Crisis Flummoxes White House  —  President Mubarak's Refusal to Step Down Signals a Loss of Western Influence; Sense of ‘Disbelief’ After Speech  —  WASHINGTON—The defiant tone taken by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak—and widespread confusion about the meaning of his speech …

Mubarak Reportedly Leaves Cairo  —  CAIRO —The Egyptian military appeared to assert its leadership Friday amid growing indications that President Hosni Mubarak was yielding all power.  A Western official said that Mr. Mubarak had left the capital, though that could not be independently confirmed.

Paul Supporters Hijack Cheney-Rumsfeld Reunion (Video)  —  ***LIVE UPDATES FROM CPAC ON TPM's CPAC 2011 WIRE***  —  Dick Cheney just popped up here at CPAC to introduce his old pal and Bush administration colleague Donald Rumsfeld.  Fans of Ron Paul turned what should have been a friendly moment …

After hard week, GOP has ‘group hug’  —  House Republicans emerged from an emergency meeting about the budget Thursday night sounding unified around a newfangled stop-gap spending measure that would achieve cuts of $100 billion.  —  Freshmen, once again, were the driving force that sent …

Oprah wants ‘respect’ for Obama  —  Oprah Winfrey (left) and Barack Obama attend a campaign event in Dec. 2007.  AP Photo  —  Oprah called on President Obama's critics on Friday to “show some level of respect.”  —  “I feel that everybody has a learning curve, and I feel that the reason …

Abraham Lincoln, Inflationist  —  There was a time when Republicans used to refer to themselves, proudly, as “the party of Lincoln.”  But you don't hear that line much these days.  Why?  —  The main answer, presumably, lies in the G.O.P.'s decision, long ago, to seek votes from Southerners angered by the end of legal segregation.

EXCLUSIVE: US Chamber's Lobbyists Solicited Hackers To Sabotage Unions, Smear Chamber's Political Opponents  —  ThinkProgress has learned that a law firm representing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the big business trade association representing ExxonMobil, AIG, and other major international corporations …

Cornyn running for No. 2 spot in GOP leadership  —  Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) will run to become the next Senate GOP whip, a senior Cornyn aide said Friday.  —  Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has begun reaching out to colleagues to gauge support …

De Pasquale's Dozen: Andrew Breitbart  —  I have endeavored in this column to pull back the curtain a bit on the pop culture sensibilities of some of the most serious political players of our day—to show that even kings and kingmakers, amid long afternoons with important Economist articles …

Koch Brothers plan to spend $88 million this cycle on TV, micro-targeting, grassroots - Team Huntsman hiring for ‘12 — Gibbs’ last stand — Alex Conant is 31 - Sarah Palin is 47  —  BULLETIN — Bloomberg: “Hundreds of protesters demanding the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak …

Multiculturalism has failed, says French president  —  PARIS (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Thursday that multiculturalism had failed, joining a growing number of world leaders or ex-leaders who have condemned it.  —  “My answer is clearly yes, it is a failure,” …

Romney: “Believe in America”  —  First on The Page: '12 aspirant at CPAC morning speech to focus on (surprise!) the issue Americans most care about — jobs.  —  Watch it live around 10:30am ET here.  —  And look for “Believe in America” bumper stickers, lapel stickers and signs at the conference.