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 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.

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.

Bauer: Needy ‘owe something back’ for aid  —  GREENVILLE - Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has compared giving people government assistance to “feeding stray animals.”  —  Bauer, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor, made his remarks during a town hall meeting in Fountain Inn …

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 …

After the Massachusetts Massacre  —  It was not a referendum on Barack Obama, who in every poll remains one of the most popular politicians in America.  It was not a rejection of universal health care, which Massachusetts mandated (with Scott Brown's State Senate vote) in 2006.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Why Bernanke should be reconfirmed  —  Econbrowser readers are well aware that there are a number of issues on which I have concerns about some of the decisions the Fed has made, such as dropping the ball on regulation ([1], [2]), keeping interest rates too low for too long over 2003-2005 ( …

Obama's evolution as commander-in-chief  —  Never a soldier himself, but suddenly their commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama wanted to learn the job from the ground up.  —  Including the salute.  —  Under the guidance of an expert, aides say Obama privately repeated his salute over and over again until he got it down.

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 …