Obama tries to box in House GOP  —  President Obama stopped by the White House briefing room, offering an update on the status of the debt-ceiling process.  I've seen some reports suggesting the president endorsed the Gang of Six's compromise, but that's not quite what he said, and it seems to miss the point of Obama's comments.

Allen West tirade: Wasserman Schultz ‘vile...despicable...not a Lady’  —  Florida GOP Congressman Allen West this afternoon dispatched a scathing personal email to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, calling her “vile, unprofessional ,and despicable,” “a coward …

Democratic senator Hansen retains seat in recall attempt  —  Tea party activist, attorney are winners in Republican primaries  —  By Tom Tolan, Lee Bergquist and Georgia Pabst of the Journal Sentinel  —  Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen of Green Bay was the first of nine state senators …

Post-ABC poll: GOP too dug in on debt talks; public fears default consequences  —  Majorities of Americans see both President Obama and congressional Republicans as not willing enough to compromise in their budget negotiations, but the public views the GOP leaders as particularly intransigent …

Report: Obama top recipient of News Corp. donations  —  Political donations by News Corp., its employees and their families were evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, with President Obama the all-time leading recipient, according to a report from the Sunlight Foundation.

At this Point, Anyone with an Obama 2012 Bumper Sticker is a Threat to the Gene Pool  —  Greetings to our constituents, fellow Floridians, and all Americans, here we are for another weekly update.  There is only one word that describes the past week: appalling.

Michele Bachmann faces more migraine questions  —  On the campaign trail in South Carolina, Michele Bachmann should have been basking in the glow of new polls showing her surging among national Republican primary voters.  —  Instead, the day was overshadowed by her acknowledgment Tuesday …

GOP Rep. Walsh Yells At Chris Matthews: 'Obama Doesn't Send A Thrill Up My Leg'  —  Add today's debate between Chris Matthews and Republican Congressman Joe Walsh to the Hardball hall of fame for the most exciting and in-your-face political discussions ever recorded.

Romney as Job Creator Clashes with Bain Record of Job Cuts  —  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign misses few opportunities to promote his record creating jobs, including his role in taking Staples Inc. (SPLS) from a start-up to the world's largest office-supply retailer.

Man's call for Obama assassination is free speech, not crime, court rules  —  A La Mesa man who posted racial epithets and a call to “shoot” Barack Obama on an Internet chat site was engaging in constitutionally protected free speech, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in overturning his criminal conviction.

Cost-Cutters, Except When the Spending Is Back Home  —  WASHINGTON — Freshman House Republicans who rode a wave of voter discontent into office last year vowed to stop out-of-control spending, but that has not stopped several of them from quietly trying to funnel millions of federal dollars into projects back home.

Iowa caucuses in December?  It's possible  —  That's not the only domino.  With South Carolina's primary facing money troubles after state funding for election operations was cut, Florida — which had been planning to go fifth, on March 1 or 3 — has been pushing to go earlier.

News International ‘deliberately’ blocked investigation  —  All-party home affairs committee report into phone hacking to be published in time for David Cameron's statement  —  Rupert Murdoch's News International company has been found by a parliamentary committee to have “deliberately” …

Scant Planning for Post-Qaddafi Libya  —  Eager to intervene, NATO has been less enthusiastic about figuring out what happens next  —  If NATO has a plan for achieving victory in Libya, it has been well disguised.  Regardless, the world's most powerful military alliance will surely somehow …

A Dodd-Frank Retreat Deserves a Veto  —  Only six congressional Republicans crossed the aisle to support reform one year ago.  The GOP is still working to thwart change.  —  Two and a half years ago, with our country on the edge of a second Great Depression, we met with the president …

U.S. softens its criticism of Syria  —  Since Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's sharp words last week, the Obama administration has stopped short of calling for President Bashar Assad to resign and has toned down its rhetoric.  —  Reporting from Washington— After sharply escalating …

BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL  —  As debt talks continue, feds are hiring — and never firing  —  A new analysis of federal workforce data shows that even in this time of retrenchment and downsizing, the federal government almost never fires or lays off workers.  In fact, in many corners …