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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

For high court nominee, no (political) experience necessary  —  Stiffening their sinews and summoning up their blood, pugnacious liberals and conservatives who relish contemporary Washington's recurring Armageddons are eager for a summer-long struggle over Barack Obama's nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.