House Republican leaders turn to moderate Democrats for budget deal  —  Having difficulty finding consensus within their own ranks, House Republican leaders have begun courting moderate Democrats on several key fiscal issues, including a deal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of next week.

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 …

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 …

GOP frosh to Harry Reid: You've failed  —  Freshman House GOP members will send a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Wednesday ratcheting up the pressure to pass a continuing resolution for the remainder of the fiscal year that “makes reasonable, responsible spending cuts”— and promise to protest daily until he does.

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 …

Poll: Americans cooling on tea party  —  The tea party might be running out of steam.  —  The approval rating for the 2-year-old movement fell to 32 percent in a CNN/Opinion Research corporation poll released Wednesday, the lowest it's been since CNN first polled on the tea party in January 2010.

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 …

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 …

Washington in Fierce Debate on Arming Libyan Rebels  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is engaged in a fierce debate over whether to supply weapons to the rebels in Libya, senior officials said on Tuesday, with some fearful that providing arms would deepen American involvement …

Pawlenty: US headed for double-dip  —  The former Minnesota governor said the administration has devalued the dollar by injecting “fiat money” into the economy.  —  Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) predicted Tuesday that the U.S. will face a double-dip recession that could last all the way until the 2012 elections.

NBC/Politico debate moves to September  —  Mark Murray writes:The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, along with partners NBC News and Politico, today will announce that it's moving its GOP presidential debate — originally scheduled for May — to the fall.  The debate now will take place on Sept. 14.

Schultz: ‘Are You With The Terrorists, Or Are You With The President Of The United States?’  —  What's next: MSNBC hawking “America: Love It Or Leave It” bumper stickers?  —  The new fashion among the liberal network's anchors is to accuse critics of President Obama's Libya policy of being unpatriotic.

Syrian president blames protests on ‘conspirators’  —  DAMASCUS, Syria - Syrian President Bashar Assad blamed “conspirators” Wednesday for an extraordinary wave of dissent against his authoritarian rule, but he failed to lift the country's despised emergency law or offer any concessions …

Where the Bailout Went Wrong  —  TWO and a half years ago, Congress passed the legislation that bailed out the country's banks.  The government has declared its mission accomplished, calling the program remarkably effective “by any objective measure.”  On my last day as the special inspector general …

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” …

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.

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.

On NBC, the missing story about parent company General Electric  —  Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press - The story that General Electric did not pay federal taxes last year was widely reported everywhere but NBC.  —  It's the kind of accountability journalism that makes readers raise an eyebrow …