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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Hundreds die in western China quake  —  The BBC's Damian Grammaticas: “A pretty grim picture is being painted”  —  Some 400 people have died and thousands are feared injured after a magnitude-6.9 quake hit western China's Qinghai province, officials say.  —  The powerful tremor struck …

Discovery Channel Insider: Sarah Palin's Show Is “a New All Time Low for Discovery”  —  Last night on The Young Turks we broke the story of reaction to Sarah Palin's new show inside Discovery.  We have an inside source at Discovery Communications and we've been leaked information on Sarah Palin's show for The Learning Channel.

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 …

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 …

Eliot Spitzer's flameout  —  (Fortune) — It was one of America's most shocking political sex scandals, instantly transforming New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer — who had terrified Wall Street during his political climb — into the infamous “Client 9.”  —  In Rough Justice, his new book out April 20 …