The Point of No Return  —  For the Obama administration, the prospect of a nuclearized Iran is dismal to contemplate— it would create major new national-security challenges and crush the president's dream of ending nuclear proliferation.  But the view from Jerusalem is still more dire …

Gibbs returns to press podium after battle with ‘professional left’  —  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs joked at Wednesday's press briefing that he hasn't “added an inflatable exit to my office.”  —  Gibbs was responding to the controversy surrounding comments he made to The Hill about the “professional left.”

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll  —  The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 26% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president.  Forty-five percent (45%) Strongly Disapprove …

Exclusive: Rand Paul's accuser clarifies “kidnapping”  —  The woman who sparked a national firestorm by recounting Rand Paul's  —  youthful indiscretions to GQ magazine is now clarifying her account: She says she was not kidnapped nor forced to do drugs by Paul.

NYT On The So-Called Ground Zero Mosque.  —  The New York Times has a new piece up on Faisal Rauf and Daisy Khan, the couple behind the proposed Islamic community center near Ground Zero that has brought rank Islamophobia into the Republican mainstream:

Primary night yields good news for President Obama and Democrats  —  The headline victory of the primaries belonged to Sen. Michael Bennet, who gallops to a surprisingly wide nine-point victory over challenger Andrew Romanoff.  AP  —  President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party …

RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN: Reid courts Hispanics  —  GOP blocking immigration reform, senator tells Latinos  —  U.S. Sen. Harry Reid on Tuesday slammed Republicans for blocking comprehensive immigration reform and told Hispanics they shouldn't be treated differently because “their skin's a tone darker” …

Former U.S. Representative Dan Rostenkowsi has died  —  Dan Rostenkowski was the most important congressman ever to represent Chicago, “Mr. Chairman” of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, confidante of presidents, pride of the Polish community and bringer of millions upon millions …

Americans split evenly on gay marriage  —  Americans are split on the issue of same-sex marriage, according to a new CNN poll.  —  (CNN) - Nearly half of all Americans think the Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll.

Giant Mecca clock seeks to call time on Greenwich  —  For more than a century, a point on the top of a hill in south-east London has been recognised as the centre of world time and the official starting point of each new day.  —  But now the supremacy of Greenwich Mean Time is being challenged …

Handel concedes GOP nomination for governor to Deal  —  Update 2:49 p.m.: Gov. Sonny Perdue has now weighed in as well.  While it was long rumored that he would support Karen Handel for the nomination, the outgoing governor stayed cautiously on the sidelines in the primary and the runoff.

JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater emerges from jail, basks in new status as celebrity  —  Fired-up flight attendant Steven Slater was walking on air as he emerged from jail Tuesday night as a folk hero.  —  “I knew there was a brouhaha about this, but while I was on the inside …

Why the GOP really wants to alter the 14th Amendment  —  As Lindsey Graham and his fellow Republicans explain it, their sudden turn against conferring citizenship on anyone born in the United States was prompted by the mortal threat of “anchor babies” — the children of foreigners who scurry …

Crowd waiting for housing vouchers gets rowdy  —  A crowd of people hoping to get federal housing assistance became unruly Wednesday morning with reports of fights breaking out in the crowd.  —  Thousands of people were lined up at the Tri-Cities Plaza shopping center …

Study Looks at Tax Cut Lapse for Rich  —  WASHINGTON — As debate heats up over President Obama's proposal to let the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthy but to extend them for everyone else, a nonpartisan Congressional analysis circulated on Capitol Hill on Tuesday provides a look at the impact …

Kerry: McMahon ‘roid rage attacks’ need to be stopped  —  Connecticut Senate nominee Linda McMahon's “GOP/WWE roid rage attacks” need to be stopped, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Wednesday.  —  Kerry took a shot at McMahon's past as CEO of the wrestling outfit a day after she won …

The Obsolescence of Barack Obama  —  The magic of 2008 can't be recreated, and good riddance to it.  —  Not long ago Barack Obama, for those who were spellbound by him, had the stylishness of JFK and the historic mission of FDR riding to the nation's rescue.

Elite Isolation  —  It seems to me that this chart is the key to understanding today's political economy:  —  Virtually every single member of congress, every senator, every Capitol Hill staffer, every White House advisor, every Fed governor, and every major political reporter is a college graduate.

Hamp - it's worse than we thought  —  So the US Treasury's centrepiece mortgage modification programme — Hamp — is something of a failure.  That much we knew already.  —  But Laurie Goodman over at Amherst Securities brings up another point.  —  The programme actually has a lower success rate …

NC: PHB exclusive video of NOM's Brian Brown at Raleigh rally - plus I am mistaken for a fundie (!)  —  My high-quality vid is still uploading, but I have this lower-res version for those excited to see the flopsweat on Brian Brown's brow ASAP.  So the background first — I did this on my lunch hour …

The case for the Bush card  —  I raised an eyebrow yesterday at Democrats belief that they could re-run the 2010 election against George W. Bush, but perhaps it's not a total fantasy.  —  PPP's Tom Jensen just noted some new polling data on the subject:  —  [51% of undecided voters …