Election 2012: Barack Obama 42%, Ron Paul 41%  —  Pit maverick Republican Congressman Ron Paul against President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election match-up, and the race is - virtually dead even.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of likely voters finds Obama with 42% support and Paul with 41% of the vote.

Yes, 47% of Households Owe No Taxes.  Look Closer.  —  Forty-seven percent.  —  That's the portion of American households that owe no income tax for 2009.  The number is up from 38 percent in 2007, and it has become a popular talking point on cable television and talk radio.

McConnell: White House trying to ‘jam’ GOP on financial overhaul  —  Republican congressional leaders are criticizing President Barack Obama for bulldozing them on financial regulatory legislation.  —  Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) exited a White House meeting on the issue Wednesday …

Why FL-19 isn't a health care referendum  —  In the immediate wake of soon-to-be Rep. Ted Deutch's (D) victory in a special election in Florida's 19th district on Tuesday, the Democratic National Committee released a statement casting it as a rejection of Republican claims that health care …

Joe Lieberman thanks “GOD” that Republicans have the momentum in the upcoming election  —  Good old Joe.  He's doing what he does best.  Throw as much dirt as he can on the left.  While giving an interview with the conspiracy theory-wingnut site known as Newsmax, he says he's really happy …

The Curious Cook: Why Cilantro Tastes Like Soap, for Some  —  FOOD partisanship doesn't usually reach the same heights of animosity as the political variety, except in the case of the anti-cilantro party.  The green parts of the plant that gives us coriander seeds seem to inspire …

Obama/Bush Nearly Divided  —  Americans are now pretty evenly divided about whether they would rather have Barack Obama or George W. Bush in the White House.  48% prefer Obama while 46% say they would rather have the old President back.  —  Bush had atrocious approval ratings for his final few years …

Our Fill-in-the-Blank Constitution  —  AS the Senate awaits the nomination of a new Supreme Court justice, a frank discussion is needed on the proper role of judges in our constitutional system.  For 30 years, conservative commentators have persuaded the public that conservative judges apply the law …

Arizona Clears Strict Immigration Bill  —  Arizona lawmakers on Tuesday passed one of the toughest pieces of immigration-enforcement legislation in the country, which would make it a violation of state law to be in the U.S. without proper documentation.  —  It would also grant police the power …

Bernanke to Unemployed: Drop Dead  —  Ben Bernanke's economic forecast indicates a dire future for the currently unemployed and also for young Americans who'll be graduating from school this spring and next: … That sounds right to me.  And if Congress asked me to give my forecast, that's what I would give.

How Bad Could 2010 Really Get For Democrats?  —  Though Election Day is still months away, pundits have already begun to speculate on possible outcomes for this year's midterms.  There's a general consensus that Democrats will lose seats in November, but beyond that opinions vary widely on how big those losses might be.

O'Reilly lies to Coburn: 'Nobody's ever said' at Fox you'll go to jail if you don't buy health insurance.  Oh yes they have.  —  Evidently, Bill O'Reilly's idea of defending his network's journalistic honor is to lie blatantly — not just to his national TV audience, but to a U.S. Senator to boot.

Mike Huckabee Blasts Student Newspaper for ‘Sensationalizing’ Comments on Gay Marriage  —  ABC News' Huma Khan reports: In an unusual battlefront, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is embroiled in a heated war of words with a college newspaper after telling a student reporter that it is …

Thompson Denies Report He Will Not Run for US Senate  —  MILWAUKEE - According to a source who has spoken with TODAY'S TMJ4 HD's Charles Benson, former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson says he will not run for Senator Russ Feingold's seat.  —  Thompson is set to announce his future at a “tea party” rally in Madison on Thursday.

Sen. Mark Warner: Mitch McConnell 'either doesn't understand or chooses not to understand'  —  When Sen. Mitch McConnell said that the Senate financial-regulation bill meant “endless taxpayer-funded bailouts for big Wall Street banks,” he was, knowingly or not, taking aim at a policy …