In Defining Obama, Misperceptions Stick  —  WASHINGTON — Americans need only stand in line at the grocery checkout counter to glimpse the conspiracy theories percolating about President Obama.  “Birthplace Cover-Up,” screams the current issue of the racy tabloid Globe.  “Obama's Secret Life Exposed!”

TRENDING: White House strikes back at ‘Muslim’ tag  —  The White House on Thursday responded to new polls which indicate Americans do not know what religion President Obama practices.  —  Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts (CNN) - The White House is responding to new polls Thursday that show …

Poll: 1 in 5 Americans thinks Obama is a Muslim  —  The number of Americans who believe — wrongly — that President Obama is a Muslim has increased significantly since his inauguration and now account for nearly 20 percent of the nation's population.  —  Those results, from a new Pew …

AP advises staff on location of Islamic center and mosque  —  The Associated Press, one of world's most powerful news organizations, issued a memo today advising staff to avoid the phrase “Ground Zero mosque.”  —  The Upshot reported Tuesday that the AP started using the phrase “Ground Zero mosque” in some headlines in late May.

If only Obama had ...  See if this structure seems familiar to you: Over the past two years, Barack Obama has done X. Now, his poll numbers have slipped to 44 percent.  His party is slated to lose a lot of seats in the 2010 midterms.  Obama's decision to do X is to blame.  —  “X” can be a lot of things.