Mark Halperin suspended over Obama remark on Morning Joe (video)  —  MSNBC senior political analyst Mark Halperin was suspended on Thursday by the cable network after he called President Obama “a dick” on a popular morning show and then quickly apologized.  —  “I thought he was a dick yesterday …

Geithner Said to Consider Leaving Treasury After Debt Debate  —  Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has signaled to White House officials that he's considering leaving the administration after President Barack Obama reaches an agreement with Congress to raise the national debt limit …

FEC rules in favor of Stephen Colbert  —  The Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday that comedian Stephen Colbert could form his eponymous political action committee with a media exemption.  —  “I am sorry to say, we won,” Colbert declared to supporters outside the FEC building after the commissioners issued their advisory.

White House rejects McConnell invitation for Obama to meet Senate GOP  —  The White House has rejected Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) invitation for President Obama to meet Thursday with Senate Republicans about their position on the debt ceiling talks.

How health care rulings are covered  —  Regular readers may recall an item from February, in which I compared coverage of health care court rulings from several major media outlets.  Given yesterday's developments, it's time to revisit the subject.  —  To briefly review …

Against the constitutional option, cont'd  —  Jonathan Chait and David Dayen both think that the breakdown of debt-ceiling negotiations strengthens the case for the Obama administration to attempt the “constitutional option,” in which they simply declare the debt limit unconstitutional and hope the Supreme Court agrees.

Roger Ailes' Secret Nixon-Era Blueprint for Fox News  —  Republican media strategist Roger Ailes launched Fox News Channel in 1996, ostensibly as a “fair and balanced” counterpoint to what he regarded as the liberal establishment media.  But according to a remarkable document buried deep within …

How Michele Bachmann's Surge Reshuffles the GOP Presidential Race  —  Last week's Des Moines Register poll tells us — assuming nothing actually happens in Iowa over the next six months — that about 22% of the 125,000 or so Hawkeyes most likely to show up for next year's Republican caucus …

Harvard: July 4th Parades Are Right-Wing  —  Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades.  A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day.

Huma Abedin taking time off from Weiner, job  —  Anthony Weiner's wife is taking time off from her senior job with the State Department — as well as time off from the randy former representative, The Post has learned.  —  While Weiner, 46, heads to an “intensive” rehab program to recover …

Married, With Infidelities  —  Last month, when the New York congressman Anthony Weiner finally admitted that he had lied, that his Twitter account had not been hacked, that he in fact had sent a picture of his thinly clad undercarriage to a stranger in Seattle, I asked my wife of six years …

Bill Clinton Network Exclusive: Proposes Debt Impasse Deal, but Fears GOP Too Hamstrung by Ideology  —  Former President Bill Clinton sees a possible way past the bipartisan impasse over raising the debt limit: agree to cut spending AND raise taxes, but do neither until later, after the economy improves.

Under the new Wisconsin budget repair, one school district goes from a $400,000 deficit to a $1.5 million surplus.  —  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports: … Let's stop and think of all the protesters who carried signs asserting that their opposition to Scott Walker was for the children.

Amazon ends deal with 25,000 California websites  —  Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law California's tax on Internet sales through affiliate advertising which will immediately cut small-business website revenue 20% to 30%, experts say.  —  The bill, AB 28X, takes effect immediately.

In Utah, Huntsman's son hits Romney rally  —  • Will Huntsman, son of presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, attended a rally on Friday for rival White House hopeful Mitt Romney and posed for a photo with the former Massachusetts governor.  —  In a photo obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune …

Ballad of the Long Shot  —  Before you announced your campaign, you said that the liberal establishment is scared that “a real black man might run against Barack Obama.”  Are you suggesting Obama isn't really black?  —  A real black man is not timid about making the right decisions, that's what I meant.

Kansas To Shut Down All but One Abortion Clinic Friday  —  It's official.  Every abortion provider in the state of Kansas has been denied a license to continue operating as of July 1.  As we reported last week, strict new state laws put in place this month threatened to close the remaining three abortion clinics in Kansas.

Second Gaza Strip flotilla boat is reported damaged; organizers accuse Israel  —  JERUSALEM — Organizers of a flotilla seeking to break Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip said Thursday that another of their boats had been damaged in port, and they accused Israel of sabotage.