (cough).  —  Before we get into the latest …

Paul Krugman For The Fed  —  The case for Ben Bernanke's reappointment was weak to start with, weakened with his hearings, and is now held together by string and some phone calls from the White House.  Bernanke is an airline pilot who pulled off a miraculous landing, but didn't do his preflight checks …

Biden Says U.S. Will Appeal Blackwater Case Dismissal  —  BAGHDAD — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. promised Iraqi leaders on Saturday that the United States would appeal the dismissal of manslaughter charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security contractors involved in a deadly shooting …

Bayh Claims 'There's A Fighting Chance' Obama Will Call For A Spending Freeze  —  In an interview yesterday with Bloomberg's Al Hunt, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) — who met with members of the administration's economic team this week — said that he believes there's a “fighting chance” …

Hayworth says he will challenge McCain  —  (CNN) - Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth of Arizona says he's planning to challenge fellow Republican John McCain for his senate seat.  —  The former six-term congressman stepped down Friday as host of his conservative talk radio program on a radio station in Phoenix.