Communications Corruption at the White House  —  The communications team at the White House has an extremely difficult job — and I admire how hard Ben Rhodes, Bill Burton, Tommy Vietor, and of course Robert Gibbs and others work to connect the President's policy direction with a communications effort that furthers the Obama agenda.

Vatican Priest Likens Criticism Over Abuse to Anti-Semitism  —  ROME — A senior Vatican priest, speaking before Pope Benedict XVI at a Good Friday service, compared the world's outrage at sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church to the persecution of the Jews, prompting angry responses …

Limbaugh responds to Obama: ‘Never in my life have I seen a regime like this’  —  In his new interview with CBS, President Obama refers to the “troublesome” talk and “vitriol” of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.  “Keep in mind that there have been periods in American history where this kind of vitriol comes out,” Obama says.

Black Dem Rep. Who Was Reportedly Spit on by Tea Party Protester: I Never Claimed to Have Been Spit on Intentionally, Others Are Making the Claim on My Behalf, Refuses to Confirm it Happened..  (Update) He's Full of S**t...  More proof this claim is 100% bulls**t.

Palestine House Thugs Screams “You need another Holocaust”  —  Update1: We have a new Camel Girl!  Meet Denise Balkissoon crack reporter for the Toronto Star.  This was Ms. Balkissoon's take away - “Each group accused the other of hate, shouting “go home. … Update2: Frumpy has the video - “We love jihad.

Why I won't buy an iPad (and think you shouldn't, either)  —  I've spent ten years now on Boing Boing, finding cool things that people have done and made and writing about them.  Most of the really exciting stuff hasn't come from big corporations with enormous budgets, it's come from experimentalist amateurs.

Erickson: I'll 'pull out my wife's shotgun' if someone comes to my door for the American Community Survey.  —  Yesterday, ThinkProgress noted that Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) took to the conservative blog RedState to call out “blatant misinformation coming from otherwise well-meaning conservatives” about this year's Census.

BREAKTHROUGH MONTH FOR U.S. JOB MARKET.... For a year, the most common Republican talking point on the economy has been a straightforward, four-word question: “Where are the jobs?”  In light of the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released this morning, the GOP may need a new argument.

Asked to Declare His Race, Obama Checks ‘Black’  —  It is official: Barack Obama is the nation's first black president.  —  A White House spokesman confirmed that Mr. Obama, the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, checked African-American on the 2010 census questionnaire.

Don't let the tea party go Perot  —  Like many influential causes before it, the “tea party” movement appeared on the scene uninvited by the political establishment.  Democrats in the White House and in Congress recognize it for what it is — a spontaneous and pointed response to the Obama agenda …

Welcome President Obama to LA  —  I hope you've already heard the news:  —  President Barack Obama is coming to Los Angeles on Monday, April 19 for an event to support my reelection campaign!  —  I'm really looking forward to the President's visit, and I want to invite you to join us.

Your Money: Mortgage Aid Elicits Anger, but It May Help  —  The angry comments flooded in after the federal government announced it was expanding its program to assist unemployed homeowners, as well as borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth.

An Absurdist Take On “Both Sides”  —  Charles Lane compares the radicalism of white supremacists with the radicalism of escaped slaves: … Lane is referencing, in rather disrespectful fashion, the awesome Shadrach Minkins.  A Norfolk-area slave, Minkins' unthinking extremism deluded him into believing that he was a human being.

Mass. rejects proposed health care premiums hikes  —  Making good on Governor Deval Patrick's promise to reject health insurance rate hikes deemed excessive, the state Division of Insurance this morning turned down 235 of 274 increases proposed by Massachusetts health insurers for small businesses and individuals.

Obamacare was mainly aimed at redistributing wealth  —  It hasn't attracted much notice, but recently some prominent advocates of Obamacare have spoken more frankly than ever before about why they supported a national health care makeover.  It wasn't just about making insurance more affordable.

Sen. Corker Clarifies: Repeal Isn't Going to Happen after “This Election Cycle”  —  John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, and most Republicans say that the GOP platform is to repeal Obamacare (or “repeal and replace it with real reform").  Yuval Levin argues in this week's issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD that …

Eugene Allen, White House Butler, Dies at 90  —  Longtime White House Butler Served For 34 Years Under 8 Presidents, From Truman to Reagan  —  (AP) This story was written by shington Post Staff Writer Wil Haygood.  —  Eugene Allen, who endured a harsh and segregated upbringing …

Payback  —  Remember when Rudy Giuliani was counting on Gov. Charlie Crist's endorsement in the GOP prez primary?  As Mark Halperin and John Heilemann recounted in “Game Change,” it was a big f'ing deal at the time and the Rudy folks had a plan mapped out on how they would maximize their expected get.

Trendy Fashion Buys Reimbursed as “Office Supplies” to RNC Finance Officials  —  For one Republican National Committee official, a spin through a trendy clothing boutique racked up hundreds in “office supplies,” all billed to party donors.  And there's more.

Employment-Population Ratio, Part Time Workers, Unemployed over 26 Weeks  —  Here are a few more graphs based on the employment report ...  Employment-Population Ratio  —  The Employment-Population ratio ticked up slightly to 58.6% in March, after plunging since the start of the recession.

Obama's Approval Rating Hits New Low  —  Posted by Tucker Reals 15 comments - Share - - - Share - E-mail - Print - Font Last week, President Obama signed historic health care reform legislation into law — but his legislative success doesn't seem to have helped his image with the American public.

Bachmann says Pelosi wanted to ‘incite’ Tea Partiers  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wanted to “incite something” when she led Democratic lawmakers through a Tea Party protest on the day healthcare was passed, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said last night.