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 …

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.

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 …

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.

UNION MEMBERS OUTRAGED After White House Hires Non-Union Crew For Obama's Birthday Bash  —  Somebody's Having a Birthday Party and You're Not Invited  —  That is, if you belong to a union.  —  In case you live under a rock and haven't heard, Barack Obama turns 50 today.  And, the place to be tonight is the Aragon.

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 …

Tim Pawlenty to pull ads ahead of Ames Straw Poll  —  Tim Pawlenty will be pulling his radio and television ads off the air in the 72 hours before next Saturday's straw poll in Ames.  —  The former Minnesota governor's presidential campaign says it's not short on cash …

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 …

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.

Tired of the Crazies  —  Looks like Chris Christie is sick of the nutters, too:  —  Maybe it is just me, but why don't more Democrats talk like that- forceful, in your face, etc.  I know a lot of you think Christie is a dick, and I think a lot of the time you are right, but performances like this just resonate with people.

Poll: Thumbs down on the debt-ceiling deal  —  WASHINGTON — The hard-won, last-minute agreement to raise the debt ceiling and cut the deficit gets low ratings from Americans, who by more than 2-1 predict it will make the nation's fragile economy worse rather than better.

Obama: “We're Not Even Halfway There Yet”  —  “It's been a long, tough journey.  But we have made some incredible strides together.  Yes, we have.  But the thing that we all ought to remember is that as much as good as we have done, precisely because the challenges were so daunting …

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.

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.

Italy ‘to default’ but Spain may ‘just’ escape  —  On Wednesday Silvio Berlusconi told parliament that Italy's economy was “solid”  —  Debt-laden Italy is likely to default, but Spain might just avoid it, according to the British think tank, the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

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.

Inside the Huntsman ‘drama’  —  'Goodness will overcome the temporary difficulties and early turf-protecting," wrote the candidate.

New Jockeying in Congress for Next Phase in Budget Fight  —  WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats maneuvered for advantage on Wednesday in the next battle over federal spending, trying to influence the choice of members and frame the agenda for a powerful “supercommittee” …

Al Gore: We need an American ‘Arab spring’  —  Ever since CNBC's Rick Santelli inspired the Tea Party movement's creation in early 2009, the left has been looking for a similar spark on their own side.  The earliest liberal alternative, the so-called Coffee Party, was a flop.

Bloomberg to Use Own Funds in Plan to Aid Minority Youth  —  The administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in a blunt acknowledgment that thousands of young black and Latino men are cut off from New York's civic, educational and economic life, plans to spend nearly $130 million …

Media Matters Puts Tax-Exempt Status in Jeopardy  —  David Brock, chairman and chief executive of Media Matters for America, told a news website earlier this year that his nonprofit is now moving to “sabotage” FOX News because it says the network is now the “de facto head of the GOP,” among other things.

Oregon Rep. David Wu resigns; candidates scramble to replace him  —  WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., formally resigned from Congress Wednesday with a phone call to Gov. John Kitzhaber, capping a day of mounting speculation over when he would finally leave.