Data Show Bin Laden Plots; C.I.A. Hid Near Raided House  —  WASHINGTON — After reviewing computer files and documents seized at the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, American intelligence analysts have concluded that the chief of Al Qaeda played a direct role for years …

Why is Pawlenty On Stage With These Crazy People?  —  Closing Thoughts:  —  Credit goes to the Fox News anchors who moderated the debate.  They did their research and managed to ask tough questions that trapped some of the candidates.  They managed to get Rick Santorum to come very close …

Correcting the Picture on Jobs  —  11:29 a.m. |  Updated This is one of those months when it's impossible to tell a consistent story about the jobs report.  —  Job growth was unexpectedly strong last month.  The unemployment rate rose to 9 percent, from 8.8 percent, its biggest one-month increase in more than a year-and-a-half.

Pawlenty Hopes 'I'm Sorry' Is Enough  —  It's a question every candidate faces: how to deal with political liabilities.  Do you face them head-on and try to get them out of the way, or try to work around them in the hope that voters will lose interest?  —  Last night, at the first Republican …

Obama's ‘Gangster Politics’  —  The president is about to order companies that do business with the federal government to disclose their political donations.  —  President Obama has officially kicked off his 2012 re-election campaign, and don't Republicans know it.

A Motivational Poster for George W. Bush's Library  —  A motivational poster, sent in from a reader:  —  In case the font is too small, the words at the bottom are: “VINDICATION: When the loudest critic of your policies achieves his greatest success because of them.”

Fears and Failure  —  From G.D.P. to private-sector payrolls, from business surveys to new claims for unemployment insurance, key economic indicators suggest that the recovery may be sputtering.  —  And it wasn't much of a recovery to start with.  Employment has risen from its low point …

G.O.P. Medicare Plan Shakes Up Race for House Seat  —  Only weeks ago, top Democrats appeared to have all but written off a special election for a Congressional seat in the suburbs of Buffalo.  After all, Republican voters vastly outnumber Democrats in the district, and the Republican candidate …

Ramesh Ponnuru Tries To Lead The Right Out Of The Dark Age, Neil Ferguson Tries To Drag Us Deeper In  —  Alongside complaints about the dark age of economic understanding into which monetary policy cranks like Paul Ryan have led the right, it's worth hailing the efforts of those like Ramesh Ponnuru …

WTF at WTC?  Obama Has American Flag Removed From Ground Zero Site Moments Before Photo Shoot!  [Updated: or Perhaps Tapper Just Confused All of Us]  —  ABC's Jake Tapper was on the scene.  He disbelievingly tweeted:  —  Here's his photo of the take-down.

Bills banning bestiality, baggy pants pass in Fla.  —  Legislation awaits Gov. Rick Scott's signature  —  Below:  —  NBCMIAMI.com  —  Floridians are going to have to start pulling up their pants and stop having sex with animals soon.  —  It's up to Gov. Rick Scott to sign off …

Morning Jay: If Our ‘Food Stamp Recovery’ Persists, Obama Will Lose Big  —  I have noticed something unsettling in my own life lately: I know a lot of people who are on food stamps or some kind of extraordinary government assistance.  The count right now stands around 10 people, which is a lot for a small town denizen such as myself.

The Waterboarding Trail to bin Laden  —  Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said that as late as 2006 fully half of the government's knowledge about the structure and activities of al Qaeda came from harsh interrogations. … Khalid Sheikh Mohammed  —  Osama bin Laden was killed by Americans …