Poll Finds Lack of Passion for Republican Candidates  —  With less than a year to go before the Iowa caucuses, Republican voters have yet to form strong opinions about most of their potential candidates for president in 2012, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

JOHN ENSIGN TO RESIGN FRIDAY, HELLER LIKELY REPLACEMENT  —  WASHINGTON — Sources confirmed this afternoon that embattled U.S. Sen. John Ensign will resign from office on Friday, opening the door for Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval to appoint Rep. Dean Heller to finish out the term.

WHEN POLITIFACT BECOMES POLITIFALSE.... Independent fact-checking outlets play an important part of the political discourse, or at least have the potential to.  With a lot of figures making all kinds of claims, voters should have reliable sources they can turn to in order to help separate fact from fiction.

Response to Glenn Beck  —  This week Glenn Beck has taken to his radio show to attack me as a Progressive, which he has said is the same as a “cancer” and a “Nazi.”  What did I do that apparently caused him to link me to a fatal disease and a form of government that murdered millions of innocent Jews?

The Map  —  The Crystal Ball's First 2011 Take on 2012's Electoral College  —  Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics  —  With 18 months to go until November 2012, there is exactly one use for a current projection of the 2012 Electoral College results.

Barletta town hall gets heated over Medicare  —  Reminiscent of the August 2009 town halls when members of Congress faced angry constituents over health care reforms, a public forum in Carbon County with Rep. Lou Barletta Wednesday night provided a glimpse of the strong emotions stirred by a Republican plan to alter Medicare benefits.

New Labor plan: Nationwide protests  —  In a major strategic shift, the Service Employees International Union plans to use its giant political operation to try to build a grassroots movement of public protest and organization similar to the massive show of pro-labor support that overran Madison, Wis. last month.

U.S. Sends Armed Drones to Libya  —  President Obama has given approval for two armed American Predator drones to operate over Libya, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.  —  The U.S. has flown armed drones in Libya for the past several weeks, but they have been used only for surveillance.

[Proclamation] Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas  —  Gov. Perry Issues Proclamation for Days of Prayer for Rain in Texas  —  Gov. Rick Perry has proclaimed the three-day period from Friday, April 22, to Sunday, April 24, as Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas …

The Annoying Hypocrisy Trope  —  Gregg Easterbrook: … This is one of the most annoying tropes in existence, on both the left and the right.  The point of laws is to provide a level playing field, and no one is a hypocrite for following existing law even if they think it should be changed.

‘The Shining’ — national debt edition  —  Remember that great scene in the 1980 film classic, “The Shining,” when the wife comes upon the typewriter of the Jack Nicholson character, who's supposed to have been working night and day for months on his novel?  To her horror, she finds thousands …

The Revolution's Missing Peace  —  THE wave of uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa is of historic significance equal to that of the revolutions of 1848 and 1989 in Europe.  The peoples of the region, without exception, revolted not only in the name of universal values but also to regain …

Congressional Job Approval at 17%  —  Approval is now the same as in November, after the midterm elections  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Congress' approval is at 17%, essentially unchanged from last month's 18%, and identical to where it was just after last November's midterm congressional elections.

Gary Johnson announces presidential run  —  Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson announced today that he's running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.  —  “I'm ready for a different America,” Johnson said in a statement today.  “I'm ready for the day when a person can build …

Trump blasts Seinfeld pullout  —  Donald Trump wasn't laughing when funnyman Jerry Seinfeld canceled an upcoming appearance at a benefit for his son's Eric Trump Foundation.  —  Seinfeld pulled out of the Sept. 13 event benefiting the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital because he disagrees …

More Companies Pull Ads From Wonkette After Trig Palin Post  —  More companies have joined Papa Johns, Huggies and Vanguard in dropping ads from the liberal, pro-abortion blog Wonkette after it ran a crass post mocking Sarah Palin and her son trig, who has Down Syndrome.

Budget group: New Obama budget plan would fail, could cause tax trigger to be pulled  —  The bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has taken a crack at deciphering President Barack Obama's murky new budget plan, called the “Framework for Shared Prosperity and Shared Fiscal Responsibility.”

Mitt Romney Haunted By Past Of Trying To Help Uninsured Sick People  —  BELMONT, MA—Though Mitt Romney is considered to be a frontrunner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, the national spotlight has forced him to repeatedly confront a major skeleton in his political closet …