The Budget Speech  —  Style: I liked the way Obama made a case for government at the beginning.  I liked the way he accused Republicans of pessimism, of abandoning a hopeful vision of America.  Good that he went after the Ryan plan — and good that he went after the cruelty of that plan.

CBO: Budget deal cuts this fiscal year's deficit by just $353 million, not $38 billion touted  —  WASHINGTON — A new budget estimate released Wednesday shows that the spending bill negotiated between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner would produce less than 1 percent …

Text of Obama Speech on the Deficit  —  Here is the prepared text of President Barack Obama's speech on the deficit, as released by the White House:  —  Remarks of President Barack Obama - As Prepared for Delivery  —  The Country We Believe In  —  The George Washington University  —  Washington, D.C.

‘Patriotic Millionaires’ Ask to Be Taxed More  —  If President Obama's deficit-reduction speech today includes a call to end the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, there will surely be pushback; Republicans have already begun a preemptive attack on raising taxes.

Asleep on the Job: What Was Vice President Joe Biden Doing During Obama's Debt Speech?  —  ABC's Z. Byron Wolf reports:  —  Vice President Biden chose an inopportune time for either a nap or some deep reflection today.  —  As President Obama weighed in on one of the most important issues of the day …

LensCrafters v. Bachmann  —  Washington (CNN) - The optics don't look great for Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.  That is, if you're talking about her relationship with LensCrafters, the one-stop shop of eye care and eyewear.  —  The possible GOP presidential candidate supported her belief …

FACT SHEET: The President's Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility  —  The President believes that we need a comprehensive, pro-growth economic strategy that invests in winning the future, lays the foundation for strong private-sector job growth and ensures …

Screening of 6 Year-Old at MSY  —  ***Update 4-13-2011 7:07 PM*** Welcome Drudge readers and anyone else who's new to the TSA Blog.  Seeing that many of you have never been here before, I wanted to provide links to a couple of posts we've written on pat-downs.  They will give you a better idea of why pat-downs are used and when.

Throw Grandma From the Train  —  President Obama at the GOP House retreat, January 2010:  —  “We're not going to be able to do anything about any of these entitlements if what we do is characterize whatever proposals are put out there as, 'Well, you know, that's — the other party's being irresponsible.

The Mask Slips, Falls to Ground, Explodes  —  I know, I know, applying the “mask slips” metaphor to Nancy Pelosi, who appears to have sprung full blown from some twisted lefty-nightmare remake of The Stepford Wives, may seem a cliché, but this extraordinary video …

For immediate release  —  The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced formal enforcement actions requiring 10 banking organizations to address a pattern of misconduct and negligence related to deficient practices in residential mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing.

Birther Bill Passes Arizona Senate  —  A few days after its main sponsor met with Donald Trump, Arizona's “birther bill” has passed the state Senate.  The bill requires a sworn statement confirming the candidates residents and... drum roll...  (sorry for the caps):

Santorum launches presidential exploratory committee  —  Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) moved a step closer to a 2012 run for president Wednesday, announcing the formation of a presidential exploratory committee.  —  Santorum made the announcement during an interview with Fox News's Greta Van Susteren …

Dem Rep Mocks Tea Party Colleagues With Red Neck Southern Accent  —  “Everything to them is unconstitutional.”  —  Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) appeared on the nationally syndicated Stephanie Miller Show to discuss how it is working with her new, Tea Party colleagues in the House.

COLBERT KEEPS TWITTER HEAT ON KYL  —  Sen. Jon Kyl's claim that “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does” is abortion-related is getting a continued skewering from political comedians.  —  Comedy Central late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart have since Monday laid …

“Family Friendly” Machine Gun Festival Welcomes Extremists  —  The Knob Creek Gun Range in West Point, Kentucky advertises its World Famous, twice-a-year Machine Gun Shoot as “Family Friendly” entertainment.  The slogan: “Nothing brings families together like blowing stuff apart...safely.”

Barry Bonds guilty of obstruction of justice  —  (04-13) 15:27 PDT SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds, the former Giants outfielder and baseball's all-time home-run leader, was convicted today of obstruction of justice for giving evasive answers to a federal grand jury that questioned him about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.