Most transparent White House ever...  Police chased reporters away from the White House and closed Lafayette Park today in response to a gay rights protest in which several service members in full uniform handcuffed themselves to the White House gate to protest “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”

Next Up?  Obama Calls Sen. Scott Brown About Immigration  —  President Barack Obama called Massachusetts' new Republican senator, Scott Brown, from Air Force One today to deliver some news: Democrats are moving forward with an immigration overhaul in a month.

Once critical of financial regulation bill, Republicans change their tone  —  Key Senate Republicans on Tuesday began to back away from their sharp criticism of proposed new financial regulations and expressed optimism that a bipartisan deal on a bill that would drastically change …

Ariz House: Check Obama's Citizenship  —  PHOENIX — The Arizona House on Monday voted for a provision that would require President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate if he hopes to be on the state's ballot when he runs for reelection.  —  The House voted 31-22 to add the provision to a separate bill.

U.S. attorney, IRS and FBI investigating Florida GOP credit card use  —  Federal law enforcement agencies have launched a criminal investigation into the use of American Express cards issued by the Republican Party of Florida to elected officials and staff, according to sources familiar with the probe.

EVEN LINDSEY GRAHAM DOESN'T DESERVE THIS.... I'm not generally in the habit of defending Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), but some of the abuse he's been receiving from the right is ridiculous.  —  Over the weekend, an even-crazier-than-usual Tea Party event was held in Greenville, South Carolina …

Earthquake in New Jersey: Majority of School Budgets Defeated  —  In a crushing rejection of the thug tactics of the teacher's unions, voters turned out in unusually high numbers Tuesday to reject a majority of proposed school budgets across the state of New Jersey, handing Governor Chris Christie …

Both national party committees spend big chunks on fancy meals, hotels, travel  —  Both the national Democratic and Republican party committees spend about two-thirds of the money they take in on the care and comfort of committee staffs and on efforts to raise more funds, with lavish spending on limousines …

Matthews: Republicans Like Rubio Taking Part in ‘Stalinesque’ Purge of GOP  —  Chris Matthews — who was offended by Rush Limbaugh calling the Obama administration the “regime”— claimed the Republicans were engaged in a “Stalinesque” purge.  On Tuesday's Hardball Matthews charged …

Is Goldman Obama's Enron?  No, it's worse (Updated)  —  Campaign contributions from Goldman Sachs employees to President Obama are nearly seven times as much as President Bush received from Enron workers, according to numbers on OpenSecrets.org.  —  President Bush's connections to Enron …

RNC Spent $340K On Hawaii Meeting  —  The RNC spent more than $340K at a semi-annual meeting in Honolulu in Jan., the latest example of the party spending lavishly on itself while GOP officials worry they won't have enough money to take advantage of a promising national landscape this fall.

Timothy McVeigh Was No Libertarian: The Fallacy of Conflating Two Very Different Types of “Anti-Government” Movements  —  Some commentators are associating the Oklahoma City bombings of 15 years ago and other far right violence with the rise of “anti-government” sentiment in opposition …

GOPer Tries to Ape My Snark  —  I'm not quite sure what to make of this.  A couple weeks ago our Eric Kleefeld came up with video showing Nevada Senate candidate Sue Lowden suggesting that “bartering” for medical care would be a good way to rein in spiraling health care costs.

Insider: Top Ohio homeland security officials falsify credentials, obtained fake diploma mill degrees  —  ***Sticky until noon.  Scroll down for more updates.  Our correspondent inside the Ohio Department of Homeland Security brings even more troubling news.

Obama meets on Court pick but several weeks to go — NYT declares you a tastemaker: Exclusive excerpt of Leibo's Playbook opus — POLITICO announces expansion, lands Maggie Haberman  —  REP. ISSA talks SEC-Goldman on CNBC at 8:05 a.m. ET.  —  RAHM EMANUEL previewed the midterm/reelect message during …

Losing faith in government  —  Data continues to pour in from a variety of sources indicating that faith in government is at a record low.  Pew Research Center's latest survey found that only 22 percent of those polled trust the federal government “almost always or most of the time.”

Ronald Reagan and James Dean: Rare Video From 1954  —  Today, it's an astonishing, even eerie, scene: the icon of modern American conservatism, whose rise to political prominence was galvanized by the cultural rebellion of the 1960s, fighting off an attack-at-gunpoint by the quintessential modern American rebel.

McCain's Integrity  —  There is a new round of “where have you gone, John McCain?” liberal commentary starting up.  I used to find this amusing, but it is all based on a profound misunderstanding of McCain the politician.  Recently, McCain has been making a fool of himself by repudiating …

Iran seeks to persuade Security Council not to back tough nuclear sanctions  —  TEHRAN — Facing increasing momentum behind a U.S.-backed bid for new sanctions against it, Iran is launching a broad diplomatic offensive aimed at persuading as many U.N. Security Council members as possible …

Obama Approval Slips Further in Fifth Quarter to 48.8%  —  Ranks among lowest fifth-quarter averages for elected presidents  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama averaged 48.8% job approval for his fifth quarter in office, spanning Jan. 20-April 19 Gallup Daily tracking.

Arizona has turned into a police state: ‘Show me your papers’  —  I had a friend who isn't into politics, but would say that Bush's goal was to enact martial law over the country.  I told her she was not based in reality.  But this new law in Arizona gives the police exactly that type of power …

Iran boosts Qods shock troops in Venezuela  —  Pentagon predicts U.S. clash with Islamist paramilitary  —  Iran is increasing its paramilitary Qods force operatives in Venezuela while covertly continuing supplies of weapons and explosives to Taliban and other insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq …