Obama suggests value-added tax may be an option  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama suggested Wednesday that a new value-added tax on Americans is still on the table, seeming to show more openness to the idea than his aides have expressed in recent days.

Why The GOP Suddenly Let Up On Financial Reform  —  Within 48 hours, the Republican line on financial regulatory reform went from “filibuster” to “we're very close to a deal.”  Why the shift?  Republicans and Democrats will offer up spin all day, chalking up the progress to their own doggedness …

ChickenCare Goes Viral  —  Perhaps inevitably, as you can see in the picture at the left, a progressive group has now created a special ChickenCare dance remix of senate candidate Sue Lowden's proposal to bring down health care costs by adopting a barter economy in medical care.

At 40, Earth Day Is Now Big Business  —  So strong was the antibusiness sentiment for the first Earth Day in 1970 that organizers took no money from corporations and held teach-ins “to challenge corporate and government leaders.”  —  Forty years later, the day has turned into a premier marketing platform …

'I've gone from being Churchill to a Nazi in a week': Clegg defends attack on Britain's ‘delusions of grandeur’ over WWII  —  A rattled Nick Clegg today sought to defend himself over his claim that the British people have a ‘more insidious cross to bear’ than Germany over World War II.

The tea party's exaggerated importance  —  2009 was the year when many journalists concluded they were slow to recognize the anti-government, anti-Obama rage that gave birth to the tea party movement.  —  2010 is the year when news organizations have decided to prove they get it.  —  And get it.

Key donors backing Crist  —  SENATE CAMPAIGN: Support, even in the event of an independent run for office  —  Even as high-ranking state Republicans distance themselves from Gov. Charlie Crist, some of his biggest GOP donors are vowing to stick with him even if he leaves the party and runs as an independent for the U.S. Senate.

GOP chairman: African-Americans not given good reason to vote for party  —  Why should an African-American vote Republican?  —  “You really don't have a reason to, to be honest — we haven't done a very good job of really giving you one.  True?  True,” Republican National Chairman Michael …

The Busted Homes Behind Big Bet  —  ABERDEEN TOWNSHIP, N.J.—The government's civil-fraud allegation against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. centers on a deal the firm crafted so that hedge-fund king John Paulson could bet on a collapse in U.S. housing prices.  —  It was a dizzyingly complex transaction …

Oil rig explodes off La.; 11 missing, 17 hurt  —  NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard by sea and air planned to search overnight for 11 workers missing since a thunderous explosion rocked an oil drilling platform that continued to burn late Wednesday, more than a day since it sent a fireball into the night sky.

In WH meeting, ‘Only two of the elected officials in the room had never filibustered a Supreme Court nominee’  —  When Senate leaders went to the White House Wednesday morning to discuss the Supreme Court opening, the meeting was attended by President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden …

There is no liberal Rush Limbaugh  —  I didn't have a Sarah Palin moment when asked to name one.  My silence was my answer  —  I'm traveling this week so blogging is light.  But I'm compelled to comment on the way the right is hyping my Tuesday appearance on “Morning Joe.”

Millions face tax increases under Dems budget plan  —  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate promise to cut the deficit by almost two-thirds over the next five years, but their budget plan could threaten about 30 million people with tax increases averaging $3,700 …

In Judicial Bouts, Diane Wood Shows a Persuasive Punch  —  WASHINGTON — There were few liberals and just one woman on the federal appeals court in Chicago when Diane P. Wood, an antitrust expert with a flair for foreign language and an ear for playing the oboe, showed up in the summer of 1995.

Bringing Thunder-ous change to New Jersey  —  The bridge spanning the Delaware River connects New Jersey's capital with this town where the nation's most interesting governor occasionally eats lunch at Cafe Antonio.  It also connects New Jersey's government with reality.

Obama Backs Down on Sudan  —  Until he reached the White House, Barack Obama repeatedly insisted that the United States apply more pressure on Sudan so as to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur and elsewhere.  —  Yet, as president, Mr. Obama and his aides have caved, leaving Sudan gloating at American weakness.