How states are rigging the 2012 election  —  An attack on the right to vote is underway across the country through laws designed to make it more difficult to cast a ballot.  If this were happening in an emerging democracy, we'd condemn it as election-rigging.  But it's happening here, so there's barely a whimper.

OK for gay marriage is ‘rite’ around the corner  —  ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo and Senate Republican boss Dean Skelos could say, “I do” as soon as today on a historic gay-marriage bill that includes strengthened exemptions for religious groups.  —  Negotiators for the Republican-run Senate privately admitted …

McCain attempts to fan the flames  —  There are massive wildfires sweeping Arizona, causing considerable damage in recent weeks to over 500,000 acres.  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) toured some of the most affected areas over the weekend, and decided it's time to start pointing fingers.

Gabrielle Giffords's Tucson homecoming  —  Rep. Gabrielle Giffords visited Tucson over the weekend, touring her hometown for the first time since being shot in the head outside a supermarket there in January.  —  Throughout her rehabilitation at a Houston hospital, the Arizona Democrat …

Poll: Time for Senator Orrin Hatch to go  —  SALT LAKE CITY — A majority of Utah voters believe Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has been in office too long and should be replaced, a new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll shows.  —  The poll by Dan Jones & Associates found only 38 percent of registered voters agree …

‘Is It Always Like This?’  —  'I'm not sure there's any way to be prepared for something like this," Jon Huntsman told me last month.  He was reflecting on his debut a few days earlier as a prospective presidential candidate: a gorgeous Thursday evening in New Hampshire when his chartered plane touched …

Texan Perry Sizes Up Roadblocks to GOP Bid  —  Aides to Texas Gov. Rick Perry said they are scrambling to determine the logistical challenges he would face in making a late entry to the fight for the Republican presidential nomination, the latest sign he is serious about joining the contest.

Singapore urges China to clarify South China Seas claim  —  The Haixun-31 is one of China's most advanced maritime patrol vessels  —  Singapore has called on China to clarify its claims in the South China Sea following recent confrontations with Vietnam and the Philippines.

The Slow Economic Recovery-Becker  —  The financial crisis produced the most severe recession since the end of World War II in all the important measures of economic performance, aside from unemployment rates.  Unemployment peaked at 10.2% in 2009, whereas it peaked at 10.8% in December 1982 …

Companies Push for Tax Break on Foreign Cash  —  Some of the nation's largest corporations have amassed vast profits outside the country and are pressing Congress and the Obama administration for a tax break to bring the money home.  —  Apple has $12 billion waiting offshore, Google has $17 billion and Microsoft, $29 billion.

The greatest gift to the Greeks might be to let them go it alone  —  Bail-outs and austerity measures are only making the country's burden harder to bear, writes Boris Johnson.  —  The Parthenon.  The EU's continued actions over Greece's financial woes have all the makings of a tragedy, says Boris Johnson.

What to Do With Lemons  —  While President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have gotten a lot of things right on foreign policy, they've made quite a mess in Israeli-Palestinian relations, where they've alienated all sides and generated zero progress.

The Hill Poll: Majority says military involved in too many places  —  An overwhelming number of voters believe the United States is involved in too many foreign conflicts and should pull back its troops, according to a new poll conducted for The Hill.  —  Seventy-two percent of those polled …

The Bush Brand  —  First on The Page: Blue-chip C. Boyden Gray backs Utahan's bid, poised to become chair of policy team.  —  HALPERIN'S TAKE  —  This is the first, but by no means the last, of eye-catching endorsements Huntsman will get from the GOP Establishment, including many with ties to Ronald Reagan and Bushes 41 and 43.

The ‘most consistently misinformed media viewers’  —  I'd be remiss if I didn't also flag this gem from Jon Stewart's appearance on “Fox News Sunday” this morning.  He was explaining that he, as a comedian, doesn't deserve credibility in political media, and it's ultimately the result of …

Bachmann Playing With House Money  —  Bachmann's Congressional Spending Shows Close Links to Political Activity  —  On Nov. 5, 2009, at the behest of Rep. Michele Bachmann, thousands of tea party activists descended on the Capitol to vent their rage over the health care overhaul bill pending before Congress.

NBC Cuts ‘Under God’ From Pledge of Allegiance  —  NBC on Sunday decided to cut the words “under God” from the reading of the Pledge of Allegiance that accompanied the beginning of its coverage of the U.S. Open Golf Championship.  —  In fact, this happened twice during the show's introduction …

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL  —  Gangster government attack on oil companies  —  Senior Political Analyst Follow Him @MichaelBarone  —  Let me give a hearty endorsement of my Examiner colleague Timothy Carney's Monday column on the Democrats' proposal to take away “tax subsidies” from big oil companies.

The Big Man, Much More Than Springsteen's Sideman  —  It was never just about the saxophone.  In more than three decades wielding his tenor sax with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, from its beginning in 1972 to his death at 69 on Saturday, Clarence Clemons was as much a symbol as a sideman.