Obama pick for Justice post withdraws  —  WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has withdrawn her bid for confirmation, after several Republicans objected to her criticism of the Bush administration's terrorist interrogation policies.

Stephanopoulos Defends Asking Obama About Palin Critique  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  ABC News' George Stephanopoulos is defending his decision to ask President Barack Obama to respond to Sarah Palin's criticism of his nuclear non-proliferation policy, after several observers questioned …

VIDEO: Alan Grayson Interrupts Republican District Meeting  —  On Thursday, April 8th, 2010, Congressman Alan Grayson, Democrat in Florida's 8th district, interrupted a district meeting of the local Orange County Republican Executive Committee.  The meeting was being held at Perkins, a family restaurant.

Jindal: ‘It Hurts Our Feelings’ To Be Called The ‘Party of No’  —  Today in his speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) complained that characterizations of the GOP as the “Party of No” are hurtful: … Yet in the very next breath …

URGENT: Stop CNN From Airing Deficit Propaganda  —  This weekend, CNN is giving four hours of free airtime to the leading propagandist fanning the flames of deficit hysteria, Pete Peterson, along with his lackeys.  Bloggers and online activists are joining today to promote this action:

Generic Ballot Points Toward Possible 50+ Seat Loss for Democrats  —  A couple of weeks ago, we examined the potential upside case for Democrats in November's midterms.  If the party were able to limit their losses to about 20 House seats and 3-4 Senate seats, it might not have as deleterious …

A “Seditious Rant”  —  Yes, the right gets nuttier and nuttier.  From Liz Cheney's favorite Arab (Pushtun Karzai) to Gingrich's latest attempt to portray a responsible center-left president as some kind of radical socialist, it's a nuthouse.  But the nuthouse is not resisted by the establishment.

Dawn Johnsen, Key Obama Justice Nominee, Withdraws Her Nomination  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Dawn Johnsen, the president's appointment to the Office of Legal Counsel whose nomination has lingered in Congressional limbo for more than a year, has officially withdrawn her candidacy for the post …

Stupak won't seek reelection  —  Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who played a central role in the health reform fight as the leader of anti-abortion Democrats, announced that he will not run for reelection Friday afternoon, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

George W. Bush ‘knew Guantánamo prisoners were innocent’  —  George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq …

Republicans expected to line up behind New START  —  WASHINGTON - Despite near gridlock in the Senate, Republicans were expected to swing behind a new arms control treaty with Russia that President Barack Obama said they will like, even though some are reserving judgment until Obama can assure …

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... I appreciate the role a nuclear arsenal can play in serving as a deterrent against adversaries.  But Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota may not appreciate the notion of a proportionate response. … There are obviously a lot of errors of fact and judgment in that quote …