Romney leads in Iowa, Cain surging  —  Mitt Romney has the lead in PPP's first Iowa poll since Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump exited the race, but with six different candidates polling in double digits it's clear this thing is wide open.  —  Romney polls at 21%.  Sarah Palin and Herman Cain are tied for second at 15%.

Weiner's tweet-hearts  —  By S.A. MILLER in Washington and PERRY CHIARAMONTE AND CHUCK BENNETT in NY  —  It takes a certain type of woman to set his heart a-Twitter.  —  Rep. Anthony Weiner follows only a select 198 of his nearly 49,000 Twitter fans — and a surprising number of them are total babes.

Gov. Christie arrives at son's high school baseball game in State Police helicopter  —  TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie arrived at his son's baseball game this afternoon aboard a State Police helicopter.  —  Right before the lineup cards were being exchanged on the field …

GOP lawmaker rejects White House trip, says he won't be ‘lectured to’ by Obama  —  A freshman GOP lawmaker rejected an invitation to the White House on Wednesday, saying he didn't want to be “lectured” by President Obama.  —  “I have respectfully declined the president's invitation to the White House today …

Sen. DeMint mulls White House bid  —  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says he is considering running for president after frustrated conservative activists have pleaded with him to run.  —  DeMint told The Hill that he has discussed a White House bid with his wife and will pray on the question …

Robert Lucas Argues That Barack Obama Is The Most Important Leader In American History  —  I'd been dimly aware of Robert Lucas' argument (PDF) that the Great Recession can be explained without reference to such petty concepts as aggregate demand, but until I read Gavyn Davies' summary …

Our Current Time for Choosing  —  Anyone who disagrees with Paul Ryan's Medicare reforms has a moral obligation to propose an alternative.  —  This year marks the centennial anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth—and America finds itself at a crossroads that brings to mind the title …

Matt Drudge's disgusting race war awareness campaign  —  Matt Drudge's non-political obsessions used to be harmless things like “extreme weather” and “pictures of Olympic wrestlers.”  Since the election of Barack Obama, though, Drudge — the proto-blogger and reclusive creator of the noted Courier …

‘Paul’ and ‘Barack’ talk Medicare  —  When it comes to Medicare, the one thing everyone agrees on is that it's time for an “adult conversation.”  So let's listen in on two imaginary participants — “Paul” and “Barack.” … Paul: Okay, you guys won the first round.  Congratulations on that New York House seat.

Ku Klux Klan protests Westboro Baptist Church (Video)  —  Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. (Michael S. Williamson - THE WASHINGTON POST) As President Obama honored fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, three members of the Westboro Baptist Church protested …

Labor Market Worries Rise on Weak Private Sector Job Growth  —  U.S. private-sector payroll growth slowed sharply in May, falling to the lowest level in eight months and prompting some economists to lower forecasts for job growth in Friday's U.S. government report.

S.E.C. Case Stands Out Because It Stands Alone  —  At the height of the housing boom, the 26th floor of Goldman Sachs's former headquarters on Broad Street in Lower Manhattan was the nerve center of Goldman's fast-growing mortgage trading business.  —  Hundreds of employees worked closely in teams …

Rand Paul, Supposed Defender Of Civil Liberties, Calls For Jailing People Who Attend ‘Radical Political Speeches’  —  Libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) made headlines last week for single-handedly obstructing the renewal of the Patriot Act, calling the law an unconstitutional infringement on civil liberties.

77,000 fed employees paid more than governors  —  Government salaries put under scrutiny  —  ** FILE ** A congressional study revealed that 7,283 federal employees in Maryland made more than Gov. Martin O'Malley's $150,000 salary in 2009.  (Associated Press)