Boehner gets standing ovation from Senate Rs  —  ABC News' Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) reports:  —  Speaker of the House John Boehner just quietly ventured over to the Senate side and dropped in on a closed lunch of Senate Republicans.  —  The lunch - pizza, again - was in the Strom Thurmond room.

Obama Approval Drops to New Low of 40%  —  Similar to his approval rating for handling the debt ceiling negotiations  —  PRINCETON, NJ — President Obama's job approval rating is at a new low, averaging 40% in July 26-28 Gallup Daily tracking.  His prior low rating of 41% occurred several times, the last of which was in April.

Barack Obama Twitter Spams The Nation, Loses 10,000 Followers And Counting  —  You know that friend of yours who's always the first to get in on the hottest social media trends?  The one who had a Tumblr before everyone?  The one who first sent you a Google+ invite?

Weak growth raises concerns on economy  —  (Reuters) - The U.S. economy came perilously close to flat-lining in the first quarter and grew at a meager 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June period as consumer spending barely rose.  —  The Commerce Department data on Friday also showed …

Democrats criticize Haley's checking of ‘white’ on voter registration application  —  COLUMBIA — What box should Gov. Nikki Haley check when it comes to her race?  —  The South Carolina Democratic Party tried Thursday to make Haley out as a liar for checking “white” as her race …

According to official letters obtained by The Daily Caller, the gay conservative group GOProud and the ultraconservative John Birch Society won't be co-sponsoring the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2012.  —  The decision was reached by a full vote of the American Conservative Union's …

Pelosi declines endorsement of 14th Amendment solution  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday declined to endorse a 14th-Amendment solution to the debt-ceiling impasse.  —  All of Pelosi's top lieutenants have urged President Obama to invoke the Constitution and hike …

Practically Delusional  —  Just minutes after President Obama urged the parties to come together and avert this default crisis, things are actually going backwards in the House.  And in pretty incredible fashion.  —  To secure enough votes from his own members for his plan …

The Centrist Cop-Out  —  The facts of the crisis over the debt ceiling aren't complicated.  Republicans have, in effect, taken America hostage, threatening to undermine the economy and disrupt the essential business of government unless they get policy concessions they would never have been able to enact through legislation.

Laura Ingraham pushes back on Sarah Palin primary threat  —  Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham, one of the high-profile certified non-moderates urging the GOP to support John Boehner's debt ceiling bill, leveled criticism at Sarah Palin during today's show for raising the prospect of 2012 primary challenges to House Republicans.

‘A self-inflicted wound of monumental stupidity’  —  There are, regrettably, plenty of prominent media voices who insist on characterizing the Republicans' debt-ceiling crisis as a disaster brought on by “both sides.”  Yes, David Gergen, I'm looking in your direction.

All Over the Map  —  The Republican foreign policy consensus has collapsed.  Which candidate's worldview will prevail?  —  Mitt Romney delivered a speech at the annual summer retreat of the American Enterprise Institute in Beaver Creek, Colorado.  To coincide with the address …

Rep. Paul Ryan Destroys Reid Bill in Blistering Speech; 'Let's Cover the Moon with Yogurt!'  —  With a brilliant use of comical analogies, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) exposes the true nature of the “savings” in the Reid Debt Plan that President Obama was so quick to embrace.

U.S. balance now less than Apple cash  —  Steve Jobs is now more liquid than Uncle Sam.  —  While it's highly unlikely that President Barack Obama is looking to ask the founder and chief executive of Apple Inc. for a loan, it became a fact as of Thursday afternoon — the world's largest technology company …