Palin aide swats Romney team  —  In possibly the first inter-staff dust-up of the 2012 presidential race, an aide of Sarah Palin is hitting back at Mitt Romney's camp for saying the former Alaska governor is “not a serious human being.”  —  A “Romney intimate” was quoted by “Time” …

U.S. SENATE RACE: Reid takes lead on Angle  —  New poll shows Republican losing support among every voter group  —  U.S. Sen. Harry Reid has opened a strong lead over Republican opponent Sharron Angle after pummeling her in a ubiquitous TV and radio ad campaign that portrays the Tea Party favorite as …

The scariest jobs graph you've seen yet  —  That's job growth per month on the X axis, and how many months that level of job growth would take to get us back to pre-recession levels on the Y axis.  Notice that adding new jobs at a rate of 200,000 a month would take us 150 months — or 12.5 years — to get back to normalcy.

A conservative dismisses right-wing Black Panther ‘fantasies’  —  A scholar whom President George W. Bush appointed vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Abigail Thernstrom has a reputation as a tough conservative critic of affirmative action and politically correct positions on race.

A Final Thought  —  Here is former head and current spokesperson for the Tea Party Express Mark Williams satirically responding to the NAACP: … Williams has since taken the original down and posted a half-hearted justification.  Mark Williams is the same man who has denounced Barack Obama as …

The incredible obviousness of the Democrats' political fortunes  —  The topic du jour appears to be the Obama paradox.  How, some writers are asking, can the Democrats be both passing a lot of legislation and be headed for a defeat at the polls?  —  But there's no contradiction.  No paradox.

Senator Vitter suggests Rachel Maddow only looked like a woman “a long time ago”  —  UPDATE, 5:16 p.m.: Vitter has now written a note of apology to Maddow.  —  Original post:  —  Oh, what fun!  —  On a right wing radio station this morning, Senator David Vitter appeared to suggest …

Obama's next act  —  In the political marketplace, there's now a run on Obama shares.  The left is disappointed with the president.  Independents are abandoning him in droves.  And the right is already dancing on his political grave, salivating about November when, his own press secretary admitted Sunday …

Meet the New Republican Alchemists  —  So it comes down to this.  Republicans believe they can turn bulls**t into gold.  Despite the inescapable conclusion of history, theory and empirical evidence to the contrary, Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, John Boehner, Tom Coburn, John McCain …

Ass't.  Treasury Sec. Michael Barr: Elizabeth Warren “Extremely Well-Qualified” for CFPB  —  Hmmm... could Warren get the job? (photo: New America Foundation)  —  I'm on a conference call with Michael Barr, the assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions, about the Wall Street reform bill.

David Cameron, don't follow Barack Obama  —  When David Cameron visits America next week he will learn a lot - about how not to run a country, says Peggy Noonan.  —  Dear Mr Cameron, welcome young friend.  Welcome to America.  Bring your bright, dashing self to our shores.

Bachmann to Start House Caucus to Promote the American Peoples' Priorities  —  Today, U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann filed paperwork to start a House Tea Party Caucus to promote Americans' call for fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution, and limited government.

On Mel Gibson, “Conservative” — By: Jonah Goldberg  —  For starters, I think it's all unseemly.  I don't think this is the kind of thing that should be spilled out for the public no matter who it is.  I think Gibson is clearly troubled and despite his well-documented paranoia, there are many long knives out with his name on them.

Joe Manchin picks Carte Goodwin to replace Byrd  —  Goodwin, who will be the youngest member of the Senate at 36 years old, replaces the oldest, the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who died two weeks ago at the age of 92.  He is expected to serve only until West Virginia can hold a special election …

Boehner: No more new Federal regulations!  —  UPDATE, 2:50 p.m.: DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen responds: … Original post:  —  A day after calling for repeal of the new financial regulatory reform bill, John Boehner is going even further: He's calling for a moratorium on all new Federal regulations — in the name of job creation.

Aaron Sorkin to direct John Edwards film  —  ‘Social Network’ scribe to adapt ‘The Politician’  —  Aaron Sorkin — best known for creating “The West Wing” — will make his feature directorial debut with a John Edwards biopic.  —  Sorkin's adapting and producing Andrew Young's “The Politician …

Internal Memo: Intelligence Community Frets About Washington Post Series  —  Below, a memorandum sent two weeks ago by Art House, director of communications for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to public affairs officers in the intelligence community about the Washington Post's upcoming series on contractors.

Post poll: McInnis losing support, Republicans like Tancredo  —  Support for GOP gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis is eroding among Republicans but he remains a viable candidate even after a plagiarism scandal, according to a new Denver Post poll.  —  Twenty percent of registered Republican voters …