President Obama abruptly walks out of talks  —  President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt-limit meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, a dramatic setback to the already shaky negotiations, according to GOP sources.  —  “He shoved back and said 'I'll see you tomorrow' and walked out …

Michele Bachmann Gains Momentum, Surges in Polls  —  ABC News' Jonathan Karl and Amy Bingham report:  —  Michele Bachmann is proving to be a force to be reckoned with as she picks up momentum in early caucus states and surges in the polls.  —  A national Quinnipac University poll released …

Ron Paul ads hitting airwaves in Iowa, N.H.  —  Ron Paul is hitting the airwaves for the first time in Iowa and New Hampshire with a spot that warns ominously against raising the federal debt limit, POLITICO has learned.  —  The 60-second spot, made with all the flare of a Hollywood movie preview …

Michele Bachmann's Weak Command Of Yiddish  —  The GOP continues its oft-troubled Jewish outreach efforts by having Michele Bachmann try and fail to pronounce “chutzpah.”  —  Meanwhile, her church says the Pope is the Antichrist, so she's sure to break out of the Evangelical bubble any day now.

Graham: GOP has no one ‘to blame but ourselves’  —  South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham conceded Wednesday that he and his fellow Republicans are now eating their own words as they try to convince the country they are working to stave off a federal default.  —  “Our problem is we made a big deal about this for three months.

Reinhart and Rogoff: The Economy Can't Grow  —  As public debt in advanced countries reaches levels not seen since the end of World War II, there is considerable debate about the urgency of taming deficits with the aim of stabilizing and ultimately reducing debt as a percentage of gross domestic product.

The Bain of Mitt Romney's campaign  —  A company that laid off hundreds of employees.  A federal “bailout” to rescue a failing bank.  Mitt Romney, at the center of it all.  —  It's a story line from a tough Democratic ad that was teed up for use against Romney in his 1994 Senate campaign in Massachusetts.

Book Challenges Obama on Mother's Deathbed Fight  —  The White House on Wednesday declined to challenge an account in a new book that suggests that President Obama, in his campaign to overhaul American health care, mischaracterized a central anecdote about his mother's deathbed dispute with her insurance company.

To Track Militants, U.S. Has System That Never Forgets a Face  —  WASHINGTON — When the Taliban dug an elaborate tunnel system beneath the largest prison in southern Afghanistan this spring, they set off a scramble to catch the 475 inmates who escaped.  —  One thing made it easier.

A Gun Activist Takes Aim at U.S. Regulatory Power  —  MISSOULA, Mont.—With a homemade .22-caliber rifle he calls the Montana Buckaroo, Gary Marbut dreams of taking down the federal regulatory state.  —  He's not planning to fire his gun.  Instead, he wants to sell it …

Dollar in full retreat, NZD storms 30-year peak  —  (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was on the run in Asia on Thursday after a ratings warning from Moody's and a hint of further policy easing from the Federal Reserve unleashed a wave of panic selling, much to the relief of the hard-pressed euro.

Cuomo Says Curbing Public Pension Benefits Will Be His Top Goal in '12  —  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, basking in the afterglow of a legislative session that he described as “unusually successful,” said Wednesday that his top priority next year would be limiting retirement benefits for new state and city workers.

About Peter R Orszag  —  Hard Slog — the Real Future of the U.S. Economy: Peter Orszag  —  The continuing weakness in the labor market and the saga of the debt limit highlight the dual problems we face: low economic growth right now and an unsustainable amount of debt for the future.

Bush trumps Barack in the Arab world: President Obama is proving an embarrassing flop in the Middle East  —  Today's eye-opening Zogby poll for the Arab American Institute Foundation should be a wake-up call to the White House on its failing foreign policy.  After two and a half years of bashing Israel …

The comedian-in-chief  —  Here's a joke for you: President Obama nearly bankrupts the country with his out-of-control deficit spending — then demands responsible fiscal leadership from the Republicans.  —  OK, this is no time for humor: The country faces a deadline of Aug. 2 to either raise …

Hanging with the Muslim Brotherhood  —  I just met with a high-ranking member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo while large ongoing demonstrations against Egypt's ruling military junta continue 24 hours a day in Tahrir Square downtown.  Every political party in the country is at that square right now except the Muslim Brotherhood.