President Obama blasts lies, disinformation  —  Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy  —  President Barack Obama dismissed a recent poll showing that a third of Americans don't know he's a Christian - and blamed an online campaign of misinformation …

It's Witch-Hunt Season  —  The last time a Democrat sat in the White House, he faced a nonstop witch hunt by his political opponents.  Prominent figures on the right accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of everything from drug smuggling to murder.  And once Republicans took control of Congress …

59 percent think Palin lacks ability to be effective as president  —  Almost three out of five Americans believe former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) would not be an effective president, a new poll found Monday.  —  59 percent of U.S. adults said they don't think Palin, the 2008 Republican …

The World Trade Center Mosque and the Constitution  —  The plan to erect a mosque of major proportions in what would have been the shadow of the World Trade Center involves not just the indisputable constitutional rights that sanction it, but, providentially, others that may frustrate it.

Full transcript of the ‘NBC Nightly News’ interview  —  Obama said failures in the aftermath of Katrina made it clear that “the real protection for New Orleans and the coast are the wetlands,” lessons that he said provided important guidance in allowing his administration to respond quickly in the days after the oil spill.

John Bolton, Criticizer-in-Chief  —  Since assuming office, President Obama has garnered his fair share of high-profile critics.  But few have been as omnipresent and implacable as John Bolton.  From his near constant appearances on Fox News and HBO's “Real Time with Bill Maher” …

There is no struggle between Islam and America, imam says  —  Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf says he intends to address the row over plans to build an inter-faith community centre in New York when he returns to the United States.  Lee Hoagland / The National  —  ABU DHABI // The imam behind …

Orange County Is No Longer Nixon Country  —  SANTA ANA, Calif. — Orange County has been a national symbol of conservatism for more than 50 years: birthplace of President Richard M. Nixon and home to John Wayne, a bastion for the John Birch Society, a land of orange groves and affluence …

The saving mentality is hurting the economy's recovery  —  The logic of the economic recovery isn't working — or, at any rate, not well.  By that logic, over-borrowed Americans would repay loans and replenish depleted savings, creating a temporary drop in consumer spending and economic activity.

Germany's rebound is no cause for cheer  —  One of the weirder experiences for anyone who lives in the eurozone is a visit to a German supermarket.  I had the pleasure the other day, and found the general price level there to be a little over half of what it is in Belgium, Italy or Spain.

Obama needs to relearn the art of politicking  —  President Obama's address to the nation on Iraq this week underscores the agony of his presidency and its core political problem.  —  Seen from the inside, the administration is an astonishing success.  Obama has kept his principal promises …

Record number in government anti-poverty programs  —  WASHINGTON — Government anti-poverty programs that have grown to meet the needs of recession victims now serve a record one in six Americans and are continuing to expand.  —  More than 50 million Americans are on Medicaid …

Environmental groups face their future in climate-change debate  —  On Thursday, some of the country's most respected environmental groups - in the midst of their biggest political fight in two decades - sent a group of activists to Milwaukee with a message.  —  We're losing.

Texas Dem under fire for nepotism  —  Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has steered thousands in scholarship dollars to relatives and the children of top aides, a Texas newspaper reported today.  —  The Dallas Democrat, a nine-term member of the House, awarded 15 Congressional Black Caucus scholarships …

What Can Obama Really Do?  —  A zombie argument is going around about why Obama hasn't accomplished liberal and progressive ends to the extent many would have liked him to: … This argument is misleading in one sense and incorrect in another.  It is misleading in that it misrepresents how things get done in Congress.