Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated  —  Tea party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public, tend to be Republican, white, male, and married, and their strong opposition to the Obama administration is more rooted in political ideology …

Obama Speech Signals a U.S. Shift on Middle East  —  WASHINGTON — It was just a phrase at the end of President Obama's news conference on Tuesday, but it was a stark reminder of a far-reaching shift in how the United States views the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how aggressively it might push for a peace agreement.

Rubio Tops Crist By 23 Points In Florida GOP Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Crist As Independent Has Slight Edge In 3-Way Race  —  Marco Rubio has opened up an elephant-sized 56 - 33 percent lead over Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida's U.S. Senate Republican primary …

Sens. McConnell and Cornyn go to Wall Street  —  It's stuff like this that makes me think Wall Street executives aren't very smart. … McConnell and Cornyn's many virtues aside, neither of them are experts on this bill.  Neither of them sits on the Senate Banking Committee.

Mitt Romney-Sarah Palin in 2012?  You betcha!  —  Conservative superstar Sarah Palin opened the door yesterday to joining forces with Mitt Romney for a 2012 White House run - a hot ticket that has some Republicans licking their chops at the prospect of unseating President Obama.

Britain Closes Airspace as Volcanic Ash Spreads  —  LONDON — British civil aviation authorities ordered the closing of the country's airspace as of noon on Thursday to shield aircraft from a high-altitude cloud of ash drifting south and east from an erupting volcano in Iceland.

The Great Tea-Bait  —  Heath Shuler did not hear the “N-word” on March 20.  —  It may be the most celebrated missing recording since Watergate: the nonexistent or unaccounted-for video of the tea-party protesters at the Capitol who three black congressmen claim yelled racial slurs at them on March 20, the eve of ObamaCare's enactment.

How Tweet It Is!:  Library Acquires Entire Twitter Archive  —  Have you ever sent out a “tweet” on the popular Twitter social media service?  Congratulations: Your 140 characters or less will now be housed in the Library of Congress.  —  That's right.  Every public tweet, ever …

General Election 2010: Conservatives lead in 100 key seats, Telegraph poll shows  —  The Conservatives are on course for a convincing election victory after a new poll for The Daily Telegraph showed the party is leading Labour by 12 points in crucial marginal constituencies.

Early Bumps in Blumenthal's Senate Run in Connecticut  —  HARTFORD — Richard Blumenthal's campaign for the Senate was supposed to be a glide.  Nothing and no one could stop him.  —  As the Connecticut attorney general, Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat, had been sticking up for consumers …

Schumer intros bill banning airline carry-on fee  —  Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday introduced legislation that essentially bans airlines from charging a fee for carry-on bags.  —  The bill is in reaction to Spirit Airlines' recent announcement that it would charge passengers $45 for each bag brought onto their airplanes.

A Message from ‘Henry’  —  We're high earners not yet rich, and now the government wants us to pay more?  —  I'm in the 32% federal and 10% state income tax brackets.  I pay a 1.2% property tax on very expensive California real estate.  I am subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax.

The Lord Is My Insurer  —  How conservative Christians get around health-care reform's individual mandate.  —  “Who is this Barack Obama who mocks the armies of the living God?” demanded James Lansberry, Christian crusader against government-regulated health care, last summer in the heat of the battle over reform.

The K.S.M. Files  —  Watching Attorney General Eric Holder struggle on Wednesday to answer senators' questions about the detention and trial of terrorism suspects made us nostalgic for the old days — back in 2009 — when the United States was making progress toward cleaning …

Taxpayers foot State Department's stiff liquor bill  —  Months after President Obama urged federal agencies last year to cut wasteful spending, the U.S. Department of State paid $3,814 to fill an order of Jack Daniel's whiskey for gratuities at one of its many overseas embassies.  —  The booze buy wasn't unusual.

Europe's VAT Lessons  —  Rates start low and increase, while income tax rates stay high.  —  As Americans rush to complete their annual tax returns today, there is still some consolation in knowing that it could be worse: Like Europeans, we could pay both income taxes and a value-added tax, or VAT.

Sink the Murtha  —  The Navy can do better than honoring this hack  —  The late Rep. John Murtha, Pennsylvania Democrat, has achieved his highest undeserved honor.  Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has decided to name the Navy's newest San Antonio Class amphibious transport-dock LPD 26 the USS John P. Murtha.