Christie Says Palin Needs to Go Unscripted to Contend for 2012  —  Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey says it's way too early to handicap the field of his fellow Republicans who might run for president in 2012, but on Wednesday he voiced a few sharp words about the most famous one.

John Boehner turns down Air Force One ride to Tucson  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) turned down an offer by President Barack Obama to travel on Air Force One to Arizona for a memorial service on behalf of the victims of Saturday's shooting, a decision that has upset some Democrats.

S&P, Moody's Warn On U.S. Credit Rating  —  LONDON—Two leading credit rating agencies on Thursday cautioned the U.S. on its credit rating, expressing concern over a deteriorating fiscal situation that they say needs correction.  —  Moody's Investors Service said in a report Thursday …

If Elected President, Pawlenty Tells Fischer He'll Reinstate Don't Ask, Don't Tell  —  There are few Religious Right leaders active today who can compete with the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer in terms of openly hostile bigotry against gays, Muslims, and all those who do not share his radical worldview:

Sarah Palin's effort to defuse controversy backfires with ‘blood libel’ comment  —  The presidential-quality stagecraft was there: an American flag over Sarah Palin's left shoulder and another over her heart.  So was the rhetorical polish, with its invocations of the Founding Fathers and the Constitution, God and Ronald Reagan.

Why the Left Lost It  —  The accusation that the tea parties were linked to the Tucson murders is the product of calculation and genuine belief.  —  There has been a great effort this week to come to grips with the American left's reaction to the Tucson shooting.

Gingrich visits South Carolina as presidential decision looms  —  WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich doesn't do coy.  —  When the former House speaker and Republican flamethrower addresses South Carolina business leaders Thursday night, he readily acknowledges the state's historic importance …

Thune to speak at CPAC  —  Don't count John Thune among CPAC's critics.  The Senator will speak at the conservative conference, in another sign he's weighing a presidential bid.  —  In another sign that Sen. John Thune seriously is considering a bid for president, he has accepted an invitation …

Udall wants parties together at SOTU  —  Can't we all just get along?  —  Sen. Mark Udall wants Republicans and Democrats to sit next to each other at President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech - rather than on opposite sides of the chamber as it the usual practice - in “a symbolic gesture of unity rather than division.”

A Fifth Star for David Petraeus  —  The general clearly deserves to join the rank held by MacArthur, Marshall and Nimitz.  His promotion would also honor our troops and their mission in the war on terror.  —  On a cold December evening in 1783, at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan …

Subway Riding Rat Wakes Up Sleeping Man By Crawling Up His Face  —  It was only a matter of time before rats started riding the subway with us.  Some units have already annexed a park.  This one, on the 4 train near Franklin Avenue in Brooklyn on Tuesday, played out everyone's worst nightmare …

What the left did wrong  —  Why were the last four days a mini-disaster for the swampland of the left?  It boils down to: facts, response and time.  —  Members of the left pounced first and didn't much care about the facts.  Before it was clear just how crazy Jared Loughner is …

The Uneasiness of Talk Radio  —  Interesting experience listening to talk radio these past days.  The tone?  Extra militant and - in the case of Rush Limbaugh especially - extra provocative.  Sarah Palin's video address seems to have been composed under the influence of this mood …

Yglesias Award Nominee  —  The Corner had few reactions to last night's speech but all of them were effusively positive.  Fox's pundits seemed more impressed than CNN's.  At some point, conservatives will realize that Obama is the liberal they can talk to.

Prez perfect - but the crowd was appalling  —  Never before in the annals of national moments of mourning have the words spoken been so wildly mismatched by the spirit in which they were received.  —  The sentences and paragraphs of President Obama's speech last night were beautiful and moving and powerful.

An evening in Tucson — the good, the bad, and the ugly  —  In the post immediately below, I praised President Obama's speech in Tucson this evening in honor of the victims of that horrific shooting spree.  His speech was part of a larger ceremony which, on the whole, was rather a mixed bag.