Obama to Offer Health Bill to Ease Impasse as Bipartisan Meeting Approaches  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama will put forward comprehensive health care legislation intended to bridge differences between Senate and House Democrats ahead of a summit meeting with Republicans next week …

Pawlenty compares administration to Tiger Woods, voters to scorned wife  —  Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) on Friday told voters to follow the lead of Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren and “take a nine-iron and smash the window out of big government.”  —  Pawlenty, who is considered …

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg is diagnosed with cancer … U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey's 86-year-old senior senator, was diagnosed with treatable stomach cancer in the last 24 hours and will begin chemotherapy today.  —  The Democrat still plans to finish out his current term …

BREAKING: Obama will support the public option if Reid will  —  From Rachel Maddow's interview tonight with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius: … Wow.  That's news.  —  What will Reid do?  If it's up to Nevada voters, the answer's obvious.  From reporter Jon Ralson in today's Las Vegas Sun:

Ellsworth to run for Indiana Senate  —  Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth announced today that he will seek the seat being vacated by Sen. Evan Bayh.  —  “After many conversations with Hoosiers this week, and with the love and support of my family, I have decided to run for the U.S. Senate,” Ellsworth said in a statement.

A Sensible Response to Terrorism  —  As you probably know, a white guy entranced by an extremely version of Tea Party-style right-populist paranoia deliberately crashed an airplane into an IRS building in Texas yesterday.  I'm not especially interested in debating semantics …

‘Family Guy’ Voice Actor Says Palin ‘Does Not Have a Sense of Humor’  —  Since it was shown on Sunday, an episode of the Fox animated comedy “Family Guy” has drawn the repeated condemnation of Sarah Palin, the former Republican governor of Alaska and 2008 vice-presidential nominee.

In U.S., Canada Places First in Image Contest; Iran Last  —  Favorable views of Russia, Palestinian Authority up slightly; views of Iraq down  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' perceptions of 20 nations that figure prominently in the news or U.S. foreign policy held quite steady in the first year of the Obama administration.

Mitt Romney's Alleged Attacker — Major Rap Star  —  The mystery man who was tossed off an airplane for allegedly attacking Mitt Romney has finally been revealed — it was one of the guys from LMFAO ... and he claims Romney is the one who got physical first!

It's nonsense to say the U.S. is ungovernable  —  In the latter days of the Carter presidency, it became fashionable to say that the office had become unmanageable and was simply too big for one man.  Some suggested a single, six-year presidential term.  The president's own White House …

California Death Spiral  —  Health insurance premiums are surging — and conservatives fear that the spectacle will reinvigorate the push for reform.  On the Fox Business Network, a host chided a vice president of WellPoint, which has told California customers to expect huge rate increases …

Response to Olbermann: ‘People of color’ at Tea Parties  —  So last night that race-peddlin' buffoon over at MSNBC... wait, that's pretty much everyone on that network.  Let me be more specific.  OK, so, last night Keith Olbermann used his self-parodying Special Comment segment to ask …

Bachmann: Obama ‘intending to fail’  —  Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) urged conservatives on Friday to fight to prevent an American “decline” created by the policies of President Barack Obama.  —  In a long and meandering speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference evoking …

India row over Jesus beer image  —  The government in the Indian state of Meghalaya has confiscated textbooks showing pictures of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette and a can of beer.  —  The book has been used for primary classes and has caused a furore in the north-eastern state, where more than 70% of the population are Christians.