DEBT DEAL DOESN'T RESCUE OBAMA FROM FLORIDA CRASH, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS; ROMNEY CLOSES GAP IN 2012 PRESIDENTIAL RACE  —  The national debt ceiling deal does not rescue President Barack Obama's crashing job approval rating in Florida as he gets a negative 44 …

Inside the Huntsman ‘drama’  —  A blistering internal feud in the Jon Huntsman presidential campaign is erupting into public view, with dueling camps trading charges and an exodus of campaign officials.  —  And now, a longtime family friend tells POLITICO that Huntsman's wife and father fret …

US borrowing tops 100% of GDP: Treasury  —  US debt shot up $238 billion to reach 100 percent of gross domestic project after the government's debt ceiling was lifted, Treasury figures showed Wednesday.  —  Treasury borrowing jumped Tuesday, the data showed, immediately after President Barack Obama signed …

Pressured by White House, Treasury Secretary Is Expected to Stay at Post  —  WASHINGTON — Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary and dean of President Obama's economic team, is expected to stay through the president's term after intense White House pressure, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

Obama's big drags  —  The politics of the debt fight were a drag for President Barack Obama, yanking his popularity to new lows.  Here's an even bigger drag: Obama emerges from the months-long fracas weaker - and facing much deeper and more durable political obstacles - than his own advisers ever imagined.

Taxpayers Will Pay for Obama Bus Tour of Battleground States, Says White House  —  (CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama's upcoming bus tour through the Midwest states typically viewed as swing states during presidential election years will be paid for by the taxpayers, the White House says.

Romney signs marriage pledge  —  Former Gov. Mitt Romney has joined Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Sen. Rick Santorum in signing a pledge to oppose same-sex marriage on a number of specific fronts.  —  The three candidates signed the pledge advanced by the National Organization for Marriage …

Wrong And Right  —  Bruce Bartlett and others send me to this eloquent David Frum piece, which concludes: … The knee-jerk response of commenters is “But the Obama stimulus failed, deficits, yada yada.  Also, Krugman has a beard.”  Or something like that.

Even Marked Up, Luxury Goods Fly Off Shelves  —  Nordstrom has a waiting list for a Chanel sequined tweed coat with a $9,010 price.  Neiman Marcus has sold out in almost every size of Christian Louboutin “Bianca” platform pumps, at $775 a pair.  Mercedes-Benz said it sold more cars last month …

Obama's new fundraising speech: 2008 was really bad, so I need a second term  —  After a rough month of enforced presidenting from within the White House, President Obama fled Washington and governing Wednesday, back to Chicago allegedly to celebrate his birthday with home folks.

Documents: Feds allegedly allowed Sinaloa cartel to move cocaine into U.S. for information  —  U.S. federal agents allegedly allowed the Sinaloa drug cartel to traffic several tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for information about rival cartels, according to court documents filed in a U.S. federal court.

Judge allows American to sue Rumsfeld over torture … WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge is allowing an Army veteran who says he was imprisoned unjustly and tortured by the U.S. military in Iraq to sue former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld personally for damages.

69% Say It's Likely Scientists Have Falsified Global Warming Research  —  The debate over global warming has intensified in recent weeks after a new NASA study was interpreted by skeptics to reveal that global warming is not man-made.  While a majority of Americans nationwide continue …

Happy birthday?  —  How much don't we know about Barack Obama as he nears the end of his third year of White House occupation?  —  Well, he claims today is his 50th birthday.  —  Yet, incredibly, it is still only an unsubstantiated claim - and, perhaps, more suspect than ever.

U.S. incomes fell sharply in 2009  —  (Reuters) - U.S. incomes plummeted again in 2009, with total income down 15.2 percent in real terms since 2007, new tax data showed on Wednesday.  —  The data showed an alarming drop in the number of taxpayers reporting any earnings from a job …

Citing new research, psychology group supports gay marriage  —  WASHINGTON - The world's largest organization of psychologists took its strongest stand to date supporting full marriage equity, a move that observers say will have a far-reaching impact on the national debate.

Firm gives $1 million to pro-Romney group, then dissolves  —  Records offer no clues who was behind mystery company that donated to ‘super PAC’  —  Below:  —  updated 2011-08-04T10:01:38  —  A mystery company that pumped $1 million into a political committee backing Mitt Romney …

Austerity Top Priority As Economy Sputters, Americans Suffer … WASHINGTON — This week's big debt deal has left progressives despairing over a disconnect between Washington and the rest of the country that they say has possibly never been wider.  —  Their concern arises from the fact …

Six GOP senators want deficit committee to meet in public  —  Six Republican senators on Wednesday called on Senate leaders to ensure that a new congressional deficit-reduction committee meets in public and before television cameras.  —  The 12-member super committee, comprised of an equal number …

Stocks Tumble as Signs Point to Weak Global Economy  —  The stock market fell sharply Thursday on intensifying investor fears about a slowdown in global economic growth and worries about Europe's ongoing debt crisis, which is centered now on Italy and Spain.

Make the Dollar-for-Dollar Rule Permanent  —  Matching debt increases with spending cuts will balance the budget in a decade without raising taxes.  —  Congress and the president have finally agreed to raise the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit, along with spending cuts of an equal or greater amount.