Palin creates buzz but rivals bet she won't run  —  Chief Political Correspondent Follow Him @ByronYork  —  “The bottom line is Sarah Palin is not going to run for president,” says a Republican adviser close to front-runner Mitt Romney.  “She's making money, she's moved on, she's kind of an entertainer rather than a politician.

Obama Won't Personally Sign Patriot Act Extension  —  ABC News' Matthew Jaffe (@jaffematt) and Devin Dwyer (@devindwyer) report: Congress officially passed an extension of the Patriot Act tonight, just hours before key provisions of the national security law were due to lapse at midnight.

Judge strikes down corporate donations ban  —  A federal court in Alexandria, Va. on Thursday struck down a federal ban on corporate campaign contributions, in a case with potentially dramatic ramifications for a campaign finance regulatory system under siege by legal and regulatory attacks.

Medicare and Mediscares  —  Yes, Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is a sore loser.  Why do you ask?  —  To be sure, Mr. Ryan had reason to be upset after Tuesday's special election in New York's 26th Congressional District.  It's a very conservative district …

Perry says he will consider White House run  —  Gov. Rick Perry today gave his strongest indication yet that he may run for president.  —  “I'm going to think about it” after the legislative session ends Monday, Perry said.  —  For years, Perry has said that he would not run for president and that he had no interest.

When a party declares intellectual bankruptcy  —  The good news is, House Republicans unveiled a plan yesterday that's intended to create jobs.  The bad news is, the plan can charitably be described as a bad joke.  —  As we discussed yesterday, the jobs agenda, such as it is …

Bachmann's Debacle  —  “This is a disaster,” said one prominent Polk County Republican.  An elected official called it “an embarrassment”.  The embarrassing disaster was the result of Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann's last minute cancellation of her appearance at the Polk County GOP's Robb Kelley Dinner.

What Obama did to Israel  —  Every Arab-Israeli negotiation contains a fundamental asymmetry: Israel gives up land, which is tangible; the Arabs make promises, which are ephemeral.  The long-standing American solution has been to nonetheless urge Israel to take risks for peace …

Medicare Survival Guide  —  Sometime this summer, the Democrats and the Republicans will go toe-to-toe over whether to raise the debt ceiling.  At the height of the confrontation, President Obama may well address the country and say that even though he has offered the Republicans …

Tim Pawlenty's Doing It Wrong  —  Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty continues to be the paper candidate who just can't catch fire.  This is often attributed to him being “boring” but Allen McDuffie's reporting on the reaction to his big speech at the libertarian Cato Institute makes …

Mitt Romney Sends Leftover Pizza to Obama Chicago HQ  —  ABC's Emily Friedman (@abcemily) reports: After spending the day in Chicago fundraising, Mitt Romney sat down with small business owners at Gino's East, a pizza joint famous for their deep-dish pizza.  —  Not wanting any of the leftover slices …

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL  —  No recess appointments for Obama over Memorial Day break  —  President Obama will not be able to make recess appointments over the week-long break to commemorate Memorial Day, after Republicans forced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to keep the chamber open for pro forma sessions every three days.

Herman Cain: Federal Reserve Chairman, Tea Party Champion  —  The businessman's tenure with the Kansas City Fed should make for interesting debates with anti-Fed stalwart Ron Paul  —  There's no question that Herman Cain is the big winner in the the latest national Gallup poll …

Tyler Cowen, America's Hottest Economist  —  The George Mason University professor has written a bestseller, The Great Stagnation, keeps an influential blog, and reads way too many books  —  Tyler Cowen sits with a cranberry juice and a pile of books he no longer intends to read.

A Supreme conflict of interest  —  Judicial Watch, a public-interest watch dog group, just unearthed a cache of e- mails showing that Elena Kagan participated in preparing the government's defense of ObamaCare during her time as President Obama's solicitor general.

America's Forgotten Liberal  —  JANUARY was the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth, and the planet nearly stopped turning on its axis to recognize the occasion.  Today is the 100th anniversary of Hubert H. Humphrey's birth, and no one besides me seems to have noticed.

McConnell: I Won't Agree To Raise The Debt Limit Without Medicare Cuts  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says substantial Medicare cuts must be part of a spending and deficit cut package to get his support to raise the debt limit.  —  In a Capitol briefing with reporters Friday …

Badminton's New Dress Code Is Being Criticized as Sexist  —  In an attempt to revive flagging interest in women's badminton as the 2012 London Olympics approach, officials governing the sport have decided that its female athletes need to appear more, how to put it, womanly.

Rick Perry says he will “think about” running for president  —  In his strongest statement yet about running for president, Gov. Rick Perry said day he will consider running for president after Legislature adjourns.  “I'm going to think about it,” the Republican governor said today.

In 2012 campaigns, spoilers from the Tea Party worry GOP  —  The Democrats' upset victory in New York's special election Tuesday shows that Tea Party candidates could prevent Republicans from winning the White House and Senate, GOP senators say.  —  Political analysts interpret Kathy Hochul's …

Marshfield man charged with coming to Madison to kill abortion provider  —  IMAGE (2)  —  The Marshfield man who drove to Madison to kill an abortion doctor will appear in federal court Friday around 10:30 a.m.  —  Ralph Lang, 63, faces federal charges after he was arrested Wednesday night …