On a Senate Call, a Glimpse of Marching Orders  —  Um, Senators, ever heard of the mute button?  —  Moments before a conference call with reporters was scheduled to get underway on Tuesday morning, apparently unaware that many of the reporters were already on the line, Charles Schumer of New York …

Judge again blocks GOP collective-bargaining plan  —  But Van Hollen assistant says law is in effect  —  By Patrick Marley, Bill Glauber and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel  —  Madison - For the second time in less than two weeks, a Dane County judge Tuesday issued an order blocking …

Why I Won't Vote to Raise the Debt Limit  —  Everyone in Washington knows how to cut spending.  The time to start is now.  —  Americans have built the single greatest nation in all of human history.  But America's exceptionalism was not preordained.  Every generation has had to confront …

Maher on Palin and Bachmann: I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings, but no, I wasn't wrong  —  This may be the first time that this particular permutation of “apology” has been offered for dropping a C-bomb on someone.  A forthright apology would be one thing, a “sorry if you were offended” …

Coburn spars with Norquist over tax breaks for ethanol  —  Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) ripped conservative activist Grover Norquist on Tuesday for defending tax breaks that benefit special interest groups.  —  In a letter to Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform …

Obama to Set Goal of One-Third Cut in Oil Imports  —  WASHINGTON — With gasoline prices rising, oil supplies from the Middle East pinched by political upheaval and growing calls in Congress for expanded domestic oil and gas production, President Obama on Wednesday will set a goal …

Americans Less Likely to View Obama as a Strong Leader  —  Six in 10 believe he is honest and trustworthy  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans have grown increasingly less likely to view President Obama as a strong and decisive leader since he took office.  Roughly half now believe this aptly describes …

Obama's Red Rooster fundraising bash pulls in $1.5 million for Democratic National Committee  —  President Obama rolled into Harlem on Tuesday night for his first major Democratic dinner-for-dollars of the 2012 campaign season.  —  After a whirlwind day in the city, Obama attended …

Justice Lawyers Cleared in Voting Case  —  The Justice Department's internal ethics watchdog on Tuesday told Congress that it had cleared all department lawyers of wrongdoing in relation to a much-disputed voter-intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party, a black-nationalist fringe group.

Trump releases his official birth certificate  —  Yesterday I told you that Trump may have deliberately released an unofficial copy of his birth certificate so that he could quickly turn around and release the original.  The idea behind this is twofold.  First, to weaken the argument …

Obama Gets Lowest Approval, Reelect Score Ever, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; More Voters Oppose U.S. Involvement In Libya  —  American voters disapprove 48 - 42 percent of the job President Barack Obama is doing and say 50 - 41 percent he does not deserve to be re-elected in 2012 …

Justice Antonin Scalia ticketed for GW Parkway fender-bender; will he take it to court?  —  Now here's a date in traffic court we'd like to attend: In the matter of Antonin Scalia and the George Washington Parkway pileup.  —  The Supreme Court justice was ticketed early Tuesday for his role in a four-car fender-bender.

Kirkpatrick: I'm running for Congress again  —  Former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a freshman Democrat ousted in last year's Republican tidal wave, is angling for a rematch against Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. She told AZ/DC Tuesday that she has made the decision to run for her seat again in 2012.

Media Ignores Calls For Socialist Revolution at ‘Anti-War’ Rally in Chicago  —  Chicago media reported on a recent march in Chicago as being an “Anti-War” march organized by students and “faith based groups” who “hope to spark change in our democracy.”  What they left out was the clear fact …

GOP 2012 debate moved to Sept.  —  The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation has postponed its debate for Republican candidates from May 2 to September 14.  —  The move, announced Wednesday in conjunction with cosponsors NBC and POLITICO, follows an unexpectedly slow start to the Republican presidential nominating contest.

Why We're Fasting  —  I stopped eating on Monday and joined around 4,000 other people in a fast to call attention to Congressional budget proposals that would make huge cuts in programs for the poor and hungry.  —  By doing so, I surprised myself; after all, I eat for a living.

Senate vote on proposal to block EPA climate rules slated for Wednesday  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is planning to hold a vote Wednesday on an amendment to small business legislation that would permanently block the Environmental Protection Agency's climate rules.

Drop in home prices in January raises fear of double dip  —  Home prices dropped in nearly all major housing markets in the country in January, according to price index numbers released Tuesday.  Analysts said the decrease might be a harbinger of a double-dip recession in the housing market.

As Economy Sputters, a Timid Fed  —  Whenever officials at the Federal Reserve confront a big decision, they have to weigh two competing risks.  Are they doing too much to speed up economic growth and touching off inflation?  Or are they doing too little and allowing unemployment to stay high?

CNN Poll: Unfavorable view of tea party on the rise  —  Washington (CNN) - Nearly half of all Americans have an unfavorable view of the tea party movement, putting it in the same company as the Democratic and Republican parties, according to a new national poll.

A bumper crop of presidential flirts  —  There's an unusually high number of presidential flirts this year — that is, they say or hint that they might, but they probably won't.  —  The three biggest Republican stars are businessman Donald Trump, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.