If Boehner prioritizes blame over success  —  The House went through the motions earlier this week, passing a radical “Cut, Cap, and Balance” debt-reduction plan that Republicans knew would fail.  They did this as a sort of vanity exercise, intended to make GOP lawmakers and their activist base feel better about themselves.

Make Way for the Radical Center  —  DID I mention that I've signed a pledge — just like those Republican congressmen who have signed written promises to different political enforcers not to raise taxes or permit same-sex marriage?  My pledge is to never vote for anyone stupid enough to sign a pledge …

President Pushover  —  The redoubtable Elizabeth Drew has a forthcoming article in the New York Review of Books — not yet online — that confirms all our worst fears.  She tells us that past concessions have … Even more alarming, however, is her window on what the White House is thinking:

Republicans, Zealots and Our Security  —  IF China or Iran threatened our national credit rating and tried to drive up our interest rates, or if they sought to damage our education system, we would erupt in outrage.  —  Well, wake up to the national security threat.

Bad Food?  Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables  —  Mark Bittman writes about food for the opinion section.  —  WHAT will it take to get Americans to change our eating habits?  The need is indisputable, since heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all in large part caused by the Standard American Diet.

Norway Attacks Put Spotlight on Rise of Right-Wing Sentiment in Europe  —  BERLIN — The attacks in Oslo on Friday have riveted new attention on right-wing extremists not just in Norway but across Europe, where opposition to Muslim immigrants, globalization, the power of the European Union …

Oregon Rep. David Wu hears calls to resign after revelations of unwanted sexual encounter  —  BY CHARLES POPE, BETH SLOVIC and HARRY ESTEVE  —  Pressure on Democratic Rep. David Wu to resign intensified Saturday as leaders in his own party began confronting the embattled Oregon lawmaker …

Police Say Oslo Suspect Admits ‘Facts’ in Massacre  —  OSLO — The Norwegian man charged with attacks in and near Oslo, killing over 90 people, has admitted “to the facts” of the case, the police and his lawyer said on Sunday, and claims to have acted alone in a strike eerily foretold …

Same-sex couples rush to say ‘I do’  —  NIAGARA FALLS — At the very moment the state extended the right to marry to same-sex couples, Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd — surrounded by hundreds of friends and well-wishers in a historic ceremony against the backdrop of the rainbow-lit Falls — said, “I do.”