Obama's disregard for media reaches new heights at nuclear summit  —  World leaders arriving in Washington for President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit must have felt for a moment that they had instead been transported to Soviet-era Moscow.  —  They entered a capital that had become a military encampment …

A cautionary note about the beating in New Orleans; Update: No Palin pins involved  —  Scroll for updates...  I'm getting bombarded with angry e-mails about the terrible assault on Louisiana GOP Gov. Bobby Jindal's campaign fundraising chief, Allee Bautsch, and her boyfriend in the French Quarter of New Orleans over the weekend.

Staffers' accounts paint more detailed, troubling picture of Massa's office  —  Just three months after Eric Massa was elected to Congress, his young male employees on Capitol Hill began complaining to supervisors that the lawmaker was making aggressive, sexual overtures toward them, according to new interviews and internal documents.

CNN Poll: Who wins an Obama vs. Palin matchup?  —  A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday indicates that President Barack Obama would top the former Alaska governor by double digits in a possible 2012 general election showdown.  —  Washington (CNN) - She may be the best …

GOP warns Obama over SCOTUS litmus test on Citizens United  —  The landmark Citizens United case has become a flash point in the ideological fight over President Barack Obama's next Supreme Court choice.  —  Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) took to the Senate floor Tuesday to warn Obama …

Sarah Palin Earned How Much Since July?!  —  With A Steady Stream of Six-Figure Speaking Gigs, The Former Alaska Governor's Haul May Be Even Bigger  —  Pundits can debate the political costs and benefits of Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor, but the monetary advantages …

Outcrazying The Crazy: How A Prankster Plans To Infiltrate And Destroy The Tea Party Movement  —  Meet Jason Levin, quite possibly the scariest man in the tea party universe.  An Oregon technology consultant, Levin is the leader of Crash The Tea Party, a plan to take down the tea party from the inside.

What's the Matter With Fox News?  —  I've been reading the debates touched off by Julian Sanchez's post on “a systematic trend toward “epistemic closure” in the modern conservative movement.”  I'm nervous about wading in because almost anything I say is bound to offend someone I like.

Lieberman: ‘Thank God’ political momentum now with Republicans  —  Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) suggested in a new interview that he was grateful that political momentum now seemed to be on the side of Republicans.  —  Lieberman, an Independent senator who caucuses with Democrats …

Minting Bank Lobbyists on Capitol Hill  —  From left, Dick Armey, Richard H. Baker and Michael Oxley.  The three are among dozens of former lawmakers now lobbying Congress for the financial sector.  —  WASHINGTON — Representative Barney Frank publicly rebuked a former aide this month …

Sarah Palin's Secret Contract Demands: Big Jets and Bendable Straws  —  Read the Contract Fished Out of a California University Dumpster By Angry Students  —  Gov. Sarah Palin may be flexible on some of the perks she needs when speaking in public, but on the question of drinking straws, she shall not bend.

Barney Frank gets a high-altitude haranguing on health care  —  Barney Frank has enemies, even 30,000 feet in the air.  —  Flying back to Boston from LA yesterday, the congressman was assailed by a pair of ophthalmologists upset about the health care reform bill.

Army to court martial ‘birther’ officer  —  From NBC's Jim Miklaszewski and Mark MurrayU.S. military officials tell NBC News that the U.S. Army will court martial a lieutenant colonel who refuses to deploy to Afghanistan because he considers orders from President Obama to be “illegal.”

Colbert Owns Wiki Leak (UPDATE: Video and More PWNAGE Added)  —  ***Bumped because we're all posting at the same time***  —  When my students tell me how much they love John Stewart I usually tell them that Stephen Colbert is way better.  Sure, I tell them, John Stewart has the smartest writers …

A V-Shaped Boom Is Coming  —  Conservatives shouldn't fight the tale of the tape.  —  Sometimes you have to take out your political lenses and look at the actual statistics to get a true picture of the health of the American economy.  Right now, those statistics are saying …

Hoyer criticizes Bachman for denying racial epithet  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday chided Rep. Michelle Bachmann (D-Minn.) for denying that a protester shouted a racial epithet at Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) during last month's healthcare battle.

Miss. county schools ordered to comply with desegregation order  —  A federal judge Tuesday ordered a rural county in southwestern Mississippi to stop segregating its schools by grouping African American students into all-black classrooms and allowing white students to transfer to the county's …

Election 2010: Pennsylvania Democratic Primary for Senate  —  Pennsylvania Democratic Senate Primary: Specter 44%, Sestak 42%  —  Pennsylvania's Democratic Primary is a month away, and the race between incumbent Senator Arlen Specter and challenger Joe Sestak is now a dead heat.

EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES IN THIS POST  —  It's been written countless times that Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino is something of a walking contradiction.  But let's take him at his word that the tragic death of his son Patrick in 2009 caused him to re-assess his life, his past, and his values.

Republicans in Disarray  —  The Republican Party may have a big election year anyway, but Americans sure don't think much of it or its leadership.  —  Only 28% of voters in the country say they approve of the current direction of the GOP with 51% disapproving.

Wrong video of health protest spurs N-word feud  —  Three Democratic congressmen — all black — say they heard racial slurs as they walked through thousands of angry protesters outside the U.S. Capitol.  A white lawmaker says he heard the epithets too.  Conservative activists say the lawmakers are lying.