Charlotte zings Reid from beyond the grave  —  Election 2010 has just heard from a member of the Silent Majority.  —  You know, from a deceased person.  —  Chances are good you never met Charlotte McCourt during her 84 years, but I'm willing to bet you'll be hearing about her in the coming days …

EXCLUSIVE: Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston Are Engaged!  —  Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston reveal exclusively in the new Us Weekly that they are getting married.  —  And, they tell Us Weekly, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been kept in the dark about their plans ... until now.

WHEN AN ENTIRE POLITICAL PARTY MOVES TO BIZARRO WORLD.... Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) probably didn't realize the impact his remarks would have.  The right-wing Arizonan was asked on Fox News how his party would pay for $678 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy, which Republicans are currently demanding.

Pelosi vents about Gibbs  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bashed White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs Tuesday night, even as the president's top spokesman continued to backpedal from his assertion that Democrats could lose control of the House in the November election.

President Obama, White House: Al Qaeda Is Racist  —  In an interview earlier today with the South African Broadcasting Corporation to air in a few hours, President Obama disparaged al Qaeda and affiliated groups' willingness to kill Africans in a manner that White House aides say was an argument that the terrorist groups are racist.

Tea Party billboard covered up in Mason City  —  Billboard featuring President Obama being covered up today in Mason City.  —  A billboard in Mason City that pictured President Obama flanked by Nazi leader Adolph Hitler and communist leader Vladimir Lenin has been papered over this morning.

Journalism Needs Government Help  —  Media budgets have been decimated as the Internet facilitates a communications revolution.  More public funding for news-gathering is the answer.  —  We have entered a momentous period in the history of the American press.

The Reeducation of Rand Paul  —  Soon after Rand Paul won Kentucky's GOP Senate primary in May, his campaign was rocked — not by an affair or a kamikaze YouTube clip, but by his own textbook libertarianism.  In a series of post-election interviews, Paul criticized parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 …

Time for Obama to make sacrifices  —  Later this week, the White House budget office is due to produce its midyear report on the nation's fiscal health.  —  If history is any guide, the administration will try to paint a rosy picture, but the truth is already obvious: Washington under President Barack Obama …

Sestak Catches Toomey To Tie Pennsylvania Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; More Voters Say Obama Doesn't Deserve Second Term  —  Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey are locked in a 43 - 43 percent tie in their race for the U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania …

Storm over possible plagiarism in McInnis writings escalates  —  A new example of possible plagiarism by Scott McInnis surfaced Tuesday as the Republican gubernatorial candidate faced calls to repay $300,000 he received for plagiarized essays on water that he submitted as “original works.”

How Bad is the Job Situation, Really?  —  (cross-posted at ProgressiveFix.com and FrumForum.com)  —  When it comes to economic conditions, I'm generally a glass-three-quarters-full kind of guy.  Take unemployment.  Quick—what was the risk in 2008 that an American worker would experience at least one bout of unemployment?

Libtalker Bill Press Blames ‘Spoiled Americans’ For Obama's Poll Collapse  —  IT'S YOUR FAULT  —  Lefty Meltdown Over WaPo Poll, Libtalker Lashes Out  —  Are you ready to accept your share of the blame for Obama's collapsing poll numbers?  If only “spoiled Americans” …

VP Favorable Ratings: Gore Down, Cheney Up, Biden Flat  —  Americans more negative than positive toward Gore, Cheney  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' current views of former Vice President Al Gore have become significantly more negative compared with three years ago, and are among the worst for him in more than a decade.

Megyn Kelly-Kirsten Powers Cat Fight!  UPDATE: Video Added  —  The 10 Minutes fight between Megyn Kelly and Kirsten Powers on FNC may be the greatest ten minutes of television, ever.  —  I mean it.  —  Somebody please send me this clip.  Not only did Kelly reveal Powers …

Obama approval hits record low  —  Barack Obama's hit a record low in PPP's monthly national polling on his approval numbers.  45% of voters approve of the job he's doing while 52% disapprove.  This is the first time he's topped the 50% disapproval mark in our surveys.

CBS News Poll: 7/13/10  —  Complete Data and Questions on the CBS News Poll on Obama, The Economy, Health Care and Other Issues  —  cbs_poll_071310  —  MORE FROM OPINION: CBS NEWS POLLS

Nobody Understands The Liquidity Trap (Wonkish)  —  Sigh.  In an otherwise useful article about divisions in the Fed, Jon Hilsenrath says this: … Sorry, but that's totally wrong.  The question is whether, at the zero bound, the Fed has the ability to increase aggregate demand — full stop.

Brown will oppose Dems' campaign finance reform bill  —  Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said Wednesday that he would oppose Democrats' campaign finance reform bill.  —  Brown, who'd been targeted by reform groups to support the Disclose Act, a Democratic-crafted bill in response …