W.H. political team stumbles, bumbles  —  They toppled Hillary Clinton, crushed John McCain and managed to get the first black man elected president of the United States.  —  But now a series of recent missteps just keeps getting worse for Barack Obama's political operation …

American, 19, Among Gaza Flotilla Dead  —  Furkan Dogan Was Shot Five Times, Including Four Times in Head  —  A U.S. citizen who lived in Turkey is among the nine people killed when Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish aid ship heading for the Gaza Strip, officials said today.

'I'd do it again' former President Bush tells Grand Rapids crowd about waterboarding terrorists … GRAND RAPIDS — Former President George W. Bush was by turns affable, relaxed — and deadly serious in his local appearance Wednesday.  —  “Yeah, we water-boarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,” …

Balls  —  See if you can find the person in this video with balls:  —  Paul Brasel  —  KeninMontana said it best, “That kid has balls that CLANK solid steel.”  Good on him.  —  Robert Mahoney  —  I am glad the picture said it all.  I frankly don't have 7 minutes and 19 seconds to waste on idiots.

Female Gov Hopeful Faces 2nd Sex Claim  —  Woman running for SC governor bashing claim of another affair made by accuser with no proof  —  A South Carolina lobbyist resigned from a rival political campaign on Wednesday and then became the second man to claim he had a tryst …

Gershwin Prize event at White House: A really big night for Sir Paul McCartney  —  Hope may have gotten him elected, but in President Obama's White House on Wednesday evening, it was all love.  The reverent, paralyzing, smile-until-your-face-cramps kind of love — all of it aimed at Paul McCartney.

Nuclear Option on Gulf Oil Spill?  No Way, U.S. Says  —  The chatter began weeks ago as armchair engineers brainstormed for ways to stop the torrent of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico: What about nuking the well?  —  Decades ago, the Soviet Union reportedly used nuclear blasts …

Gaza flotilla: How Israel's ministry of foreign affairs fakes photos of seized weapons  —  On the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs' Flickr page, the pictures of the so-called weapons seized on the ships taking part in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla provide ample evidence of the deviousness of those darned anti-semitic terrorists.

Obama Points a Finger at GOP  —  PITTSBURGH—President Barack Obama, facing political heat from both right and left over his response to the Gulf oil spill, blasted Republicans on Wednesday for what he said was a loosening of regulations on industry at the public's expense.

Statehouse Picture Slowly Emerging  —  Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics  —  There's now no question that the gubernatorial turnover in November will be historic, with half or more of the states electing new governors (see our previous article on the subject here).

The Times to Host Political Polling Site FiveThirtyEight  —  The New York Times said Thursday that it would begin hosting the popular blog FiveThirtyEight and make its founder, Nate Silver, a regular contributor to the newspaper and the Sunday magazine.  —  Mr. Silver, a statistical wizard …

Data Used to Justify Health Savings Effort Is Sometimes Shaky  —  In selling the health care overhaul to Congress, the Obama administration cited a once obscure research group at Dartmouth College to claim that it could not only cut billions in wasteful health care spending but make people healthier by doing so.

BP paid for agency officials' trips, meals  —  BP and others in the oil and gas industry have paid for dozens of trips and meals for officials at federal agencies deeply involved in Washington's response to the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  —  A review by The Hill of gift reports …

GOP senator criticizes anti-tax pledge  —  Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio) said the anti-tax pledge signed by his fellow Republicans conflicts with their responsibility as lawmakers to deal with the country's $13 trillion debt problem.  —  “I think that a lot of my colleagues have taken the pledge …

Los Angeles Students to Be Taught That Arizona Immigration Law Is Un-American  —  The Los Angeles Unified School District school board wants all public school students in the city to be taught that Arizona's new immigration law is un-American.  —  The school board president …

We got the president we elected  —  Editor's note: Gloria Borger is a senior political analyst for CNN, appearing regularly on CNN's “The Situation Room,” “AC360°” and “State of the Union,” as well as participating in special event coverage.  —  Washington (CNN) — The news about Al …

Housing Double Dip a Done Deal  —  Everybody take a nice long look at today's Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors, because it's just about the last positive picture we're going to see for a while.  —  Yes, the index rose even more than expected …